2019 Subaru BRZ

Essentially the Subaru BRZ is available with just two trims which are Premium and Limited. A special edition Series. Gray trim has also been added to the lineup; limited to just 250 units. The base-level Premium trim starts at $25,795 and only comes with a manual. It comes with basic features like a 6.2-inch touchscreen with Bluetooth connectivity, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, automatic headlights, 17-inch wheels, and cloth upholstery. The Premium’s touchscreen skips Android Auto or Apple CarPlay compatibility, although Subaru’s native system is fairly straightforward and easy to understand. The second trim is the Limited which comes with both a manual and automatic transmission.

The BRZ Limited adds synthetic suede inserts into the upholstery, heated front seats, fog lights, keyless ignition, dual-zone automatic climate control, and an upgraded 7.0-inch touchscreen. The lucky few who snapped up all 250 Series. Gray versions of the BRZ got special wheels, interior accents, badges added to performance package-equipped BRZ Limited cars for $31,025 if not more.

Which Trim should you buy?

The base Premium package is our pick of the bunch as it comes with nearly all the creature comfort features that you’ll ever need like a 6.2-inch touchscreen, an 8 speaker audio unit, cloth upholstery, LED headlights, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and a few more nitty-gritty. For those who want an automatic though, the Limited is their only option. 

The 2019 BRZ is quite a fuel-efficient car as the small four-cylinder boxer engine is good enough for 21mpg for city driving, 29mpg for the highways, and 24mpg for the combined conditions. These are figures for the manual transmission cars and the automatic ones are even more impressive. The automatic Subaru BRZ is rated for an increased 24/33/27 mpg for city, highway, and combined cycles respectively.

With a quite smaller fuel tank and average fuel efficiency figures, the BRZ and 86 cousins sit at the lower side of the spectrum while the Nissan is the least fuel-efficient but offers a much bigger fuel tank making it the leader of the board. The real surprise is the cute little Miata which has the best fuel efficiency figures. The Subaru as we can see does not provide great efficiency figures or a superb range. 

The 2019 BRZ has quite a decently put-together cabin layout. There is not a lot of clutter and you’ll get all you need in the right places without the need of digging around much. The quality of materials used is quite good while the lower part of the dashboard does have some scratchy hard plastic bits which are quite expected at this price point. Just like every other sports car out there, the Subaru also claims to have a 2+2 cabin, but the back seats are best for carrying luggage as they are just not suitable even for kids. 

The front seats though are surprisingly spacious and quite practical as well. You do get a feeling of sitting quite low to the ground and that is basically the whole idea of being into a low-slung sports car. These may not be the most spacious sets of the bunch but they are rather good at their job. These are sports bucket seats so they are contoured in a way to give you utmost comfort. The finish is leather with Alcantara in the middle for the top of line Limited trim while the lower trims get cloth finishes. Also, the seats are heated for added convenience.

The 2019 BRZ offers a 6.9 cu-ft of trunk volume which might not be a lot but for a small sports car, it is quite enough. Further, the rear seats can also be used as some extra space to carry a few more bags because that is the best utilization of that space. The Nissan has the most spacious front row seats but both the 370z and Miata are strict two-seaters while the Subaru and Toyota get additional two seats. Now the additional seats can’t really accommodate people but still, more space is always welcomed. Standout interior features include:

• Cloth upholstery
• Manually adjustable front seats
• Dual-zone automatic climate control
• Leather and Alcantara upholstery
• Heated front seats

What’s there to keep you entertained?

The Premium BRZ's 6.2-inch infotainment display includes a single-disc CD player, AM/FM and satellite radio, Bluetooth, and apps for music streaming services. The Limited and Series. Gray trims have a larger 7.0-inch touchscreen display which adds Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, HD radio, and subscription-based navigation with traffic updates. 

Also in the higher trims is a 4.2-inch color screen next to the tachometer, which displays data like braking and g-forces, accelerator pedal position, steering angle, fluid temperatures, and lap times. All BRZs are equipped with an eight-speaker sound system, two USB ports, an auxiliary audio input. Standout infotainment features:

• 7.0-inch Touchscreen Infotainment Display
• AM/FM radio
• Navigation
• Apple Carplay and Android Auto
• Bluetooth and Dual-USB ports
• Satellite Radio
• CD Player
• 8-speaker Audio

The 2019 Subaru BRZ is undoubtedly a very smart-looking sports car. It is quite an old design now but they have done just the right things to make it look up to date even by today’s standards. So the front starts with a long and low bonnet which houses the engine. There are not a lot of cuts or creases here but the design is rather smooth and chiseled. The lower bumper has the front grille and even that doesn’t have big intakes. Then to the side, there are inlets for the radiator and obviously some aerodynamic trickery. The headlights with projector bulbs and LED DRLs look smart and striking and add to the character of the car.

The side profile has the unmistakable stance of a sports coupe with a sloping roofline and wide hunches for the wheel arches. Top-of-the-line trim comes with 18-inch alloy wheels which look utterly sporty. There are no vents as such on the side and just some cuts above the front wheel arches. The rear gets a spoiler to add to the sportiness quotient and also the LED taillights. The twin exhaust pipes housed lower in the bumper are a thing to look out for while going over larger speedbumps. There is also an option to add a rear bumper diffuser to further enhance the styling of the car. 

The Miata is the smallest car here so it is very much expected that it also will be the lightest one here. Just like that, the 370z is the heaviest car in the bunch and also the biggest one too. Subaru and Toyota, which are ideally the same car, lie somewhere in between the Miata and the 370z in terms of dimensions and numbers. Standout exterior features include- 

• 17-inch alloy wheels
• Wing spoiler
• Twin exhaust pipes
• Black exterior badges
• High-performance Brembo brakes

Well the Subaru BRZ is quite a safe car considering it’s a small sports coupe but it does seriously lack a lot of active safety features. NHTSA has tested the car for just front and rollover crash tests in which it scored Four and Five stars respectively. The car is not very good at frontal crash protection due to low ride height and the unavailability of knee airbags. 

Further IIHS also crash-tested the car and while they awarded the BRZ with a “Good” rating for all other parameters, the small overlap front crash test got the car stuck where it received just an “Acceptable” rating. Primarily because after the crash test, the car’s structure was deformed which means the driver’s survival space was not maintained well. Also, the dummy’s head missed the airbags and slid to the side. The BRZ is effective quite a safe car but there are places that need some improvement. Standout safety features in the Subaru BRZ are the following: 

• Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)
• Traction Control System (TCS)
• Brake Override System
• Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
• LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL)

2019 Subaru BRZ vs 2019 Toyota 86 GT

The Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 are essentially the same cars so there is not even a single difference between the two other than the logos and the badges. So effectively you won’t go wrong if you pick any one of those. There are a few styling changes and those like a slightly edgier looking car, then the 86 GT might excite them. Also, the Toyota 86 has a few more trim levels to choose from which gives it an advantage over there. The 2019 Toyota 86 is also just a bit more expensive than the Subaru.

2019 Subaru BRZ vs 2019 Mazda Miata MX-5 Miata Club RF

The Mazda Miata MX-5 is the OG small sports car. It is the car that defined and started this segment and is still a pretty solid car to buy. Over the years it has seen a lot of updates and though in its newest avatar it still looks strikingly beautiful to us. It is small, nimble, and agile just like a sports car should be, and also very fuel-efficient. If it is about pure driving fun, then the Miata will be our pick despite being the least powerful one here.

2019 Subaru BRZ vs 2019 Nissan 370Z

With a big powerful V6 under the hood, the Nissan 370Z definitely has an advantage over the others in terms of power and performance. But that is pretty much all it has to offer. It is quite a heavy car, not very fuel-efficient and expensive as well. The base variant which is the only one that can be compared to the Subaru lacks features and is nowhere close to the BRZ when it comes to the value for money quotient. It does have a bit more space in the front row but the BRZ comes with additional two seats which is a bigger advantage. Overall the Nissan is a very good car but is certainly a one notch upper segment than the BRZ and here in this comparison, the BRZ is the better car.

In a world where everything is seeming to move towards being digital and more and more driver aids are ruining the driving feel, the Subaru BRZ is a raw and analog car that teaches you what a sports car should be like. It is quite practical, very good at handling corners, is decently powerful, and is as comfortable as a sports car should be. It is very perfect for the job it is designed to do and though it is running quite old now, we still love it and would always be excited to see one in our driveway.