Subaru BRZ vs Subaru WRX

What's the difference?

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. 

Over three decades the WRX has matured into a more grown-up, refined performance package.

It’s fast with excellent dynamics, yet comfortable. Safety’s top-shelf, it’s well screwed together and the value equation stacks up. Rear seat headroom could be better and service costs are on the high side for the category. But I just love the way this car puts you in control.

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.

For a while there in the mid- to late teens it felt like Subaru was pulling the wraps off a ‘VIZIV’-themed concept car design roughly once every five minutes.

Future-focused SUVs, crossovers and wagons, as well as 2017’s Performance Concept, a muscular four-door that clearly had an influence on the look and feel of this car.

From its sinister headlights and all-business hood scoop to the pumped-up flared guards with black 18-inch alloys filling them, the WRX’s intent is clear.

And at the back the professional-grade theme continues with dual twin exhaust tips, boot lid lip spoiler and what looks like a multi-vane diffuser that’s actually more cosmetic than functional.

That said, a low-key technical design feature is the integration of air outlets on the trailing edges of the front wheel arch flares and the outer edges of the rear bumper.

This is to release air pressure from the wheel arches, forming external vortices to minimise body sway and drift caused by wind turbulence.

Inside, the cabin treatment is a fairly busy mix of sharpish angles and shallow curves, the dash dominated by an 11.6-inch, portrait-oriented multimedia screen with a separate instrument pod for the driver next to it.

The colour palette is mid-grey to black with dark metallic highlights here and there, with alloy covers on all three pedals as well as patches of faux carbon on the doors and steering wheel.

Sports front seats look and feel good and the overall standard of fit and finish is high.

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.

At just under 4.7m long, a little over 1.8m wide and close to 1.5m tall, with a roughly 2.7m wheelbase the WRX stands as a ‘big’ small sedan.

At 183cm I’ve got more than enough breathing room in the front, the away slope of the dash enhancing the feeling of space.

For storage, there’s lots, including a centre console box between the seats, two cupholders and some oddments trays in the centre console, door pockets with room for decent size bottles and a medium glove box

And in the back, sitting behind the driver’s seat set to my position, there’s good foot room, ample legroom, but sitting straight I experienced a bonce-to-roof interface in terms of headroom. No adjustable ventilation, either. Thumbs down.

Storage options include door bins with room for bottles, a single map pocket (on the back of the front passenger seat) and two cupholders in the fold down centre armrest.

Power and connectivity runs to a 12V socket in the front as well as USB-A and -C sockets for charging and/or media.

Plus two USB charge ports (again -A and -C) in the back, the latter a model year 2024 spec upgrade.

The WRX’s boot offers 411 litres of storage space, which is enough to accommodate our three-piece luggage set, but remember, the aperture isn’t as accommodating as a hatch or SUV’s. The 60/40 split-folding rear seats improve flexibility, though. 

A space-saver spare sits under the floor and braked trailer towing capacity is a handy 1200kg.

The Subaru WRX RS weighs in at $52,990, before on-road costs, and the RS Sport with CVT auto is a fraction below 55 and a half thousand dollars.

There are some tasty alternatives around that price band, including the Toyota GR Yaris ($51,390), Mazda MX-5 GT RS ($51,640) and Mini Cooper S Clubman Classic ($53,250).

But maybe the most telling competition is closer to home with the less powerful but even purer Subaru BRZ tS ‘2+2’ manual coupe undercutting its WRX RS sibling by more than four grand at $48,690, before on-road costs.

Either way, aside from the standard performance and safety tech we’ll get to shortly, this car boasts an impressive features list including dual-zone climate control air, eight-way power-adjustable and heated sports front seats, heated outboard rear seats, interior ambient lighting, synthetic suede seat trim, built-in sat-nav and an 11.6-inch portrait-oriented multimedia screen (with voice command).

There’s also 10-speaker Harman Kardon audio (with digital radio and 265mm subwoofer), wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, keyless entry and start, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, a sunroof, exterior LED lighting all around, ‘Steering Responsive Headlights’, rear privacy glass and 18-inch alloy wheels. 

Relative to its asking price and closest competitors this WRX RS delivers plenty of bang for the buck when it comes to performance and value.

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.

The WRX RS is powered by a 2.4-litre, horizontally opposed four-cylinder, turbo-intercooled petrol engine developing 202kW and 350Nm.

Some call it ‘flat’, others a ‘boxer’, but either way it’s the Rex’s mechanical calling card delivering its distinctively raucous, pulsing engine and exhaust sound.

The all-alloy unit features direct-injection and dual variable valve timing, its relatively flat design lowering the car’s centre of gravity significantly. 

And as mentioned earlier, in this case it’s connected to a six-speed manual gearbox driving all four wheels via a centre viscous limited slip differential able to distribute drive between the front and rear axles on demand. But you can have a CVT auto if you really want one in the RS Sport. 

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.

Subaru’s official combined cycle fuel-economy figure for the WRX RS is 9.9L/100km, which is moderate for a performance sedan like this. And it emits 225g/km of CO2 in the process.

Over a week covering mainly urban and suburban driving, with some enthusiastic sessions and a hint of freeway running thrown in, we recorded an average of 10.6L/100km, which isn’t outrageous.

Worth noting the minimum fuel requirement is the pricier 95 RON premium unleaded and you’ll need 63 litres of it to fill the tank which translates to a theoretical range of around 635km and roughly 595km using our real-world number.

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?

In driving the first Subaru Impreza WRX when it launched here in the early 1990s, the first attempt to control its surging, decidedly non-linear acceleration felt like pulling back on the reins of a bolting horse.

Subaru was in the thick of its commitment to the World Rally Championship (WRX stands for ‘World Rally eXperimental’) and the Japanese maker had a red hot product on its hands.

Fast forward to the 2024 version and the turbo torque still arrives with something of a rush but this is an infinitely more refined performance sedan than its relatively raw ancestor.

Subaru doesn’t quote a 0-100km/h figure but expect it to come up in the high five-second bracket and with maximum torque available all the way from 2000–5200rpm (and peak power taking over at 5600rpm) there’s always plenty or urgent acceleration available.

And that pulsing engine noise and percussive exhaust beat is still there in a no less distinctive and entertaining way. Our test car was fitted with the newly optional STi-branded exhaust ($2497, fitted) which adds to the aural impact. 

The gearshift isn’t ‘click-clack’ direct but it’s smooth and positive and the clutch is perfectly weighted. Such a pleasure to swap through the ratios, with a bit of old school heel and toe action thrown in for downshifts. Love it.

Subaru says the ‘Global Platform’ underpinning the WRX features a “full inner-frame construction” making it “14 per cent better in terms of front lateral flexing rigidity and 28 per cent stiffer torsionally” than its predecessor.

Suspension is strut front, double wishbone rear, which is a relatively sophisticated configuration allowing the WRX RS to combine impressive ride quality with excellent dynamic response.

The 245/40 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx rubber grips hard and steadfastly refuses to squeal or squirm in ‘press-on’ cornering, the AWD system defaulting to a nominal 45/55 front/rear torque split to deliver an initial rear-drive attitude with active torque vectoring helping to keep any pesky understeer in check. 

Push even harder and the system seamlessly adjusts the balance. And to top it off, the steering is great; accurate with good road feel.

Despite an alloy bonnet and front guards (even the fuel flap is resin) the WRX RS weighs in at 1482kg. That’s solid without qualifying as chonky, and it still feels nimble, responsive and balanced, helped in no small part by the boxer engine lowering the car’s overall centre of gravity.

The WRX has copped some criticism in the past about its braking performance under intense pressure. And while we didn’t hammer the RS around a race circuit we did repeatedly apply full-force to the centre pedal without any noticeable reduction in effectiveness. 

For the record, the system uses ventilated discs all around (290mm fr / 316mm rr) with dual-piston front calipers up front and singles at the rear. In everyday use the pedal is agreeably progressive.

Under the heading of general, mainly ergonomic, observations, the driver display may not be full digital but the 4.2-inch multi-information display in the centre of the instrument cluster delivers a healthy amount of relevant information clearly and simply.

At 11.2 metres the turning circle is okay, while vision for parking, supported by a high-def reversing camera is good. And applying the manual park brake is another reminder of the physical nature of this car.

The WRX is “unrated” by ANCAP (it’s maximum five-star rating timed out in 2022) but for the 2024 model year the RS manual picks up Subaru’s ‘EyeSight’ active (crash-avoidance) safety suite including features like AEB, adaptive cruise and more assists, warnings and alerts than you could poke a crash test dummy at.

Specifically, ‘Emergency Lane Keep Assist’, lane centring, ‘Lane Departure Prevention’, ‘Lane Departure Warning’, ‘Lane Sway Warning’, ‘Lead Vehicle Start Alert’, driver monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, ‘Pre-collision Braking System’, ‘Pre-collision Brake Assist’, ‘Brake Light Recognition’, ‘Speed Sign Recognition’ and tyre pressure monitoring.

If an impact is unavoidable, there are seven airbags onboard, including full-length side curtains and a front centre bag to minimise head clash injuries in a side-on crash.

There are three top tether points and two ISOFIX anchors for child seats/baby capsules across the rear seat. 

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.

Subaru covers the WRX with a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which is still the norm in the mainstream market, although more than a few brands are stepping up to seven years.

The main service interval is 12 months/15,000km, also on par with the market and (five-year/75,000km) capped-price servicing is available.

Average is just under $535 per workshop visit, which is on the high side but maybe to be expected for a highly-tuned car like this.

That said, Roadside Assist is complimentary for 12 months, which is a nice sweetener.