Queer 4 Cars Celebrates the Automotive Lifestyle.

 

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Pulling into a driveway with the 2016 Hyper-Blue Edition Subaru BRZ  the first response was, “That’s a pretty car, what is it?”  I said, “A Subaru!”  “I thought Subaru’s are for trekking in the woods” was the surprised response.

While we Americans have long had an image of the Subaru brand as being one that is utilitarian, sturdy, and dependable with its Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, and boxy design, many are not aware that the brand is so much more, and this 2016 Hyper-Blue Series Subaru BRZ is a great example that not all Subies are set for rough roads.

 

 

While you may not think of Subaru as high-performance muscle cars, it has a long history of sporty cars, and even “sport trucks,” think the original Brat from the 1970’s or the SVX of the 1990’s, not to mention the ever popular rally and autocross favorite the WRX, which is often seen modified and street racing.

 

 

The BRZ shares a platform and design with the Toyota 86 (previously known as the Scion FRS,) in a classic sports car shape. These are the collaboration by two automakers, bringing the best of each brand to the build. Subaru’s legendary Boxer Engine, Toyota’s long history of sports cars, combined into a sporty riding and handling coupe,

 

 

 

 

The BRZ is a young auto enthusiast’s car, it could be considered pretty lean for most modern auto consumers. While it has plenty of standard features, this car is a driver’s car, and really nothing more, creature comforts are basic. The BRZ is noisy, you hear not only the road, and what sounds like a number of the mechanicals from the engine and transmission, though in a good way, almost to the level of a decades earlier import mini-pickup truck noisy.

 

 

While most American driver’s will just turn up the radio to drown out any unwanted sounds, the BRZ’s radio is not an audio enthusiasts dream, and the touch screen controls were hard to use, and required you to take your eyes off the road. This has been changed with the 2017 model by putting audio controls on the steering wheel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the BRZ has seats for four, but best fits two, a driver and a passenger, as the back seats have almost no legroom, fine for packages, but little else.

 

 

Trunk space is small though adequate for a simple over night trip,  don’t plan on using it to load up at the big box store, that is what the Outback or Forester is for.

 

 

 

 

 

Agility is a big part of the fun of the BRZ, steering inputs are immediate and put you exactly where you aim the wheel.

With short shifts, that are very solid and intentional, it did take a while to learn where each of the six-manual-speed shifts were located.  Revving the 2 liter normally aspirated Boxer engine was not a problem when you missed a shift, (it sounded great) and was very forgiving. This street racer was quite secure on the road, and provided an economical 29 mpg on premium (91 or higher fuel) after a week of driving on both straight line highway and twisty country roads.

 

Do not think this car is going to let you slip by unnoticed, the attention factor is high, especially in this Hyper-Blue (a bright powder blue) color with shiny black wheels. I found that this car got attention from everyone from young boys, to the highway patrol, which means you have to be careful how you drive it.

 

It is indeed a driver’s car, and for under $30K, it is a car that you will enjoy if you enjoy spirited driving. It is not a car where you set the cruise control and get to your destination without thought. This is a car that is all about the road, as the fun is in the driving, and the destination is just where you end up.

 

Words and Photographs (other than where noted) by William West Hopper.