- Upgraded brakes and dual-mode dampers make the tS ready for a track day right out of the box
- Low curb weight makes up for the lack of power
- Responsive and communicative, this is a true driver’s car
- For regular fun driving the base BRZ is a better value
- Not a great solution for commuting or long highway drives
- Cramped backseats are for kids or adults in an emergency, only
Overview
– Ann Arbor. MI
The Subaru BRZ occupies a very narrow niche in the U.S. car market today. While there are plenty of exciting, and fun-to-drive cars available in the mid-$30,000 range, only a handful offer rear-drive, an available manual, and the sublime handling that can only be achieved with a low curb weight. Toyota’s BRZ development clone, the GR86, and the convertible Mazda MX-5 Miata are the only true challengers here. Base versions of the Chevy Camaro, Ford Mustang, Nissan Z, and Toyota Supra get close but are either heavier, a lot more expensive, or both.
The tS trim of the BRZ, new for 2024, stands for “tuned by STI” and reflects a car that’s better prepared from the factory to perform well and consistently on the track, but without suffering huge drawbacks as a daily driver. In addition to a few subtle visual changes to the car – the most impactful being the model-specific 18-inch wheels – the tS also gets a Brembo brake package with larger rotors front and rear (up 1.2- and 1.0-inches, respectively) and more aggressive pads, in addition to stiffer Hitachi dampers at all four corners.
Why It’s Great
If you’re merely in the market for a sporty coupe, the BRZ is an excellent option but the tS trim probably isn’t worth the added cash. After all, the base car is still massively fun to drive quickly, with a characterful and revvy 2.4-liter boxer four-cylinder connected to an easygoing six-speed stick shift. The outputs of 228 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque are quite mild in today’s landscape, but the pointed exhaust note and linear power delivery make wringing out every ounce of thrust a real pleasure.
However, if you are thinking of tracking the car, opting into the tS for about $5K over the base car makes a lot of sense. The more powerful brakes are an obvious upgrade for track work. And the dual-mode Hitachi dampers, in concert with fixed-rate springs, allow for better compliance in rough road situations without sacrificing stiffness (and therefore grip) under a cornering load. Getting those mods from the factory still allows for specific customization to your own driving style, too – specifically, adding wider wheels and stickier tires would transform future lap times.
On the everyday driver front, the addition of Subaru’s excellent EyeSight driver assistance package – camera-based adaptive cruise, lane keep assist, auto braking, and more – is a huge value for tS. This is the first time Subaru has offered EyeSight in a BRZ with manual transmission and, frankly, this is a car that falls apart a bit with an automatic.
What It’s Missing
Splashing out on the tS trim doesn’t do anything to make the BRZ a complete daily driver for anyone other than a single, childless gearhead. The small coupe has rear seats that are best saved for extremely short trips or extremely short friends. The rear-drive ‘Ru also rather unrefined in the departments of noise, vibration, and harshness, and it isn’t well suited to long stretches of highway driving, even with adaptive cruise. This generation of BRZ is more refined than the OG in these regards, but you’d still rather have Civic Si to drive to the office five days a week, trust me.
Also Try
For those of you, like me, who like an open-top car more than just about anything, the similarly priced – and even more compromised – Mazda MX-5 Miata is well worth a test drive. And you probably owe it to yourself to see if the specific detailing and pricing of the Toyota GR86 is more your cup of tea, too.
If you can stomach a front-wheel-drive option there’s a lot to choose from in the $35K zone. The Honda Civic SI is awfully nimble and has a spectacular manual trans, and the Hyundai Elantra N is a banging value with 276 horsepower under the hood.
Is It A Forever Car?
The performance-tuned trim of a pure sports car from a beloved brand: Yeah, this one is going to be a keeper for a lot of folks. Toss in the notion that the BRZ tS is likely to be rather rare, and you’ve got a car worth saving long-term garage space for.
- On Sale: Now
- Base Price: $35,345 + $1,120
- As-Tested Price: $36,465
- Engine: 2.4-Liter Flat-Four
- Output: 228 Horsepower / 184 Pound Feet
- Transmission: Six-Speed Manual
- Drive: Rear-Wheel
- EPA Fuel Economy: 20 City / 27 Highway / 22 Combined
- 0-60 MPH: 6.0 Seconds (est.)
- Top Speed: 140 Miles Per Hour
- Weight: 2,846 Pounds
- Seating: 4
- Cargo Capacity: 6.3 Cubic Feet
