Subaru BRZ

The letters STi and WRX – along with blue bodywork and goldcoloured wheels – are the first thing that springs to mind when the name of the Japanese manufacturer is mentioned.

Yet its newest sporty offering, the BRZ, is very much old-school and makes do with a flat-four engine without a turbocharger that offers a mere 197bhp. There’s no four-wheel drive either, just a six-speed manual gearbox sending power to the rear wheels.

Launched last year, the limited initial supply meant that high levels of demand from British buyers couldn’t be met. It is only recently that more cars started arriving into the country. Time for a closer look, then.

The BRZ is a modern-looking 2+2 coupe, with a low centre of gravity and looking fine and dandy in classic blue paint, and with a long, slim bonnet that give way to bulging wheel arches.

This is a relatively lightweight Subaru sports car, not only in terms of performance. It checks in at 1230kg for the manual gearbox version, so oodles of power are not necessary for enjoyable performance. Top speed is 140mph and the 0-62mph sprint time is 7.6 seconds.

But the BRZ – Subaru’s take on the Toyota GT 86 – was designed with driving fun at its core and is more about feel and response, which in this price bracket is as good as it gets. The 2.0-litre engine has a captivating thrum, while the slick short-throw six-speed manual gearbox is a joy to engage with.

The BRZ was born from a desire to build a more back-to-basics sports car which would offer the purest handling, and central to this philosophy was an ultra-low centre of gravity and balanced (53/47 per cent) front/rear weight distribution.

Subaru has achieved this by fitting the car with the next-generation, horizontally-opposed 2.0-litre Boxer petrol engine, which sits as low and as far back as possible. This engine, revised for the Subaru BRZ, enables the car to benefit from competitive fuel economy and emissions while also offering an engaging driving experience.

In any sports car the most enjoyable part should be in the grey area between slip and grip, and how the car responds and works with you in this fun zone. With the BRZ, you can step into this zone at sane speeds rather than the everincreasing limits that most fast modern cars demand.

It goes against the trend for more power, more weight and more grip and instead provides balance, agility and delicacy. The standard fit Subaru Vehicle Dynamics Control has three modes, so you can have it fully switched on for sensible times, but the intermediate mode gives you a little play with a reassuring safety net. But in truth with it switched fully off the balance between power and grip is just right; there’s not enough grunt to get you into trouble but sufficient to make the BRZ dance just how you want it. If there ever was a car to teach you the core principles of driving, then this is it.

On a practical level, the BRZ has a decent boot that will accommodate a supermarket shop, but the rear seats are suitable for children or very short journeys only.

The BRZ line-up is offered with a 2.0-litre petrol Boxer engine, and customers have the choice of two transmissions, six-speed manual and six-speed automatic with paddle shift, and two trim levels, SE and SE Lux.

The dashboard and centre console were designed primarily for ease-ofuse so that drivers only need glance at controls – a combination of clear piano switches and dials – while concentrating on the road ahead.

The instrument binnacle in front of the driver is also kept as clear as possible, with a large digital display complementing the clear analogue speedometer and tachometer. Also to keep driver distractions to a minimum, engineers have employed a new low-gloss, high-quality material finish for the dashboard to reduce glare on the windscreen.

With the same focus on driver usability, the steering wheel is free of auxiliary controls, though SE automatic models are fitted with compact paddle shifters to allow drivers to enjoy manual-shift motoring whenever they wish.

Front seats come with six-way adjustment as standard, and head restraints feature three-way adjustment – up, down and tilt.

Every BRZ is equipped as standard with newly-designed 17- inch aluminium alloy wheels, finished in silver and black. Boosting the car’s visual presence, the new wheels are designed to improve brake cooling, while achieving a fine balance between reduced drag, reduced weight and component strength.

Standard equipment levels include body-hugging black fabric sports seats and a tilt-adjustable telescopic steering wheel. Other features worth noting are dual-zone automatic air conditioning, CD player and six speakers, multi-function display, pop-up headlamp washers, remote central locking, cruise control, automatic on/off headlamps, aluminium pedals, leather-trimmed steering wheel and gear knob, power-folding heated door-mirrors, keyless smart entry, engine Start/Stop push button, USB and auxiliary audio input jack. On SE Lux models, leather and Alcantaratrimmed sports seats and seat heaters are also standard fitment.

Very civilised, extremely good fun and eye-catching in its design, the BRZ should be on the shopping list of anyone looking for a sports car.

Subaru BRZ

PRICE: from £24,995

ENGINE: 2.0-litre petrol unit 197bhp and 151lb.ft of torque

TRANSMISSION: six-speed manual gearbox driving the rear wheels

PERFORMANCE: top speed 140mph, 0-62mph in 7.6 seconds

ECONOMY: 40.9mpg combined

CO2 RATING: 181g/km