Took delivery yesterday; thoughts/reflections from first 50 miles.

dpjdrum said:

- not unusual for MT cars I’ve had, but less than 30 degree temps seem to make transmission a little finicky. This was definitely the case when I picked it up and test drove for first time. Shifter was not as smooth or easy as two others I had sat in within the past few weeks. Was a little concerned, but it had been sitting outside in 20 degree weather for several days at the dealer before I picked it up but figured if there turned out to be an issue, I could take it in for warranty. Once I got it home and in garage before driving it again, it was as smooth as the other two I had sat in previously.

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dpjdrum said:

- stereo isn’t good, but definitely not as bad as I expected it to be given all the comments I’ve read about it

- Wish cup holders in center console were removable to create an open bin storage space. Cup (really bottle) holders in doors are sufficient for my needs without use of ones in center console.

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Gojarino said:

Great write-up. I'm looking to get a GR86 soon so I'm eager to read any firsthand reviews.



If the new generation uses the same transmission as the old FT86 platform, I recall reading that the fluid in the transmission gets thick at low temps and will feel mushy until it gets warm. You can solve this by replacing the fluid with a more performance-oriented fluid.



These are actually the points I'm most worried about lol. I love my music. I don't know how it will compare to my stereo in my Impreza. It's not great, but I hope the 86's isn't worse.
I hope it's not too much of an issue to operate the manual transmission while having a drink in the cupholder.

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Gojarino said:

Great write-up. I'm looking to get a GR86 soon so I'm eager to read any firsthand reviews.



If the new generation uses the same transmission as the old FT86 platform, I recall reading that the fluid in the transmission gets thick at low temps and will feel mushy until it gets warm. You can solve this by replacing the fluid with a more performance-oriented fluid.



These are actually the points I'm most worried about lol. I love my music. I don't know how it will compare to my stereo in my Impreza. It's not great, but I hope the 86's isn't worse.
I hope it's not too much of an issue to operate the manual transmission while having a drink in the cupholder.

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TRU-BOOST said:

1st I have heard about clutch chatter on one of these. That was never common on 1st gen cars unless it was aftermarket. I hope the techs, porters and sales people at your dealer didnt take it out and pummel the snot out of it with no miles on the clock. Something like that can absolutely cause a clutch to not engage smoothly. The surface of the clutch disk and flywheel can become glazed making it skip and chatter without proper break in.

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Maxey said:

A lot of great points, dpjdrum. I especially appreciate the comments about being able to dim the instruments. You also said you can turn the infotainment system off at night, but am wondering, is it dimmable also?

Like you, I dim all cabin lights when driving at night as there are a lot of critters running around where I live. I don't think most people realize how much bright instrument lights will cause your eyes to struggle to see what's ahead -- in effect your eyes are straining to see in the dark because they are, in effect, competing with the bright lights of your instruments.

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LanceLane174 said:

I have the limited and I think the stereo is just fine. I will get the sub when it is finally offered. But for now even the bass sounds fine at medium to high volume. I can't put it all the way up like in my legacy and Forester with the Harmon Kardon. But for what it is it sounds great.

Road noise isn't that bad on the Pilot Sport 4 tires. But I will be changing them today for PS all season 4 tires and who knows what those will sound like. I will be selling the summer tires. In St Louis the weather is too finicky to bother with summer tires for 6 months out of the year.

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dpjdrum said:

Picked my Premium 6MT BRZ up yesterday. Here’s a quick list of observations/thoughts from first 50 miles of driving. For some context, I’m in my mid-30s, two kids under 5. The most relevant cars to the BRZ that I have owned are: ’05 Si, NB Miata (both pre-kids), ’07 Civic sedan, ’13 Lexus GS350. All bought used and each were great in their own right. I do a combination of highway and two-lane driving. The majority of our backroads, interstates, and highways are very well maintained and very smooth for the most part.

Likes (in no particular order):

- infotainment screen easy to turn all the way off for night driving (I like to dim and turn off any unnecessary bright cabin lights at night)

- headlights are fantastic

- gauge cluster very dimmable

- less road noise than expected (17 Primacys). Very doable from a daily standpoint.

- better ride than expecting - still firm but not harsh at all

- not quite as direct/sharp feeling as the Honda S2000, but more comfortable

- perfect balance between ride/handling for my needs (curvy roads, mostly great blacktop in my area)

- even staying below 4k RPM and still not having floored it, power is totally sufficient for every day driving. Looking forward to getting through the break-in period

- cabin heater works extremely well. In my climate, negates the need for seat heaters altogether.

- I don’t feel paranoid driving it or parking it in a lot like I would a $60k+ car. So freeing to be able to use and enjoy it without constantly be thinking about the cost to replace tires, brakes, etc every time I want to do some spirited driving.

- Back seats will handle my kids just fine for short trips, even with booster seats. Lot of comments on back seat being useless, but for the age of my kids, this will work great for 8 - 10 years to come and is a huge bonus to be able to enjoy the car and hang out as a family at the same time.

- Shifter action is great and fun to row through the gears.

- Premium (base) wheels look great.


Dislikes

- definitely some clutch chatter under 2k rpm. Not something I’m worried about from reliability standpoint, but something I’ll need to get used to. Car has a mechanical feel overall, which can be good and bad.

- stereo isn’t good, but definitely not as bad as I expected it to be given all the comments I’ve read about it

- Wish cup holders in center console were removable to create an open bin storage space. Cup (really bottle) holders in doors are sufficient for my needs without use of ones in center console.

- my elbow eventually opens up the center console each time I’ve driven it. With center console “doors” open, doesn’t reduce arm comfort though, so not a huge deal. Could have been designed better though.

- seats could use more lumbar support; I haven’t tested this yet with only 50 miles on odometer, but I think long trips will be somewhat uncomfortable unless I bring something to support my lower back more. No issues driving around town so far though.

- not unusual for MT cars I’ve had, but less than 30 degree temps seem to make transmission a little finicky. This was definitely the case when I picked it up and test drove for first time. Shifter was not as smooth or easy as two others I had sat in within the past few weeks. Was a little concerned, but it had been sitting outside in 20 degree weather for several days at the dealer before I picked it up but figured if there turned out to be an issue, I could take it in for warranty. Once I got it home and in garage before driving it again, it was as smooth as the other two I had sat in previously.

- Really hate the front license plate bump out and holes on the bumper. It's ugly and detracts from the whole front end. I’m in a state that doesn’t require a front plate. I feel like this was a big oversight by Subaru. Obviously not even close to a deal-breaker for me, but still a really big head-scratcher.

Other thoughts:

- Part of the deal was that I would test drive it and have option to turn the car down and get my deposit back. Based on all the reading on forums that I’ve been doing, I was fairly concerned that I was going to be disappointed with several aspects of it (excessive road noise, poor ride quality, interior quality/rattles, power/quickness) and might need to walk away and keep my 2013 Lexus GS350 as my daily. All those concerns quickly went away upon my 15 mile test drive. This is by far my favorite car I’ve ever owned. Over the past two years, I've shopped and test driven ND Miatas, Porsche 996s and 997s (C2, C4, C4S), S2000s, ’17 Si coupe, ’19 Type R. Never could pull the trigger on one; each had one or two fairly big dealbreakers for me, even as much as I went into each test drive wanting to love them). I was resigned to keeping my GS350 for a few more years and hoping the new Si or Integra would fit the bill, but was excited to see the reviews/details come out for the BRZ/GR86. For my specific set of needs, the BRZ is nearly an ideal car, and far away the best combination of attributes for me, regardless of price point. It’s a complete joy to drive and I couldn’t be happier overall, especially given the price point and likely inexpensive maintenance once the warranty expires.

Click to expand...

dpjdrum said:

Picked my Premium 6MT BRZ up yesterday. Here’s a quick list of observations/thoughts from first 50 miles of driving. For some context, I’m in my mid-30s, two kids under 5. The most relevant cars to the BRZ that I have owned are: ’05 Si, NB Miata (both pre-kids), ’07 Civic sedan, ’13 Lexus GS350. All bought used and each were great in their own right. I do a combination of highway and two-lane driving. The majority of our backroads, interstates, and highways are very well maintained and very smooth for the most part.

Likes (in no particular order):

- infotainment screen easy to turn all the way off for night driving (I like to dim and turn off any unnecessary bright cabin lights at night)

- headlights are fantastic

- gauge cluster very dimmable

- less road noise than expected (17 Primacys). Very doable from a daily standpoint.

- better ride than expecting - still firm but not harsh at all

- not quite as direct/sharp feeling as the Honda S2000, but more comfortable

- perfect balance between ride/handling for my needs (curvy roads, mostly great blacktop in my area)

- even staying below 4k RPM and still not having floored it, power is totally sufficient for every day driving. Looking forward to getting through the break-in period

- cabin heater works extremely well. In my climate, negates the need for seat heaters altogether.

- I don’t feel paranoid driving it or parking it in a lot like I would a $60k+ car. So freeing to be able to use and enjoy it without constantly be thinking about the cost to replace tires, brakes, etc every time I want to do some spirited driving.

- Back seats will handle my kids just fine for short trips, even with booster seats. Lot of comments on back seat being useless, but for the age of my kids, this will work great for 8 - 10 years to come and is a huge bonus to be able to enjoy the car and hang out as a family at the same time.

- Shifter action is great and fun to row through the gears.

- Premium (base) wheels look great.


Dislikes

- definitely some clutch chatter under 2k rpm. Not something I’m worried about from reliability standpoint, but something I’ll need to get used to. Car has a mechanical feel overall, which can be good and bad.

- stereo isn’t good, but definitely not as bad as I expected it to be given all the comments I’ve read about it

- Wish cup holders in center console were removable to create an open bin storage space. Cup (really bottle) holders in doors are sufficient for my needs without use of ones in center console.

- my elbow eventually opens up the center console each time I’ve driven it. With center console “doors” open, doesn’t reduce arm comfort though, so not a huge deal. Could have been designed better though.

- seats could use more lumbar support; I haven’t tested this yet with only 50 miles on odometer, but I think long trips will be somewhat uncomfortable unless I bring something to support my lower back more. No issues driving around town so far though.

- not unusual for MT cars I’ve had, but less than 30 degree temps seem to make transmission a little finicky. This was definitely the case when I picked it up and test drove for first time. Shifter was not as smooth or easy as two others I had sat in within the past few weeks. Was a little concerned, but it had been sitting outside in 20 degree weather for several days at the dealer before I picked it up but figured if there turned out to be an issue, I could take it in for warranty. Once I got it home and in garage before driving it again, it was as smooth as the other two I had sat in previously.

- Really hate the front license plate bump out and holes on the bumper. It's ugly and detracts from the whole front end. I’m in a state that doesn’t require a front plate. I feel like this was a big oversight by Subaru. Obviously not even close to a deal-breaker for me, but still a really big head-scratcher.

Other thoughts:

- Part of the deal was that I would test drive it and have option to turn the car down and get my deposit back. Based on all the reading on forums that I’ve been doing, I was fairly concerned that I was going to be disappointed with several aspects of it (excessive road noise, poor ride quality, interior quality/rattles, power/quickness) and might need to walk away and keep my 2013 Lexus GS350 as my daily. All those concerns quickly went away upon my 15 mile test drive. This is by far my favorite car I’ve ever owned. Over the past two years, I've shopped and test driven ND Miatas, Porsche 996s and 997s (C2, C4, C4S), S2000s, ’17 Si coupe, ’19 Type R. Never could pull the trigger on one; each had one or two fairly big dealbreakers for me, even as much as I went into each test drive wanting to love them). I was resigned to keeping my GS350 for a few more years and hoping the new Si or Integra would fit the bill, but was excited to see the reviews/details come out for the BRZ/GR86. For my specific set of needs, the BRZ is nearly an ideal car, and far away the best combination of attributes for me, regardless of price point. It’s a complete joy to drive and I couldn’t be happier overall, especially given the price point and likely inexpensive maintenance once the warranty expires.

Click to expand...

dpjdrum said:

Picked my Premium 6MT BRZ up yesterday. Here’s a quick list of observations/thoughts from first 50 miles of driving. For some context, I’m in my mid-30s, two kids under 5. The most relevant cars to the BRZ that I have owned are: ’05 Si, NB Miata (both pre-kids), ’07 Civic sedan, ’13 Lexus GS350. All bought used and each were great in their own right. I do a combination of highway and two-lane driving. The majority of our backroads, interstates, and highways are very well maintained and very smooth for the most part.

Likes (in no particular order):

- infotainment screen easy to turn all the way off for night driving (I like to dim and turn off any unnecessary bright cabin lights at night)

- headlights are fantastic

- gauge cluster very dimmable

- less road noise than expected (17 Primacys). Very doable from a daily standpoint.

- better ride than expecting - still firm but not harsh at all

- not quite as direct/sharp feeling as the Honda S2000, but more comfortable

- perfect balance between ride/handling for my needs (curvy roads, mostly great blacktop in my area)

- even staying below 4k RPM and still not having floored it, power is totally sufficient for every day driving. Looking forward to getting through the break-in period

- cabin heater works extremely well. In my climate, negates the need for seat heaters altogether.

- I don’t feel paranoid driving it or parking it in a lot like I would a $60k+ car. So freeing to be able to use and enjoy it without constantly be thinking about the cost to replace tires, brakes, etc every time I want to do some spirited driving.

- Back seats will handle my kids just fine for short trips, even with booster seats. Lot of comments on back seat being useless, but for the age of my kids, this will work great for 8 - 10 years to come and is a huge bonus to be able to enjoy the car and hang out as a family at the same time.

- Shifter action is great and fun to row through the gears.

- Premium (base) wheels look great.


Dislikes

- definitely some clutch chatter under 2k rpm. Not something I’m worried about from reliability standpoint, but something I’ll need to get used to. Car has a mechanical feel overall, which can be good and bad.

- stereo isn’t good, but definitely not as bad as I expected it to be given all the comments I’ve read about it

- Wish cup holders in center console were removable to create an open bin storage space. Cup (really bottle) holders in doors are sufficient for my needs without use of ones in center console.

- my elbow eventually opens up the center console each time I’ve driven it. With center console “doors” open, doesn’t reduce arm comfort though, so not a huge deal. Could have been designed better though.

- seats could use more lumbar support; I haven’t tested this yet with only 50 miles on odometer, but I think long trips will be somewhat uncomfortable unless I bring something to support my lower back more. No issues driving around town so far though.

- not unusual for MT cars I’ve had, but less than 30 degree temps seem to make transmission a little finicky. This was definitely the case when I picked it up and test drove for first time. Shifter was not as smooth or easy as two others I had sat in within the past few weeks. Was a little concerned, but it had been sitting outside in 20 degree weather for several days at the dealer before I picked it up but figured if there turned out to be an issue, I could take it in for warranty. Once I got it home and in garage before driving it again, it was as smooth as the other two I had sat in previously.

- Really hate the front license plate bump out and holes on the bumper. It's ugly and detracts from the whole front end. I’m in a state that doesn’t require a front plate. I feel like this was a big oversight by Subaru. Obviously not even close to a deal-breaker for me, but still a really big head-scratcher.

Other thoughts:

- Part of the deal was that I would test drive it and have option to turn the car down and get my deposit back. Based on all the reading on forums that I’ve been doing, I was fairly concerned that I was going to be disappointed with several aspects of it (excessive road noise, poor ride quality, interior quality/rattles, power/quickness) and might need to walk away and keep my 2013 Lexus GS350 as my daily. All those concerns quickly went away upon my 15 mile test drive. This is by far my favorite car I’ve ever owned. Over the past two years, I've shopped and test driven ND Miatas, Porsche 996s and 997s (C2, C4, C4S), S2000s, ’17 Si coupe, ’19 Type R. Never could pull the trigger on one; each had one or two fairly big dealbreakers for me, even as much as I went into each test drive wanting to love them). I was resigned to keeping my GS350 for a few more years and hoping the new Si or Integra would fit the bill, but was excited to see the reviews/details come out for the BRZ/GR86. For my specific set of needs, the BRZ is nearly an ideal car, and far away the best combination of attributes for me, regardless of price point. It’s a complete joy to drive and I couldn’t be happier overall, especially given the price point and likely inexpensive maintenance once the warranty expires.

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dpjdrum said:

I agree, a small sub will help my premium 6 speaker setup quite a bit. Completely adequate though as it is for taking calls and having texts read back through CarPlay.

Please keep me posted on how your PS all season 4s change the road noise, if at all. I've thought about putting all seasons on after my Primacys are worn out, but that will likely be a few years from now.

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LanceLane174 said:

So far the All Season PS4 sounds quieter than the regular ones. But I think they are both relatively quiet compared to what people were making it sound like they would be.

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dpjdrum said:

Thanks! The dial wheel to the left of the steering wheel that dims the instrument cluster also dimmed the infotainment. I'm not sure if there's another independent adjustment for the infotainment brightness within that system, or if it's always 1:1 with the cluster. Haven't looked through all the setup menus yet. Was really glad to see the one-step process to turn off the screen though. My Lexus required going through several menus and was a hassle.

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