2013 Subaru BRZ Test Drive

The 200-hp 2013 Subaru BRZ is taken for a spin by the folks at Autoblog.

Here are a few exceprts from the article:

It's a good looking car, its most poignant ornamentation being the two bulges over the front and rear wheels, its stretched (and non-functional) hood vent a nice touch. The lightweight aluminum wheels are about the only visual cue that strikes us as a little off, or rather, the 245/45 R 17 tires: They're so skinny. Other markets will be offered 16-inch wheels, but we'll only get the 17s. We were told that the BRZ can handle 18-inch, 45-aspect-ratio tires, and we won't be surprised to see them quickly bolted on. On the matter of bolt-ons, though, Subaru won't be offering much alteration to the car off the dealer floor, but we were informed that the STI division is already at work on a host of parts.


We pulled out onto the oval and worked up to speed. Two hundred horsepower is enough for the sub-2,700-pound coupe, with the urgent-enough grunt, plentiful road feedback and engine noises making it feel like things were happening, but we wouldn't complain about more, a fact which shouldn't surprise you (the BRZ GT's 300 hp, anyone?). We aren't alone: One of the engineers, when asked what how he might alter the coupe, said "For the handling there's nothing to do, but yes, maybe a little more power."


The handling course had a top speed of 30 mph through the corners and 45 mph on the straights, which we're not sure if we should admit we broke, but... we did. The BRZ acquitted itself well, the zero-dive braking and turning letting one focus on timing and getting the wheels placed where we wished and keeping them there, which made it easier to get out of the corner – because with "just" 200 hp to play with, every bit of momentum you can maintain is precious gold. The eminently grippable steering wheel is the smallest Subaru makes, at 14.4 inches it's ¾-inch smaller than the next size up, and its 13:1 ratio doesn't demand much sawing to get through hairpins. Pushed as much as we could (noting the Subaru engineers posted at every corner), even with VDC off we were getting to the point of admitting "Now we're just getting crazy" before the front or back end stepped out of line. And yes, you can turn VDC completely off.

Check out the full test drive by following the link below.