2022 Wheels Car of the Year contender: Subaru BRZ

The Subaru BRZ’s reputation precedes it. Here’s a car that, in its previous generation, was as decorated as a war hero, including recognition as the 2012 Wheels Car of the Year, which it claimed alongside congenital twin, the Toyota 86. Now in its second incarnation, the Japanese sports car is returning to the battlefield firmly holding onto its principles, offering a modern interpretation of affordable, lightweight, front-engined, rear-drive, coupe fun.

But is it modern enough? While the boost to power and torque from a larger capacity flat-four engine is welcome, the new 2.4-litre boxer unit is thirstier than the 2.0-litre. An updated cabin now features a large central touchscreen and cup holders that hold cups and not occupant’s elbows, but the interior revisions are light in the context of the outgoing model.

And while the new exterior look manages to be fresh, mature and has been achieved using all-new body panels, its underpinning structure is the same. This gen-2 BRZ is therefore perhaps better described as a heavy update rather than an altogether new model.

There’s still a lot to like, however. The bigger engine is an eager revver and is equally happy deep into the torque zone or snapping the tacho needle off at 7500rpm. The synthetic engine sounds piped into the cabin divided the judges, but all agreed the 2.4-litre is well applied to the Subaru’s sports halo if not necessarily the sweetest or most advanced unit.

Praise was also awarded to the snappy six-speed manual, although opting for the stick forfeits the excellent Eyesight suite of safety features the auto customers get as part of the deal – a black mark against the criteria.

“BRZ is as fun as cars get, and they’ve made it about 10 percent more fun again” Dylan Campbell

But easily the BRZ’s party piece is its chassis.

“A big welcome back to a Subaru for keen drivers!” said Jez. “Wonderfully quick steering, responsive front end and no shortage of grip.”

Near-perfect spring and damper rates for the round-one testing in the PG helped the BRZ stand out dynamically, and yet its sports-focused suspension tune offered surprising composure over a wide range of surfaces. The little Subie demonstrated that all-round incremental improvement is sometimes all that’s necessary to maintain the appeal of an existing model.

But despite styling as sharp as its price, and a brilliantly involving package of classic BRZ performance and dynamics, the 2022 model advances the game only incrementally from the generation that put it on the map.

“The old BRZ felt old-school and somewhat classic out of the box a decade ago,” noted Curt. “And this newie just feels very much more of the same, if a little extra where it needed to lift its game over the original, such as friendlier torque and more grip from those Michelins.”

A more-efficient turbocharged engine could have achieved the same performance enhancements and more, minus the impact to fuel economy, while the inclusion of all safety features for all variants would also have given the BRZ a chance to advance its cause.

None of that, however, prevented the Subaru’s keys being among the hardest to pry out of judges’ hands in this year’s testing.

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