Nissan GT-R vs Subaru BRZ

What's the difference?

The GT-R of the famous R32 era was a direct response to immortals like the Audi Ur Quattro and Porsche 959 that preceded it in the 1980s.

But the Nissan’s true gift since then is that it has evolved over successive generations, to serve as a glimpse of what these long-discontinued European supercars might be like if they, too, were allowed ongoing development, rather than dropped.

As such, the last R35 GT-R as we know it in Australia is far from disadvantaged, even 15 years on from launch, because it was devised and developed outside of the usual constraints and compromises of mere mass production sports cars.

In 2022, then, the Nissan GT-R remains timeless and transcendental. It’s still an incredibly moving and thrilling driving experience… if you can get hold of one.

Just in case you haven’t figured it out, we’re deeply in love with the BRZ tS. It’s a sublime beauty with a tantalising breadth of talent, while still being affordable and practical enough as an everyday run-around.

And, yep, even with the auto, the BRZ tS is its own and very special thing. Do it before coupes die out completely. 

At its 2007 unveiling, R35’s design chief, Shiro Nakamura, revealed to your author that the GT-R had to express modern Japanese culture, singling out the giant robots of the Gundam genre.

It also had to look “mechanical”, something highlighted by the squareness and creases. He also mentioned something about “…withstanding fashion trends throughout its lifetime while evolving with the times”, calling out Porsche’s 911 as inspiration. Clearly the circular tail-lights connect with the Skyline originals of the 1960s.

Some 15 years later, mission accomplished.

Six years in the making and with the design locked in during 2004, the GT-R was nevertheless a global project, overseen by Mr Nakamura but with input from Nissan’s US (mainly the rear quarter view) and UK outposts (roofline). The latter remain as striking as ever.

Despite its blocky visage, the R35 boasts an impressive drag coefficient of 0.26 Cd, aided by particular airflow elements and helping it achieve a 320km/h top speed. While the GT-R’s body consists of steel, aluminium and carbon-fibre to contain kerb weight to a very reasonable 1751kg, the latter also partly makes up the platform, further assisting aero.

Hands down, this is the coolest supercar in the world. 

Compared to the previous model, the latest BRZ has similar proportions but has changed in a few important ways.

For instance, the body is about 50 per cent stiffer than before. The bonnet, front mudguards and roof are now aluminium, and the fuel flap is plastic. This helps bring a 4.0mm drop in the centre of gravity, which benefits handling and ride dynamics.

The BRZ is longer then the first-generation version by 25mm (at 4265mm), has a wheelbase that’s been stretched by 5.0mm (to 2575mm), is 15mm shorter (at 1310mm) and has wider rear tracks (at 1550mm), but overall width (at 1775mm) remains the same.

Being a tS, STI has fitted special badges around the car, different alloys and uprated (Brembo) brakes, amongst other things. And the changes are just as subtle inside.

“We could have made the cabin much tighter, like a sports car, but we didn’t, because even though it is one of the fastest cars in the world, at the same time we wanted to make enough space to drive every day.”

Those are Mr Nakamura’s words from 2007 again, highlighting how user-friendly the GT-R’s cabin was designed to be.

Ample, sedan-like space is available up front, so people can get in and not feel cramped or hemmed in at all. This is in keeping with the old three-box Skyline philosophy. Australians can see it in the 1973 Datsun 240K, a distant cousin of the GT-R.

Back to 2022, with its fascia angled slightly to the right and the binnacle moving vertically with the steering column, the Nissan's whole focus is on driver welfare, and so making it a better sports car in the process. Storage is excellent, as is ventilation, while vision out is enhanced by the upright windscreen pillars and acutely rectangular side window shapes that offer their own brutalist ambience.

Just a few years ago, the equally squarish dash would have seemed laughably dated – and some of the details still are – but the physical switchgear feels fresh again after an endless wave of newer models with touchscreens and sub-menus that require fiddly prodding, when a button does the job better. That they’re weighty and mechanical in their operation adds to the GT-R’s mystique.

Being a T-spec, swathes of suede-like material also bring real class to the interior, along with the green-on-green colour scheme, chunky gear lever, thick-rimmed three-spoke wheel, hefty paddle shifters and exacting build quality. Actual 3D dials are lovely to behold as well.

Racy, tombstone-style electrically-actuated front seats, too, rise to the occasion, enveloping their occupants with an inviting sumptuousness that brings both comfort and support for hours on end. They also feature a clever curled knob that deftly takes care of reclining and fore-aft duties in one. Does any other car offer such an item?

Several seasons ago, Nissan overhauled the centre console, cleaning up the intimidatingly complicated switches and simplifying the various, customisable digital readouts that provide deeply intricate accounts of engine, driving, performance and vehicle operation data via arcade-game-like analogue-look dials. It’s really over-the-top techy and yet also mid-2000s cool, and that should thrill the curious teenager in us all. The fact that Polyphony Digital of Gran Turismo video-game fame helped develop all this just makes the R35 all the more cooler.

However, the Nissan parts-bin digital graphics, especially in the multimedia system, betray the GT-R's advancing years, as they’re so obviously steeped firmly in another era. They convey info efficiently, but they’re out of place in such as an exciting, hedonistic machine.

Plus, in keeping with a car that was released the same year the original Apple iPhone was, there’s no adaptive cruise control, digital radio and wireless smartphone charger, let alone Apple CarPlay/Android Auto of any description. But you’ll find Bluetooth connectivity as well as active noise cancellation tech at work in there, along with an 11-speaker audio system of outstanding sound quality, a USB port and... even a plug for your iPod.

Moving out to the rear, there are two seats bisected by a centre console that runs the length of the cabin, providing a natural armrest as well as a drink holder and home for a pair of Bose speakers.

The cushions are comfy enough, as are the well-angled backrests, and an average-sized person like your 178cm tester can rest back there for short periods in relative civility as long as they don’t sit too upright to avoid scalps touching the rear window.

Finally, further back, there’s a pleasingly long, deep and wide boot area, offering 315 litres of richly carpeted cargo capacity. A high loading lip and odd shape limit the amount of luggage you can put inside, however, while there’s no in-cabin access like a ski-port or folding backrests. It’s a separate compartment.   

But, like the rest of the Nissan’s cabin, the GT-R remains appealingly practical for a supercar. As Mr Nakamura said, “…you can use it for daily life, anywhere and anytime.”

Is there anything more retro than sitting down low in a sports car with just centimetres separating your buttocks from bitumen?

This is the BRZ experience, but once sat snug, ensconced in superbly supportive sports seats, you forget all about the fumbled entry and graceless egress that awaits and instead revel in the moment.

Arms outstretched, hands gripping a perfectly-sized wheel, ahead of crisp electronic instrumentation, with controls so intuitively placed and presented that soon everything’s operated via muscle memory, Subaru has nailed the ergonomics.

Oh, and the joy of a handbrake lever! It's just so naturally and beautifully driver-orientated. 

Okay. Owners of the original (ZD6) generation will already know all this. So what’s changed? Besides nothing conceptually, basically everything executionally.

The dated old dash has been ditched for a dated – but much prettier – new fascia, that’s all horizontal layers and matt black plastic, just like Japanese sporty coupes were in the 1970s and ‘80s. Except for the 8.0-inch touchscreen, of course, which looks a little aftermarket with its low-res TomTom nav, but is easy to figure out and a cinch to use on the go.

The climate control and toggle switches are lovely to use, there’s bottle storage in each door and, as a bonus for going automatic, an extra beverage holder to the pair beneath the centre-console lids exists. This matters if you're regularly transporting thirsty passengers cramped out back. More on that in a moment.

Other than the contortions required to get in and out, the BRZ’s is actually shockingly practical – from the surprisingly good all-round vision afforded by all that glass area as well as thinner pillars and sleeker exterior mirrors than before, ample ventilation and handy storage, to front-seat comfort and a compliant ride.

Plus, you’ll soon learn that the frameless doors provide easier entry and exiting when their windows are down. You wouldn’t think twice about commuting in this baby. Cancel that expensive small SUV order now!

The tS’s extra suede-esque upholstery, baboon’s butt red starter button and STi instrumentation cluster lift the ambience above the cheap sports car vibe of the 2012 original, while the whole ensemble is superbly screwed, clipped and/or glued together.

Gripes? For such a recent model, the lack of a USB-C port anywhere in the BRZ is an oversight. There are no overhead grab handles to help haul yourself out. At speed there's too much road noise. And only the front passenger seat has a single-action slide-and-tilt motion with return for getting through to/from the back, meaning you’re forever grappling with seat levers if you need to enter/exit from the driver’s side.

Now, granted, the rear pair of seats are occasional-only for taller folk, but there’s every chance the '+2' element of the Subaru is the main reason you’d be pondering one of these over, say, the strictly two-seater MX-5.

At 178cm, your tester just about hits the height limit for back-seat accommodation. Actually, the cushion and backrest base are thoughtfully padded and angled, but scalps scrape ceiling and/or glass depending on posture, the front-seat occupants need to slide their chairs forward for knees to fit and there’s barely any space for bigger feet.

But then, this is not the point of a coupe. The fact the BRZ is fine for shorter trips adds another level of practicality, even if there are no grab handles or reading lights to access. And, thoughtfully, the cabin engineers created the centre console lid to remain open for rear-seat access to cupholders, two USB-A ports and a single aux (!) outlet.

That's why the auto's extra cupholder comes in so handy.

Further back, the one-piece backrest folds flat to boost cargo-carrying practicality and versatility, since the boot is a modest 201 litres in capacity. And, it’s now easier to do that thanks to a boot-sited backrest release. It beats having to clamber inside the car every time, as per the earlier generation BRZ.

Keep in mind the tS loses the other BRZ grades’ full-sized spare wheel, presumably in the name of dynamic precision. A tyre-inflation kit is a poor substitution in puncture-prone Australia.

Oh well. At least you’ll be in a pleasant and charming coupe environment whilst you wait for roadside assistance.

With cheap coupes almost extinct nowadays, even at $48,690 (all prices are before-on-road costs), the costliest BRZ still represents exceptional value-for-money.

Here’s a plot twist, though. Our test tS is an auto, but only costs $1000 more, from $49,690. And it is pretty well equipped to boot.

Every BRZ includes four-wheel ventilated disc brakes, a mechanical limited-slip differential, keyless entry/start, adaptive LED headlights, dual-zone automatic climate control, an 8.0-inch touchscreen, a reversing camera, satellite navigation, digital radio, wired Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, heated and power-folding exterior mirrors and 18-inch alloy wheels.

And whether talking about the six-speed manual or auto, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep systems, tyre pressure monitors and other driver-assist safety technologies are now fitted across the range.

Based on the mid-range BRZ S specification, which over the base grade replaces cloth for a perforated suede-like material with leather trim and adds heated front seats, the tS brings STI-tuned suspension, Brembo brakes, darker alloys, blacked-out mirrors and roof antenna, a red/black interior trim combo, a push-button start and an STI-specific instrument cluster. All for a $3600 premium.

However, the laudable full-sized spare wheel in the other grades is turfed for a fiddly puncture repair kit. This is a retrograde step.    

Plus, the factory will not supply a sunroof, smartphone charger or wireless connectivity for your Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, though of course your usual Bluetooth phone connectivity with associated streaming is present.

So, with all these items, the BRZ tS’ sub-$50K retail price is red-hot value against the gorgeous MX-5 RF, since you’ll need to step up to the mid-range GT costing about $5K more than the Subaru for keyless entry and heated seats.

But, while only two people can fit inside, the Mazda has that magnificent acrobatic electric targa roof that no Subaru can match.

Then it’s a substantial jump to $75,800 for the rousing Nissan Z, though that boasts almost double the engine outputs thanks to a ferocious twin-turbo V6 powerplant.

Whichever way you look at it, and whatever coupe you choose, we salute you, Japan Inc.

Does it get better than this?

The GT-R’s VR38DETT is already steeped deeply in motoring folklore. it really is one for the ages.

But just in case, here are the salient facts. It's a handmade 3799cc 3.8-litre 90-degree V6, with intercooled twin turbochargers, double overhead cams and variable valve timing, pumping out an incredible 419kW of power at 6800rpm and 632Nm of torque from 3300-5800rpm.

Tipping the scales at an entirely admirable 1751kg (kerb), the GT-R boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 239kW per tonne, helping it scream to 100km/h in 2.7s, on the way to a top speed of 320km/h. There’s a launch control system to help the latter out.

Drive is delivered to all four wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission with a trio of modes depending on the level of performance desired, courtesy of Nissan’s traction and yaw-based ATTESSA AWD system. This features an electro-magnetic clutch and 1.5-way mechanical LSD to shuffle between 50 and 100 percent of torque rearwards. Suspension is double wishbones up front and a multi-link out the back.

Weight distribution to 53/47 front-to-rear.

Under the BRZ’s bonnet is the same 2.4-litre horizontally-opposed ‘boxer’ four-cylinder petrol engine, with double overhead cams and direct-injection.

Power is rated at 174kW at a heady 7000rpm while the 250Nm torque maximum kicks in at 3700rpm. Tipping the scales at about 1310kg, the power-to-weight ratio is an impressive 133kW/tonne.

The boxer engine drives the rear wheels only via a six-speed manual or, in this case, an Aisin-supplied six-speed torque-converter automatic transmission with paddle shifts.

Given the Euro 5 emissions-rated GT-R’s prodigious performance, a 15.3 litres per 100km result in a mix of urban, freeway and performance driving is actually not too bad. Again, it's all relative.

Nissan’s claims are 12.0L/100km (and 17.2L/100km and 9.0L/100km for the urban and extra-urban runs respectively), for a carbon dioxide emissions average of 281 grams/km.

A sizeable 74 litres of 98 RON premium unleaded petrol is what the recommended tipple is, allowing over 615km between refills.

The BRZ is not tuned to save money at the petrol bowser.

What did we manage? Air-con on always and driven hard often with fuel-sapping performance testing included, our not-fully-run-in tS returned a commendable 10.2L/100km, while the car’s trip computer read out was 9.7L/100km.

Subaru says owners of the automatic model should expect to average 8.8L/100km on the combined cycle. Choosing to go manual bumps that up to 9.5L/100km.

As a result, the carbon-dioxide emissions rating is 201g/km (auto) and 217g/km (manual).

Note that filling the BRZ auto’s 50-litre fuel tank with the required 98 RON premium unleaded petrol should eek out nearly 570km between refills using the combined cycle figure.

Nothing you've driven before is like the experience of familiarising yourself with a GT-R, going from initial intimidation to trust and cooperation. This is a supercar for all moods and seasons.

Above all, though, and even without the launch control activated that helps it get to 100km/h from zero in 2.7 seconds (making it still one of the fastest production cars in the world), the Nissan is ferociously fast.

That’s no shock at all, but what is further imprints on you the GT-R’s outstandingly broad capabilities, since it can pussyfoot about in Comfort mode like any reasonably well-sorted grand-touring sports sedan, like a tame lion. In such circumstances, the car's mechanical congeniality is testimony to the sheer scale of engineering talent going on behind the scenes.

Choose Sport or Race modes, and the forces that the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 unleash are nothing short of seismic, swelling up and subsuming you in a tidal wave of relentless thrust that just doesn’t let up. With the exhaust wailing and the scenery blurring by, it is starkly clear that the GT-R is a supercar of tremendous speed.

Over the years, Nissan has improved the dual-clutch transmissions operation, reducing the driveline's abrupt clunkiness that marred earlier versions, for a smoother and yet still bolt-action rifle-rapid shifter that serves to facilitate all that walloping performance. In the sportier modes, with the configurable dampers, torque split and traction settings unshackled, a ham-fisted driver can still illicit a thump from the gearbox as it clumsily engages the ratios required, but overall, it’s a far-more seamless mover and shaker than before.

As you’d expect, the steering walks a fine line between agility and heft, responding calmly yet quickly, for direct and decisive handling. The GT-R feels hunkered down at all times, and it seems to dig in even more as you turn up the wick, unfazed by turns or the state of the road below.

What’s impressive is just how deceptively fast this is, since the car glides along so effortlessly. Yes, there is the engine's alluring aural soundtrack to remind you of the vast speed you potentially might be doing, but the chassis’ incredible control numbs your sense of speed.

While the suspension is set up for firmness, the adaptive dampers help calm the ride, bringing a sophisticated suppleness over most urban terrain. There isn’t much ground clearance at 107mm, but the double wishbones and multi-link arrangement does a terrific job filtering out the bad stuff. Furthermore, backed up by fiercely instantaneous brakes, the Nissan never feels nervous nor unsettled.

Sure, it’s far from quiet, with a decent amount of road noise droning through over some types of country roads, but it’s rarely challenging or distracting. The large turning circle is one of the few faults, in an otherwise satisfying driving and dynamic experience.

It's important to note that, though the styling has hardly changed over the years, the GT-R has evolved and developed for the better over time. For a supercar, its range stretches from benign to ballistic and from mellow to unmerciful, with towering confidence and control.

There are 28 very lucky drivers in Australia right now, wondering whether the replacement will also display Miss Congeniality and Conan the Barbarian with such charming authority. Drive a GT-R to realise how close to greatness it remains to this day.

The brilliant thing about the BRZ/GR86 twins is they’re just so great to drive regardless of transmission.

And, after a week behind the wheel of the BRZ tS auto, there are even unique benefits to make a very strong case in its favour over the admittedly incredibly satisfying manual.

The numbers tell a compelling story.

With an impressive 133kW/tonne (or thereabouts) thanks to a larger engine (with 18 per cent more power and 20 per cent more torque than before) and a tight-ratio six-speed auto, the BRZ springs off the line with an almost frenetic liveliness, providing snarly, punchy performance right to its lofty 7500rpm red line.

Select manual mode and the auto will also hold bounce off the rev limiter.

Okay. It’s still not sports car fast, per se, with relatively modest outputs and a 0-100km/h time in the mid-six second bracket, but what there is works hard to make you feel like you’re going very quickly. That said, the BRZ will bowl along at quite a cracking pace.

Select 'Sport' mode, and there’s even more urgency, with the sweetly-calibrated auto hanging on to its ratios a little longer. Here’s where the Tiptronic-style lever/paddle shifters come into play, allowing for that extra level of interactivity.

Even with out test car's odo well under 1000km, this boxer engine has a very deep set of lungs and a lot of bandwidth to explore.

The generational change that saw the swapping out of the old 2.0-litre for this torquier 2.4L seems to be for the benefit of the auto.

And that’s not even the best bit.

The BRZ skates along with an Olympian’s confidence and control, providing an agility and grace reserved for Porsches, Lotuses and the like.

And it’s not just the wonderfully tactile steering at work either, because this possesses that rare seat-of-the-pants connection that makes the driver feel like part to the car.

Suspension is by MacPherson struts up front and a double-wishbone arrangement. Subaru reckons weight distribution is a close-to-ideal 53:47 front/rear.

Like all second-gen BRZ/GR86 models, the architecture underneath is loosely based on Subaru’s small-car platform that dates back decades, though it has been significantly updated and improved along the way.

If you love the sort of driving where you long to sense the road, corner with the throttle and swing out the rear of the car using just your hips, then the tS is your sort of sports car.

From the brilliant brakes to the nuanced tune of the traction control systems, balanced precision is the name of the game here. It tingles senses like an ASMR sensation. The fact this is as an auto does not change anything.

And, you know what? The uprated STI dampers even seem to benefit ride quality, because while the tS is obviously a taut and muscular drift-ready machine, the suspension is never too stiff or hard, allowing this BRZ to be more than capable as a commuting machine.

Yep, even over craggy inner-urban pot-holed and tram-lined roads, the Subaru’s comparative comfort and sophistication only endeared us to it even more.

So, surely there are downsizes, right? Well, the Michelin Pilot 4 215/40R18 tyres sure love to amplify road noise inside. This is not a quiet car over some of our coarser bitumen surfaces, and it can quickly become tiresome.

And… that’s it for criticism from a driving point of view. The BRZ tS can put a smile on your face just like MX-5s and Caymans can. Even/especially the auto if you will seek to schlepp around in one every single day with a minimum of fuss.

And all for around $52K drive-away. Bargain. Where do we sign up?

Unlike the previous BRZ, the second-gen version does not have an ANCAP rating.

Subaru says it has taken the old platform and applied elements of its newer architecture to improve front lateral flexing rigidity by almost 60 per cent and body torsional rigidity by approximately 50 per cent.

The body sees beefier body-welding techniques, reinforced (yet slimmer for improved driver vision out) A- and B-pillars, and an increase in hot-pressed materials, high-tensile steels and aluminium in impact areas make for better occupant safety.

Seven airbags are fitted (dual front, front side, curtain and driver’s knee), along with Subaru’s 'EyeSight' preventative safety system featuring AEB with 'Pre-Collision Brake Assist', blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, 'Reverse Automatic Braking', lane change assist, 'Lane Departure Warning' (LDW), 'Lane Sway Warning', 'Lead Vehicle Start Alert', 'High Beam Assist' and adaptive cruise control (with full-stop functionality).

All manual as well as automatic BRZs now have the full driver-assist tech suite included as standard.

Also present are tyre pressure monitors, Brembo ventilated four-wheel disc brakes, a mechanical limited-slip differential, electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes with 'Electronic Brakeforce Distribution' and 'Brake Assist', traction control, 'Brake Limited Slip Device', a 'Brake Override System' and a reversing camera.

There is no data on the AEB speed/operation parameters at the time of publishing, but the LDW activates from 50km/h.

Finally, three child-seat tether points and two ISOFIX anchor points are fitted in the rear.

The warranty period is for five-years/100,000 kilometres, with service intervals fixed at every six months or 10,000km – whichever occurs first. There is also five years of roadside assistance.

Unlike all other Nissans officially imported in Australia, there is no capped-price servicing for GT-R. And it requires specially trained service technicians so contact Nissan to find out which dealers can carry out the task.

All Subaru BRZs come with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, as well as one year’s free roadside assistance. Service intervals are at 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

There is five years/75,000km of capped-price servicing available, with the first starting from around $365, then stretching to $586, $460, $825 and $380 for an average of $523.