Used 2017 Subaru BRZ Consumer Reviews

The Perfect Sports Car - For the Price

Keeping in mind that you can get the BRZ for less than $30,000 it is, in my opinion, the best sports car of the modern era. The driving position, steering feel, and ability for an amateur driver to push the BRZ to the limit is the reason that it makes every driver smile. The point of the BRZ (or the FR-S, or GT 86 since they are all essentially the same car) is to make a grown-up feel like a child again. The car makes me giggle, and flatters my abilities to the point where I never feel unsafe. I was in a unique situation where I was able to purchase one of the 500 Hyper Blue BRZ's and as long as I never wreck it, I expect it to be a future classic. So whenever I get the chance, I take it for a blast through the hills, or if I can leave a little early, I take the long way to work and arrive with a smile plastered across my face. In a world where most of us drive grayscale people carrying boxes, the BRZ feels extra special. It's a reminder of how much fun driving can be, and without putting in too much money, it has the comforts, look and finish of a far more expensive car. The interior has Hyper Blue stitching to match the paint, and with black accents, the BRZ feels just right. The controls are where you expect them to be, and the large, centrally mounted tachometer runs happily up above 7000rpm before a light flashes at you to shift up before you ping it off the limiter. As driving experiences go, it is hard to get more smiles per gallon for my money. UPDATE: after 10,0000 miles the BRZ has become an extension of me and I am happy to say I still love it. UPDATE 2: after 16,000 miles it’s still perfect for me.

2013 BRZ Limited 6 Speed Manual

As mentioned by others a lot has been written about this car and most of it is true. The car is very well balanced and is great on the backroads. Power is adequate given the weight of the car too much more and it would affect the driving dynamics of the vehicle. Shifting is very precise and short just the way you want it but in the cold weather until the car warms up shifts from 1st to 2nd can be a bit clunky. layout of interior is fantastic seats are supportive but being sport seats can be a little snug for larger people. Back seat to me are just there to save insurance costs not very practical at all. Very well appointed for the money, stock tires are way too brutal over road transitions.

A pure driver's car for under 30K

Others both professional and amateur have reviewed this car all over the internet. Let me confirm that the positive hyperbole is actually warranted. Incredible sports car for the money. If you are a car enthusiast, you must drive this car. Steering is quick and nimble, suspension is firm and confident, acceleration could be better, but who cares when you are giggling and grinning as you carve up any curve with confidence. The boxer rumble is nice, I wouldn't mind some more noise from the stock exhaust. Weak points are what you would expect: small trunk, small backseat, low entry into car tough for taller folks (I'm 6'2" and can get in okay).

A fun daily driver - but with a cost

The big thing to know about this car is that Subaru/Toyota wanted a cheap performance car that would make drivers smile. They succeeded, but the cheapness can come back to bite long-term owners. I have daily-driven the car for a year and 14,000 miles, so I have had the proper seat time to write a review. The two companies decided to put the whole budget into the drivetrain. My car in this respect has been solid. I replaced the transmission, differential, and engine oils myself, and the engineers really put a lot of thought into how to do that easily. On the flip side, most nuts and bolts on this car are made out of very weak metal, leading to all the wheel studs being stripped in just a few changes. The interior rattles like crazy, the speakers buzz at higher volumes, which are needed because of loud road noise. I had two sets of tail lights leak, and my headlight ballasts went out and needed replacement. The list goes on. The car will continue to drive and handle beautifully, but the non-essentials will entropy around you. The maintenance bill won't be in the thousands, but I have constantly had $100 here and there to replace the cheap parts. I am 6'2" and 190 pounds and am triangle-shaped. Think broad shoulders and small waist. This car's seats are the most comfortable I have ever sat in. I want these for my office, house, and every car afterward. That being said, if I was an inch taller or 20 pounds heavier, I would hate them. All of my 'larger' friends hate riding in the car. My wife is tall and thin, and she hates hunching over to get in/out of the passenger side. Holding on to the steering wheel makes the driver's side easy. People like to say this car is slow. For muscle-car owners who love straight line speed, this car is not for you. I don't want any more power out of it, because I get to floor it during daily driving, and I don't get speeding tickets. It's exhilarating without being too dangerous. Countless journalists have raved about the balance and steering - all I know is that the car feels super secure going 30+ mph over suggested speed limits on turns. If I was looking at a BRZ and similar cars today, I personally would just save my money and buy a Mazda Miata RF. That being said, I still roll the windows down on a warm day and just go for a drive to relax. This car does this at a great price, and I would recommend it to a friend - if they are willing to deal with the mentioned issues.

Enter every road curve with joy in my heart

This is a car to increase your quality of life. I love it for where I live in the San Diego foothills with no deer. However, if I lived back in the Hill Country of Central Texas, I'd have sold this car within 6 months. The headlights are set ridiculously low so literally heaven help you if there are deer on the road ahead. You won't see them until they're through your windshield. The dealership's Service Dept told me I can't get them raised up because they're high density headlights. I think the headlights are a huge safety risk in areas with large-sized wildlife. Other than that, I adore this car for the thrill of driving it. Kudos to the excellent engineers! Update: Have had the car for a while and we still love it. We have no intention of trading it in for anything else. My only gripe of note continues to be the low position of the headlights, but the freeways, canyon and foothill roads we drive don't make this a big issue for us in SoCal. No elk bounding across a Wyoming plain. Just rabbits and the coyotes are too savvy to get hit. We have found you can't always reliably shift from 4th to 6th. Seems to insist on a pit stop at 5th. Again, not a deal breaker. We've had no issues needing repairs. Everything still seems tight. This car is all about the Curves and we love it for that. Update 11/13/17: Still no repairs have been needed. I still LOVE this car! Everything I wrote above is still true. But so is my complaint about headlights. I went to Subaru twice and was told no upward adjustment possible. Didn't look at replacing them though. Not a problem in heavily populated Southern California and if you know the roads. I wish I could easily replace the speakers. They buzz on certain octaves. I don't blast them but I do play them loudly sometimes. You kinda have to because the car is a typical sporty car with some noise inside. I hate the display though. No steering wheel controls so you have to use the display for music. This is the worst point of the car. The internal temp controls and clock are perfect but music and maps is a major pain to manipulate. It's easy to read the maps on the display though. My husband and I are still very happy with this car purchase. As soon as a take a sharp curve, I fall in love with this car all over again. Like being a kid in a go cart. Update 5/14/2020: The car's still performing great. Driving is just as fun. We've followed all recommended maintenance and have had no mechanical or any other problems. It's our play car so our mileage is low, about 28K at this point. My gripes are the same as on the first day. Headlights aren't good for rural areas where wildlife leaps out at you although they're perfectly fine in populated areas. The speakers should be replaced and the entertainment panel. Happily we checked into an aftermarket Android Auto install plus better speakers and it's easy to have done. We just procrastinated since we drive our other vehicles more and they have it. I feel comfortable to recommend this as a reliable Used Car, made in Japan, if the previous owner wasn't an idiot driver and that you calculate in an Android Auto panel plus speakers upgrade. My car is a manual so automatics might be different.

Great car horrible nav/media unit

This is my second Subaru and boy is it very different then all the other models in their line-up. It drives great and you feel very connected. If anything for a nimble sports car it feels a bit under powered. For the money you pay its a steal. Even if the turbo model would cost 10k$ more it would still be worth it. I even have two Recaro child seats in the back and my boys love it! They even want to squeeze in the BRZ for 1-2h trips instead of our comfy Lexus RX.

sports car on a budget

Great little sports car. Has great handling and good looks. manual shifter is direct and precise. good visibabilty. bought this because I live in Chicago and drive 6 miles a day in traffic. Don't need a big v8 motor, as much as I want one. Good on gas, 35mpg highway, or about 18 avg combined driving. brisk acceleration( it's ok, it's a little 2.0L 4cyl.) back seat is torture for anyone, has decent trunk space. radio is kinda shitty. tiny buttons and poor sound out of crap stock speakers even with the top of line limited model. Had for 2 years and like my car but now ready for another 2 door with more power, like a camaro v8 or bmw M235i. Wish the brz had like 300 hp, not just the 200 it has. 3 years 9 months later I still have the car. I haven’t kept a car this long in at least 8 cars before. Fun car. Drive year round in snow. Chicago. Snow tires. Summer I take to race tracks. Driving fun at the limits. I Am debating to upgrade to a Porsche. But this car has been reliable and cheap to maintain and own. Update. I’ve owned this car for over 5 years now. Never left me stranded. Very reliable. Fun to drive. Will be tough to ever sell it or trade it in. Except for the new2022 coming out in the fall.

A car not pass up

This is my first Subaru. Coming from a celica, and with this car being made jointly by Toyota and Subaru, I felt close to home. The engineers nailed it on this one - the 200hp to weight ratio is perfect and the handling is great. I had a problem with the nav system twice and had to take it to the dealer and have it replaced, but other then that it is a great car to drive and a car that a car enthusiast should not pass up.

Ignore the haters

This is a really good car. I traded my 2014 genesis coupe 2.0t r-spec in for this car. 2017 limited with the performance package. Pros: amazing handling, great looks, LED headlights give you great visibility at night, performance package, manual is amazing and easy to use Cons: ride is not the greatest over rough pavement, sounds like a tractor at low rpms (its weird) Buy this car if you want a fun car that takes corners like almost nothing else in its price range. The performance package makes it even more capable. With the cons i would add something like “small back seat” but this a sports car (a very small one at that) so go look at an accord coupe, challenger or the new civic si coupe if you want better back seat space.

What's not to like

It really is a fun car to drive, and you don't need to be going fast. It looks great, I like the inside a lot. The seats are really comfortable (I'm 6'4"), and there's plenty of room. The value is amazing, HID's, spoiler, the keyless access is cool, It's pretty much fully loaded. So far it's been 10 months, and I haven't had any problems. I've driven it in winter, and the traction control is awesome, it really keeps the car in line. I didn't really have much problems in the snow/ice.

Do Your Homework!

There are lots of printed road tests of these cars (BRZ, FRS, and 86). There are plenty of videos as well. Read and watch as many as you can so you will know what to expect. The car is small and my '03 Kia Spectra GSX had some conveniences the BRZ doesn't have. Everyone seems to think the "burz" is underpowered. Not necessarily! Power is judged by how you apply it. I got my burz to be my daily driver, and it has plenty of power for that role. If you can live with the small size, harsh ride, some road noise, just OK radio, and if you understand that it's really not a four passenger car, and that it requires premium gas, and more, you'll be fine. Like I said, educate yourself and know what to expect. All that being said, I knew what I was getting. These are driver's cars, and that was what I wanted. I didn't even test drive mine. The salesman probably thought I was crazy, but I had done my homework. After all of the above, I hadn't even gone two miles after picking it up and I caught myself grinning from ear to ear. The car drives like a go-kart! This is a car you need to check out thoroughly before committing to.

Most fun car I've ever had

Once I got used to the rear wheel drive, this car could really hug corners. The gear shifts were perfect. I loved that the dash didn't have a lot of extra information. It was simple and basic, all information available in one place (i.e., one clock, 1 speedometer, etc). After coming out of a car with overwhelming amounts of useless information in the dash, the red lights and simplicity were welcome. Also it had every extra thing I wanted, heated seats, soft leather, bluetooth, adjustable headlights, option to see outside temp, mpg, etc. Tight gears and steering, perfect handling. I will say that I test drove the automatic and would not have bought that car. All the difference was in having the manual. The back seats are all for show, they don't hold anything more than the 40 lb dogs with the back laid down. I got weathertech mats for front and back and they fit perfectly.

Not suffering the Hyper Blues with this car

If you are 50 plus and carrying a few pounds, it may be harder to get in and out of this car, but once you are in seat, WOW, the fun begins. If I were prone to drifting, this car could do that. My 16 year old daughter said that starting from a stop light and going through the first four gears reminds her of the push back in seat feeling of jet take off. Great color, only 500 made for USA for 2016. Gets lots of looks. After decades of driving SUV's and minivans, I owed this car to myself and haven't looked back since driving off the lot. Hugs the road really well with quick responsive steering and braking. Ditch to ditch low beam headlights that allow for up and down switch adjustment is great for avoiding deer. Recommended accessories are WeatherTech floor liners, Trunk Liner and the NEW 3M™ Scotchgard Paint Protection Film Pro Series. Invisible and 7 year coverage to protect against rock chips and dings as this is a low riding car. Saved on the cost by half by going to Tint shop for Protection Film instead of dealer. Have had the car for two and a half weeks at 348 miles now so still breaking in engine. Premium fuel only. Did buy the extended warranty to 7 year which added to initial cost. Tax in our Washington State County 8.8% My driving experience 27 years in police cars. Bought as commuter.

2017 BRZ

This car is made for fun. Don't buy it for it's sofa like ride it is a sports car. A toy for us to play with. Fit and finish A1. Great handling, great suspension, great fun. Subaru reliability A1. Dealing with dealership A1. No [non-permissible content removed]. Straight up and friendly. A pleasant experience whether with sales staff or maintenance. Michelin tires were made for this car and made well. What grip.

Blast to Drive

This is the first 2 door rear wheel drive coupe I have owned, and it is super fun to drive. My prior cars have been SUVs and sedans. The low seating position, combined with the super responsive steering and manual transmission are amazing. When I see cars that cost 2 to 3 times more, I think they way overpaid for the badge and extra horsepower that will hardly be used in my traffic congested area.

Great car. Drives great, looks awesome.

This is a great car. I bought this car for my wife in April 2014 in Portland and she loves it. We are the first and only owners. It has been well maintained using the correct oil and always premium gas. While I was working out of town, we needed a third car so I bought an big, old american land yacht. Now that I am back in town, something has to go. My daughter occasionally needs a car to drive when she is home from college and we figure a Towncar with automatic transmission is better for her to drive than a sports car with a manual transmission. This car is fun to drive. The GPS works well and the stereo is great. The back seat works well for one teenager and for groceries. It is, also, built to accept a bike rack.

Show Stopper needs more "Go"

As a driving enthusiast, I am partial to the 6-speed manual gearbox. People ask me all the time if I like my car, and I will tell them I LOVE it, but it needs another 40-60 HP to really wake up the throttle response at low RPM. It is super fun to toss into corners, and the steering response is excellent, as is braking, although the latter could always be improved with some aftermarket brakes. The wheels are ho-hum, as they are the same wheels Toyota puts on the Prius. Something more personal should be added to the list of dealer options, as most people won't outright spend close to (or over) a thousand dollars on wheels, but they will sure finance them. The touch screen audio/navigation system needs a lot of improvement, as does the voice activated command system. I would prefer these were omittable options myself, but if you want the nice seats/interior, you get the 'upgraded' stereo with it. Road noise is noticeable, but if I wanted quiet, I would have purchased something more "luxury" in the first place. As I said, I enjoy the experience of driving: both hands on the wheel, connected to the car and the road ahead. If driving [for you] is just another chore--a means of getting from point A to point B, then this car is probably not for you. Entry/egress is not quick, but once you're in the car, you're IN the car. The deep bucket seats make sure your backside stays put during spirited cornering, and the heaters in the Limited trim are great in the winter. Now, if they could just add the steering wheel to it... The back seat needs to be omitted, as it is good for nothing more than tossing a windbreaker or foul weather gear into it; I'm sure it's only there for insurance discounts. The bottom line for me is: it may not be practical in the least, but it is great fun to drive, especially to run through the gears manually, and the exhaust note at full throttle above 4,000 RPM is music to the ears. Who needs a radio? ;-)

BRZZZZZZZZZZZZ Subie

A lot of fun. Can be a great daily, just get used to a REALLY FIRM RIDE. Car definitely needs more power. But the balance in cornering and track driving is incomparable to anything else in this price range. I also have a Porsche Cayman GTS (which cost me in the neighborhood of $65,000) and this cars handling is right on par if not slightly better than my Cayman. Would be a great car to teach people how to drive a stick on.

Tranny problems at only 5 yrs and less than 50k mi

I own a 2017 Subaru BRZ Limited. A few months ago I started having a slight intermittent problem with shifting from 5th to 4th gear, manual transmission, I didn't think much of it at first. The car had less than 50,000. miles and was 5 years old at that time. The problem slowly over a few months started with shifting from 3rd to 4th gear also intermittently, that's when I knew something might be wrong so I took it to a Subaru dealer near me. Subaru of North Tampa. The Subaru dealer after diagnosis says the transmission needs to be replaced possibly because of synchronizers worn on gears. Cost of repair $5,000.00. Cost of diagnosis is $197.74 Subaru of America will not pay for the repairs because the warranty is over 5 years and a few miles over the 50,000. miles at he time we brought the car in for diagnosis. The manufacturers warranty is over and I get it but we bought this car brand because we thought it was a reliable company. An engine and Transmission shouldn't only last for 5 years or 50k miles. I have owned several cars mostly Toyotas over 45 years of driving and NEVER had any issues with a Transmission or engine and they had more that 80k each on them. I will never buy a Subaru again and will not recommend anyone to buy one. Subaru customer care is as bad as their cars because I called Subaru customer care on the 2nd of Dec. 2022 at 11:55 am EST and spoke to Patricia who took all the information needed and said someone will contact me within 48 hrs. Nobody contacted me for 4 days, 96 hrs. so I called on the 6th of Dec. 11:16 am to follow up and I was given a case number and a person to contact and said that Cheri, will contact me within 24 hrs. and I got an email after 24 hrs. stating that they will not cover the cost for the repairs.

Fun Fun Fun

I'm 64 years old, this car is a gas to drive. cornering, handling, is very tight. I've been averaging 29 miles to a gallon. The bucket seats have nice supporting sides, instruments are very nice the controls are at your finger tips. I like not having all the horns and whistles on the steering wheel. The automatic climate control is very good too.

Direct injection with carbon fouling on intakes

If you buy this car start saving up for the pricey expense of walnut shell blasting of your intake valves. Why the heck Subaru doesnt imitate Toyota and couple Direct Injection with Port Injection to automatically clean the intakes is beyond me....I guess it keeps their mechanics and their bottom line healthy. Also, the 2.0 like the 2.5 can often see the Subaruish blown head gaskets especially on vehicles pushed like one would with the BRZ. One day perhaps Subaru will wake up and find out that there is a reason that even Porsche wants to get away from the boxer design. Its as dated a concept as the Harley Motorcycles V twin design. Looks and sounds great but......man, talk about ancient engineering!! These cars do handle wonderfully however and when they arent draining your wallet on sure to occur costs they are a blast to drive......its just too bad that too many trips are made to visit ones Subaru mechanic as only a madman would go to a Subaru dealer...not after the work it took consumers to get the 2.5 liter engine head gasket problems seen to........it took a class action lawsuit to maybe get that problem fixed.

You Get What You Pay For? Not This Time.

So I decided to "upgrade" my 2013 BRZ to a newer 2017. Big mistake. The 2017 is terrible compared to the older model. Yeah, it's got a few nice improvements: shark-fin antenna instead of plastic rod (but reception is rather poor), rear backup camera, LED lighting....but the list of what Subaru totally screwed up (in my opinion) is too long to ignore. This is supposed to be a sports car, yet it resists acceleration. Yep, this car is S L O W. It accelerates like a tractor. The standard OEM navigation map is now gone, leaving a large dead area on the dash where a touch screen sits unused. The outside temperature and MPG readings are now buried within a multi-page small digital screen on the dash. The Blue Tooth will not maintain a connection to my iPhone and I've given up re-pairing it every few days. The steering wheel feels like cheap hardened foam compared to the nicer 2013 wheel. Doors don't automatically lock when you start driving as on other makes of cars. You cannot arm the security alarm with doors or trunk open because the alarm will then set off when closing them. The door handle sensor for locking the car hardly ever works, and the sensor for unlocking the car only unlocks the driver-side door rather than both doors (you need to manually press an unlock button inside to release the passenger door). The Home Link auto-dimming rear view mirror still does not auto-dim (same poor technology as the 2013, yet Ford has an auto-dimming mirror which does work nicely so it's not unrealistic to expect this to actually work). The Home Link mirror buttons (which still also do not work) have been moved from a more-convenient front location on the 2013 to an idiotic non-visible Bottom location on the 2017. The rear seating area is smaller than the 2013, which was already cramped, so the back seats are pretty much just for show - my kid doesn't even fit back there comfortably so forget about seating 4 adults in the car. Add to all that various rattles and vibrations which just should not be happening on a factory-ordered brand new car. Even the pearl blue color isn't impressive - it's blue, but there really isn't any "pearl" look to it at all. If I knew then what I know now I never would have traded in my 2013 for this disappointment. This car is awful. Update: Since I keep getting requests from Edmunds to update my review, sure I will update it. Notched it down to 1 star and the latest news is I'm getting rid of this car for a "real" American sports car - the C8 Corvette. I'm done with Subaru.

Great Little Ride

This is a great handling sports car. Excellent handling. Needs back up camera.

Blue brz

It’s a nice little car and fun to drive. It’ll be a little to small for a bigger person and a family with children. The BRZ I bought hadn’t given me any problems and I’ve had it six years.

2016 limited brz

Swapped manual 2013 BRZ for an automatic 2016

The back seats are not really for adults, but kids might be okay back there.

More than expected

My wife wanted a sports car and we looked at a lot of different models but she fell in love with the BRZ. It took a while to find one but we finally found one in inventory in ATL that was not let in dealer stock and went in and put down a deposit. We had drove the Scion version and it was OK but not great so we weren't sure if we would buy it when it came in. It was well worth the wait. Drives much better that the FRS and quality of interior and the few upgraded options are great. Great driving little car! IF you can find one it's a great car.

There aren't enough corners

The BRZ is just too slow in a straight line. It should've come with 300 hp from the factory. However, the feel, balance and handling of the car is second to none. The steering is sublime. The brakes are worthless after 20 min on the track but brake kit upgrades are available. Swapped the stock wheels for 18"wheels/tires and lowered it 1". The car now looks the way it should've come. The driving position is perfect, the seats are as good as Recaros, the extra features of the Limited version is well worth the cost. The torque dip at 4K rpm sucks but a tune can fix the problem. Only wish I lived near twisty roads!

Fun to drive!

I love this car though use a premium gas its so economical, can go more miles.

The BRZ is a BReeZE

This car is such a blast to drive, the handling is good, and the gas mileage is stellar. The only downside is that it does get rather loud on the highway.

"Better than average"

It does everything well, virtually no warranty or maintenance issues. (Fog light under warranty, that's it). Handling is probably it's strong point including both good acceleration and braking. It's a 60's sports car without any of the daily maintenance!

I totaled mine rolled 6 times

I rolled mine 6 times hit some water and was snatched off the road into a ditch and flipped and let me tell you I walked away with out a scratch this car held up amazingly I would highly recommend this car there is no logical reason I should have walked away from that wreck

Finally, a sports car I could afford!

I waited a long time to have a car that was this much fun to drive.

A street legal go-kart

Is it everything any review about it ever said? Yes but wait, THERE'S MORE! Is it slow? Relatively. You'll get ~150 whp aka real world horsepower. From the 200-205hp FA20 engine, you can only put ~150-170 horsies on the ground. This doesn't mean the BRZ is a slug. The lightweight chassis makes up for the lack of power. You'll enjoy daily driving this car. (Please, don't try to race anyone. You will lose). Will I have a bad back after owning it? Yes and your knee as well. The ride is firmer than your usual daily but you didn't buy this car for sensibility. Oh and it is very low, so if you're taller than 5'2" then you'll probably develop knee problems. Getting out of tight spaces is also rough. With the mention of height, if you are taller than 5'2", consider the back seat useless. Will I regrow hair and be young again? No, but at least the car will distract everyone from your bald spot. Should you start vaping? No. Don't. It's bad for your health. Does it make vroom vroom noises? I mean...yeah. The stock head unit is so awful you're better off listening to the FA20 on your drives. There is a range of aftermarket exhaust component from a full kit to axle backs. You have find the best one out there to maximize or minimize that noise. So...that head unit? Seriously, what the hell Subaru! The head unit (the thing that controls your navigation, StarLink, audio, etc) is probably the worst unit in history. It is laggy, glitches and is most likely possessed. You can't even upgrade the thing because it takes more effort than just a simple download of drivers. It is fixable by buying a 2015 or earlier front fascia and a 200 mm head unit. The fascia is because the 2016 head unit is trapezoidal. When you install your new SQUARE head unit, you'll have gaps. Ok but does it vroom vroom at 4000 rpm? No. Torque dip BUT you're gonna want to hear the engine so go ahead and rev it. Overall: You are not buying this vehicle for practicality. You are buying this vehicle because you want a driver's car that is not the Mazda Miata. It is a perfect mix of a daily and a weekend car. You can be stuck in traffic with a smile. You will turn heads. You can definitely drive it around some back roads over the weekend. Fair warning, DO NOT think it is a slow car. You can easily hit 90-100 mph in this car if you're not paying attention and you'll probably stick out, which means tickets. It is slow for track days but for daily driving, trust me, you're going to get tickets.