Subaru WRX, BRZ manuals to receive AEB; Toyota GR86 likely to follow

Subaru has confirmed potentially life-saving technology will be added to the manual BRZ and WRX sports cars ahead of a local mandate that could have spelled the end of the road.

The brand’s EyeSight active safety suite – including autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, and adaptive cruise control – will be added soon, starting with the 2024 BRZ due in Australia "at the end of this year".

Manual transmission versions of the WRX and BRZ – and the BRZ’s identical Toyota GR86 twin – currently omit active safety technology, as Subaru had engineered it solely for automatic vehicles.

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Autonomous emergency braking will be mandated on all new vehicles sold in Australia on March 1, 2025. Newly-introduced vehicles compiled from March 1, 2023, must be fitted with the technology.

Lane-keeping assist systems will be compulsory in Australia 12 months after autonomous emergency braking from March 1, 2024, for newly-introduced vehicles and from March 1, 2026, for all cars.

“This announcement confirms Subaru Australia’s ongoing commitment to providing driving enthusiasts manual transmission options now combined with advanced safety features of Eyesight," said managing director, Blair Read.

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“The preventive safety technology combined with adaptive cruise ensure a relaxed performance drive, giving owners the best of both worlds.”

In the BRZ, the manual will gain autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and reverse object detection, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, lead vehicle departure alert, high beam assist, rear parking sensors, and pedal misapplication prevention.

Subaru Australia has not announced the details or timing for active safety technology in the manual WRX sedan.

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It will leave the MG 3, Fiat 500, LDV T60, G10 and V80, Mahindra Scorpio and Pik-Up, Suzuki Ignis, and entry-level versions of the MG ZS, Honda CR-V, Kia Rio, Mitsubishi Triton and Peugeot Expert as the final mainstream vehicles in Australia to not offer AEB.

Will the manual Toyota GR86 receive AEB?

Toyota Australia has confirmed it is "aware of the announcement", with further news expected soon.

The related GR86 is not fitted with active safety technology in manual guise – while blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alerts aren’t fitted to the GT base variant, no matter the transmission.

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It is the only Toyota sold in Australia without autonomous emergency braking, after the technology was added to the LandCruiser 70 Series workhorse – which dates back to 1984 – in late 2022.

Unlike the Subaru BRZ, the manual and automatic Toyota GR86 are priced identically in Australia – despite the additional tech for the latter variant.

“We’re aware of the announcement regarding AEB and other active safety features coming to the Subaru BRZ. We have no announcements to make today regarding such additions to GR86, but stay tuned for further updates,” said a Toyota Australia spokesperson.