The 2013 Subaru BRZ: What the critics say

Automobile

The Subaru BRZ is the kind of sports car “we don’t see much anymore—light, lithe, fun, and affordable.” Developed with Toyota, which will market a Scion version called the FR-S, it’s a driving purist’s delight, “blessedly free of gimmicks” from the cockpit on down. We’ll admit: “We never thought of Subaru as a sports-car maker.” But the road feel of this little rear-wheel-drive coupe is “spot-on.”

The Wall Street Journal

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The BRZ “does something brilliant, even revolutionary”: It aims to feel faster than it truly is, and winds up being immensely satisfying to drive. The ultralow center of gravity, the “nap-of-the-earth seating position,” and resonator tubes that pump exhaust sounds into the cabin all help perpetrate the fraud, but we’re not offended in the least. This coupe is “an absolute riot” to operate. On winding roads, it “wags its fanny like a runway model.”

Car and Driver

Toyota has no reason to be jealous. In our road tests, the Scion was even more prone to wave its tail. Other than that, there’s little difference between the two cars, since Subaru engineered both and Toyota took care of the styling. The two firms “should be proud of what they’ve built”—especially because it takes courage these days to put simplicity ahead of technology.