2024 Subaru BRZ tS PVOTY Review: It’s Not You, It’s Us
We still really care for Subaru’s buzzy little sports car, but the tS doesn’t make us fall in love all over again.
Pros
- Better brakes, tires, suspension
- Still affordable
- Fun!
Cons
- Still the same-ish
- Repeat after us: It could use more power
- Not enough tS tuning
The mere fact that the Subaru BRZ still exists in today’s automotive landscape is a borderline miracle. An affordable, purpose-built sports car with rear-wheel drive and an available manual transmission? A naturally aspirated engine? And Subaru just made it even better?
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To be sure, we’ve loved us some BRZ (and its Toyota GR86, neé 86, neé Scion FR-S sibling) since it first burst onto the scene more than a decade ago now, and while it’s changed some (more power was the biggest addition) over the years, the formula has remained largely the same. But like most things you unconditionally love at first, sometimes that blinding shine wears off over time.
Perhaps to combat a sense of complacency, Subaru has bedazzled its latest BRZ with the optional tS (tuned by STI) package seen here, which primarily consists of a sterner set of Brembo brakes, more performance-oriented tires, and some minor suspension upgrades.
Although the Brembos didn’t help stop it appreciably harder than the base BRZ during our test of the tS, the brakes were called out by several judges after their laps around Chuckwalla Raceway as not being as prone to fade as the stock stoppers after hot laps. The tires got a mention or two as being grippier, as well. That’s about the extent of the kudos for the tS package.
Most of the rest of what the judges opined about likely could have been lifted from any of the many stories we’ve written about the BRZ. While the second-generation model attempted to address our chief complaint about the initial car’s lack of power by upgrading from a 2.0-liter flat-four to a 2.4-liter flat-4 with 228 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque, which helped, oomph (or the lack thereof) remains a sore spot.
Sure, the tS gets from zero to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds, but as features editor Scott Evans put it: “This car is great, but it would be even greater with a turbocharger or something. “It’s lots of fun to whip around the track, but once you find its limits, you’re just kind of dancing around there, and the party is over.”
There were some who came to the defense of its power as being well matched to its chassis, however, and to be clear, just about everyone short of one hater had a ball wringing out the BRZ around Chuckwalla, with the only real complaint being that its gearing wasn’t well matched to the track’s layout.
Most of the judges couldn’t help but wonder, though, how much better could the BRZ be with some substantial changes? The tS package simply didn’t deliver enough good stuff to make our heels fall over our heads again. But then you start talking about more money, changing too much of the formula that made us fall in love with it at the outset.
“Whoever buys this car is doing it because they love driving,” senior features editor Kristen Lee said. She’s right, and while that’s more than enough of a reason to buy one in our book, it’s not quite enough for us to crown it this year’s Performance Vehicle of the Year.
One of my seminal memories was the few months I spent helping my cousin Steve literally build me from the frame up a super sick 1970 Chevy Nova in his garage just off of 8 Mile (yes, that 8 Mile). Black with white SS stripes. 350 V-8. Blackjack headers. Ladder bars. Four on the floor. Drum brakes all around. Mainly I helped hand him the wrenches, the bondo, the buffing wheel, the beer. When it was finally done and I blistered the tires for the first time, plumes of smoke filling up my rear view, I felt like a true American Bad Ass (pre Kid Rock). That's what it was like for so many of us who grew up in The D back in the day. It was about muscle. Detroit Iron. So when I had an opportunity to get into this crazy business, you best believe I leapt like a bionic cheetah at the chance. Over the past three decades or so (carbon dating myself), I've been honored and privileged to be a part of four outstanding publications in Motor Trend, Automobile, Autoweek, and the Detroit Free Press. And while the salad days back in my cousin's garage seem a million miles away, my love for cars -- and my hometown of Detroit -- have never wavered. Neither has my commitment to delivering the best possible experience to the readers I've served and will continue to serve now and in the future.
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