2022 Subaru BRZ review: Australian first drive

Light rain has been falling steadily over Sydney Motorsport Park for the launch of the new 2022 Subaru BRZ, so I figure it may be pertinent not to attack the South Circuit like a tubby kid at a confectionary buffet. Still, I’m a bit startled by how relative caution and a modest entry speed bring a big oversteer moment through the fast downhill left-hander flanking Corporate Hill.

The quick steering and innate chassis feedback make tidying things up pretty straightforward, so I mash the throttle for the exit down to the tight left. The flat-four whirrs and thrums, but beyond 6000rpm the power is tailing off and the tacho needle is in no rush to look the limiter in the eye at 7200rpm.

Doesn’t sound like an especially auspicious opening lap for one of the most hotly anticipated sports coupes of 2022, does it?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Subaru Australia could not provide event photography for the on-track component of this week's launch review, so we've thrown in some North American track photos. We reckon you'll know which is which.

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Well, you can relax, because I actually started the day in the original BRZ, complete with low-grip 17-inch Michelin Primacy 3 tyres and its 2.0-litre flat-four pushing out 147kW and 205Nm. Yes, Subaru Australia took the uncommon step of bringing a couple of original-generation cars to the Australian launch of the new model, and let’s just say the back-to-back experience was enlightening.

When the original car was co-developed with Toyota, engineers agreed that the best way for drivers to exploit the chassis balance via the modest outputs of the flat-four was to fit eco-biased rubber with early and benign breakaway characteristics.

And while the overall greatness of the BRZ and 86 twins was sufficient for the pair to take Wheels Car of the Year victory in 2012, the judges never shied away from the fact the beautifully balanced chassis was not a ripper gripper, nor the fact that the 2.0-litre engine, while smooth and reasonably flexible, lacked a dash of top-end sparkle.

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If you’re impatiently wanting a verdict on the new car, let us just assure you that the issues of modest grip and upper-rev reticence have been more than just addressed; they’ve been bundled in a small box labelled ‘fixed’ and whacked clean out of the proving ground.

By doing so, engineers have shifted the character of the BRZ from soft-rimmed frisbee to case-hardened throwing star. All without diluting the affordability, accessibility of performance … or, crucially, driver involvement.

For starters, that typical bane of second-generation sportscars – weight gain – has been brilliantly contained here, despite the mandatory lift in tech and safety equipment. In terms of structure, this second-get car is a reskin of the original, not an all-new platform. But aluminium is now used for the roof, bonnet and front guards, and the wheelbase has increased by a negligible 5mm while overall length grows by just 25mm.

The rear track is wider by a modest 10mm, and overall height is 15mm lower, while the car’s centre of gravity is claimed to be slightly lower, despite unchanged hard points.

Let us assure you that the issues of modest grip and upper-rev reticence have been more than just addressed

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According to Subaru, knowledge from the development of the Subaru Global Platform (SGP) that underpins the Forester and XV, among others, has been directed to the BRZ’s rear-drive architecture in an effort to increase stiffness.

The numbers pointing to success aren’t small: a 50 per cent increase in torsional stiffness and a 60 per cent improvement to lateral rigidity are claimed. Kerb weight for the base manual is 1286kg, topping out at 1310kg for the top-spec auto.

Despite the fact the fundamental exterior design isn’t radically transformed – the new car has more functional aero features, slightly more muscular haunches and pronounced side sills for a less petite stance – there are zero carry-over panels or glass.

Likewise, the plus-two rear seats continue (figure on very occasional kiddie or small-person occupancy only). Most owners will likely keep the rear seats folded flat for extra load practicality as the boot is tiny at 201 litres, and an aperture more like an ovoid manhole cover limits the size of anything that can be put in there. Weirdly, the full size-spare juts out of a recess not sufficiently deep to fully swallow it.

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But enough of the practicalities, because apart from the move to 18-inch wheels and sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber, the biggest shift to the BRZ’s driving character comes with what’s now under the bonnet. The new flat-four displaces 2.4 litres (up from 2.0) but is not a simple bore and stroke of the original engine.

This is a box-fresh unit (codenamed FA24) that Subaru says shares very few components with the old FA20 engine. It features a new block, revised internals, and a new induction system that combines both port and direct fuel injection.

Max power and torque are now identical for both manual and auto models: 174kW at 7000rpm and 250Nm at 3700rpm. For comparison with the old car, that’s a bump of 27kW and 45Nm for the auto, and a boost of 22kW/38Nm for the manual.

Where the original could feel flaccid out of corners, the new engine has the muscle to climb quickly into the meat of the power curve. It’s no turbo grunter, but it is far more responsive

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Healthier numbers, for sure, and immediately apparent from behind the wheel. Where the original car could feel flaccid out of second-gear corners, the new engine has the muscle to climb quickly into the meat of the power curve.

Of course, it’s still no turbo-boosted grunter, but it is far more responsive and doesn’t need to be wrung as hard if you’re just trying to hustle along in normal driving. But when the opportunity does present itself, it’s now an engine that you’ll be keen to wind out, mainly because it actually sounds and feels as though it’s relishing the work. But even that doesn’t adequately define the change in character.

The old engine was a bit of a chaff-cutter, with that distinctive flat-four chuntering whirr. The new one is a band-saw by comparison. In fact, I’d argue that once it’s off idle – say, from 2500rpm and above – if you didn’t know what was under the bonnet, you’d be hard-pressed to pick it as a flat-four.

Subaru's addition of ‘Active Sound Control’ (a synthesised engine note delivered via a speaker behind the dash) surely has plenty to do with it. Whoever developed it presumably wasn’t a fan of the typical flat-four soundtrack; in the upper reaches, it’s now more reminiscent of a thoroughbred, light-flywheel inline-four. (And no, the ASC can’t be turned off, which may bother some owners, and some colleagues thought it was a bit intrusive in hard road driving.)

But the point is, the speed at which the new engine spins up, the lack of the old ‘torque hole’ and comparative willingness with which it stretches for the 7600rpm cutout, really defines the car’s edgier, more invigorated personality.

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Of course, the BRZ is a car best enjoyed with the six-speed manual (and 60 per cent of buyers who snapped up the sold-out initial batch of 500 cars agreed), but both transmissions have been upgraded. The manual has harder gears and a stronger clutch, while the six-speed auto has an upgraded torque converter to allow it to absorb the full 250Nm and is controlled by more sophisticated sensors and software.

The manual’s clutch is light but decisive at the take-up point, and the shift action of the box itself has been revised for beautifully short throws with a nice oily, mechanical feel.

As for brakes, the front (internally ventilated) discs are slightly larger (now 294mm), but still gripped by carry-over twin-piston sliding calipers. The rear discs and single-piston calipers are unchanged.

The pedal initially feels a bit dead, but you quickly realise that’s just reduced servo assistance, and it actually feels better for requiring solid pressure in hard driving. We weren’t given sufficient laps to test the brakes’ fade resistance on the circuit, but for hard road driving they’re likely strong enough.

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Dynamically, everything that was brilliant about the first-generation car is further improved here. Fast, slick-feeling steering, (just 2.5 turns lock to lock) is directionally stable at the straight-ahead, with natural weighting as lock is wound on.

The front end is eager and grippy, the mid-corner balance sweetly adjustable between neutral and tail out. ESC Off does exactly what it says, and the Torsen LSD never wastes even a half revolution of the unweighted rear tyre, making the BRZ an oversteering delight if you want to drive it like that.

Our road drive was too short to tell us everything we want to know about the car, but its overall liveability factor feels pretty good. Yes, there’s a fair bit of road noise, and yes, the ride is firm, but the chassis set-up doesn’t jostle you relentlessly and there’s decent resistance to crash-through on rough stuff.

Dynamically, everything that was brilliant about the first car is further improved here. The front end is eager and grippy, the mid-corner balance sweetly adjustable between neutral and tail out

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But tell ’em the price, son! Good news is that prices of the two-model line-up (both available as auto or manual) haven’t moved significantly from when the car was first introduced, given inflation.

The entry-level coupe (manual) is $38,990, while the auto adds $3800 for a tag of $42,790 (both before on-road costs). Sounds like a hefty premium for the automatic, but the auto does add a suite of safety and assistance features not available in the manual car, including AEB, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning and lead vehicle start alert.

Manual versions do get blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, however, and both models have seven airbags.

All the usual comfort and convenience stuff is on both models – auto LED headlights, dual-zone climate control, navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio and so on – with the only addition to the top-spec Coupe S model being natural and synthetic leather trim and Ultrasuede for its seat material, plus front seat heating. The BRZ Coupe S (manual) is $40,190, while a Coupe S auto is $43,990 (both before on-road costs).

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So are you tempted? Fact is, until the twinned Toyota GR86 arrives later this year, the BRZ occupies a unique niche. You could cross-shop it against a Hyundai i30 N hatch (faster, but front-drive) or a Mazda MX-5 (strictly a two-seater) but nothing else offers the Subaru’s brilliant rear-drive dynamics with the plus-two cabin at this price.

No wonder the first 500 were snapped up. This is a reboot that retains everything great about the original while addressing its weaknesses, and arrives as a sweet internal-combustion antidote to the anodyne EV wave.

2022 Subaru BRZ specifications