Napleton News Review Subaru BRZ

All new since its 2013 introduction, the 2022 Subaru BRZ Limited returns ready for more fun. Napleton News was lucky enough to spend a week in this little hot rod and wanted to tell you more about it. Bend down, buckle up and let’s go.

New, Improved and More Stylish

Following a spa treatment, the Subaru BRZ Limited, which was designed in conjunction with Toyota’s GR86, received some significant upgrades. They include the following:

• A sleek new design.
• An all-new chassis with a lower center of gravity for more fun behind the wheel.
• Digital gauge cluster upgrades
• A more powerful 2.4-liter boxer 4-cylinder engine with more horsepower and torque.
• A solid streak of high reliability.

What’s the Subaru BRZ Limited all about?

The goal of the Subaru BRZ Limited is to provide a fun-to-drive vehicle for a reasonable price. High fun, low price. What a concept! It’s a rear-drive 2+2 sports car with a pair of seats in the back. But let’s be serious. There will be no butts in those rear buckets. Instead, fold them forward to take advantage of a generous cargo hold, making the BRZ the perfect vehicle for weekend road tripping.

A 2.4-liter flat “boxer engine” powers the Subaru BRZ. Operating with horizontally-opposed pistons, it offers a lower center of gravity and occupies less space than a traditional inline-4. It can be a bit more complicated than a non-boxer engine, so buyer beware. It’s an engine similar to the one powering the large Subaru Ascent 3-row SUV. In this case, it delivers 228 horsepower @ 7,000 rpm and 184 lb-ft of torque @ 3,700 rpm. It’s a naturally-aspirated engine that runs without the benefit of a turbocharger. Still, it makes 23 more ponies and 28 more torques than the former BRZ’s 2.0-liter engines.

Subaru BRZ Engine

The best part of this new engine is the power comes on at a lower point in the powerband than before. That means you won’t be standing on the skinny pedal as much as you used to with the older engine. Since our test model was the Subaru BRZ Limited, it took advantage of the 6-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel with paddle-shift levers.

That automatic gearbox comes includes other options like EyeSight Driver Assist Technology. This includes Adaptive Cruise Control and High Beam Assist headlight controls, pre-collision braking and a lane departure warning system.

How does the new Subaru BRZ look?

The Spousal Unit (my wife) immediately fell in love the first time she saw the BRZ. “It looks like a Porsche,” she said. (It looks like no Porsche I have ever seen, but I digress.) Instead, think of the new BRZ as an evolution of the old model, only better. More refined than before, it now includes functional air intakes that work to cool the brakes. On the trailing edge of the front wheel wells are vents that help to release heated air from underhood. Other aerodynamic enhancements are here, including an undercover insulator. Others include a tapered, lowered roofline with a double bubble look and a throwback to the so-called Gurney bump featured on some Ford GT models to accommodate taller drivers.

A subtle ducktail spoiler offers a clean view of the BRZ’s rear end as it’s going away.

How about the BRZ interior?

The interior of the new BRZ is a more aggressive take on the previous model. But there’s more this time around. Start with a new high-definition screen to show the driver just what is happening under the hood, under the car, and your foot. It is fully configurable and features a center-positioned speedometer with gauges and a G-meter to the left. On the right side are fuel and water temperature gauges.

At the top of the center console is a standard 8-inch touchscreen display. Through this screen, you control Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and Sirius XM satellite radio.

The two “actual” seats in front are comfortable, although some may find them confining across the back. Still, they hold you in place, especially when exploring the limits of the BRZ’s grip.

Driving the Subaru BRZ Limited

Now more powerful than ever, the new Subaru BRZ Limited brings more off-the-line acceleration than the previous model. Pulling power (torque) is there, making this the perfect track day car and one that will drive you back home afterward. Don’t forget to change back to your street tires, either!

Thanks to the new powerband, the boxer engine’s torque comes on at a much lower level. That’s great for acceleration and it enables the BRZ to sprint from zero to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds. We shifted into sport mode and had a blast blipping through the gears via the wheel-mounted paddle shift levers.

Handling is greatly improved here as well. Kudos to the design and chassis engineers who lowered the center of gravity lightened the load and tuned the suspension. It’s really grippy through the corners, thanks to a combo of quick steering and sticky tires.

The engine note was intoxicating, especially when our right foot offered some encouragement. The only downside we found was the road noise level in the cockpit. We think that’s probably due to the lack of sound deadener to reduce weight.

Otherwise, this big dog stamps his seal of approval on this new Subaru BRZ Limited. Dog tested and dog-approved, indeed.

Subaru BRZ Limited Specifications