Subaru BRZ tS Review: Affordable Analog Sports Cars Are Still Going Strong

228 horsepower never felt this fast nor this fun!

“Oh, damn, that’s a GT2 RS,” I mutter as my friend and I venture onto Stunt Canyon Road in Malibu en route to a late breakfast. He lightly chuckles.

“You’re going to try to outrun him… Aren’t you?” my passenger slyly asks. With a not-so-humble nod and a drop of the hammer, I chirp second gear and let this 228-horsepower chariot of pure hellfire disappear for all but a minute until the Porsche decided it was having none of that malarky from the likes of me.

As you could guess, I won zero canyon battles that day. But I made it to breakfast after shaving two minutes off Google Maps’ estimate while being reminded that I didn’t need a morbillion-horsepower god killer to feel like a hero. Despite the times, you can still find old-fashioned, analog motoring with a factory warranty, evident in the Subaru BRZ tS that goaded me into spitting in the face of Goliaths ten times its price.

One Of The Toyobaru Twins

It’s a GR86! No, it’s a Subie!

Yes. And also yes. It’s a BRZ. Once again, we greet one half of the same coin, the supposedly more subtle and sedate of the Toyobaru twins, devoid of any boy racer lip spoiler and with a slightly altered rear sway bar setup skewed towards stability.

Specs:

MSRP: $35,345 ($36,597 as-tested; 2024 model), $38,360 (current as of September 2025)

Powertrain: 2.4L flat-four// 6-speed manual

Horsepower: 228 horsepower @ 7,000 RPM

Torque: 184 pound-feet @ 3,700 RPM

Seating Capacity: 4

Cargo Volume: 6.0 cubic feet

MPG: 20 city, 27 highway, 22 combined

Curb Weight: approx. 2,850 pounds

Other than that, the BRZ is the mechanical twin to the Toyota GR86, both rocking Subaru-sourced, 2.4-liter FA24 flat-fours pushing 228 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque through either a six-speed auto or six-speed stick. As the sportier trim level, the tS only comes in a stick.

Is Anything Actually New?

The BRZ became slightly less analog with the inclusion of EyeSight aids across the board for 2024, including manual cars, adding goodies like lane departure warning, collision warning, and adaptive cruise. Thankfully, these features only serve to make a BRZ a safer and easier commuter without tarnishing its sports car abilities.

My 2024 tester rang in at just under $37,000 with destination charges. Unfortunately, 2025 cars receive a substantial, likely tariff-driven price increase. Expect a new BRZ tS to cost a bit over $38,000 as of the time of writing.

2024 added the tS or “tuned by STI,” a performance trim that tosses in Hitachi dampers and enlarged Brembo brakes. Out go the red interior accents in favor of Subaru World Rally-esque blue, along with a new STI graphic in the gauge cluster and STI push button starter. A Series.Purple arrived for 2025, adding dark metallic purple paint and white interior accents. An upcoming 2026 Series.Yellow finally mixes the tS’ go-fast hardware with an exclusive paint color.

The Cutest Little Grand Tourer

In case no one told you, a current-gen BRZ is a closeted grand tourer. Poor person’s Porsche Cayman? How about a poor person’s Aston Martin Vantage?

Commute to work. Get the groceries. Fetch the mead. It’s all child’s play. Or you can journey from town to town, mountain pass to mountain pass, and not shatter your spine doing so, as I discovered traversing Southern California for a weekend.

Compliant suspension and supportive seats are to thank. If the tS’ shocks do stifle ride comfort versus a base car, the difference is too negligible without driving them back to back. The rear seats are somewhat usable, if your passengers happen to be barely-above-average-height Filipinos. I’ve used my own BRZ to shuttle three people before. Well, not comfortably, but you can do it. Or you could just use it as a cavernous storage shelf.

The standard infotainment system is simple and intuitive, although you’ll be using Android Auto and CarPlay most of the time anyway, which syncs quickly via a wired connection. If only there were a better cubby for your phone besides the cupholders.

Dailying a BRZ tS as your only car is no problem. It’s just at home meandering around the neighborhoods of Manhattan Beach, then sitting pretty by the water as you sip matcha like a performative tourist, as it is doing sports car things, like chasing its Toyota-badged spiritual predecessor up a mountain—a story for another time.

Speaking of sports car things.

The Blue-Collar Porsche

Departing the narrow alleys of SoCal’s beach towns and heading northbound in search of America’s Gunsai let the BRZ’s true colors as a near-perfect budget Porsche shine bright.

Near perfect, I say.

Driving older cars lately, as well as my highly modified specimen, highlighted a disappointing numbness in the stock steering feel. Huck the car into a banked downhill hairpin and load up the outer front tire, and there’s almost nothing. Its efforts to convey traction and road conditions to your palms are muted. There are faint reverberations to be found, but it’s as though you really have to concentrate to detect them. You get a better sensation of front-end grip by listening for tire scrub.

It’s not a deal breaker, and it’s a spectacular rack compared to many new cars, but dare I say the early, pre-facelift BRZs and Scion FR-Ss felt better? You can’t help but want more, just like I do with its spineless exhaust. Where’s your voice? Sing, damn you!

Alas, it's muzzled, likely for international noise regulations that may be far stricter in other countries than ours. And it ultimately must be palatable to everyone, including owners who bought (gasp!) automatic cars for sitting in traffic because they thought the BRZ was “cute.” Sure, I suppose. The resulting sound is more sewing machine than sports car. Easily solved in the aftermarket, if you have the coin.

I sound harsh out of the gate, but I’m merely trying to get my grievances out of the way. You can’t have it all in a do-it-all car at this price point. But, in truth, they’re minor knocks against what’s still an impeccable overall package with many silver linings to appreciate.

For instance, the hush FA24 revs smoothly for a Subaru boxer and mostly did away with its predecessor’s dastardly torque dip. What’s left is imperceptible to all but the most acute drivers. The powerband has shifted significantly downriver, too, making max torque at 3,700 rpm versus the older FA20’s 6,400, giving you a gruntier engine that pulls earlier on and keeps on ripping to its lofty 7,400 rpm redline.

Paired with the short gearing of its delightfully slick six-speed, which slots into gear with a light but assuring thunk, and the diff’s 4.10 final drive, it maximizes its 228 horsepower to make light work of the brief straights between SoCal’s tightest twists. 0-to-60 in 5.4 seconds and the quarter in 13.9 at 104 mph, according to the big-wig magazine instrumented tests, is V6-pony-car quick.

So, to all the dissenters, repeat after me: a new BRZ is fast enough.

The numb steering is precise and appropriately light. Its reflexes amplify the sensation of delicately guiding a featherweight athlete and not manhandling a 2,850-pound hunk of metal. It does build weight slightly as you add load into a corner, and the ratio is quick enough for crossing arms to be a rare occurrence. The wheel itself is also a lovely piece of equipment to grasp. Just the right diameter, with a rim that’s neither too thick nor too thin.

The tS’ suspension provides a civilized ride with plenty of travel and feels like it turns up its composure over base cars by half a click. Whether sailing through the fast sweepers of Angeles Forest and Angeles Crest or ping-ponging down the wannabe rally tarmac stages of Tuna Canyon or Glendora Mountain Road, the tS remains stable and unfazed by midcorner bumps.

Equally remarkable is the grip from the 215-wide Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires. You’ve got to move at seriously felonious speeds to outdrive a BRZ tS on a two-lane. It’s a reactive chassis that’s famously itching to get sideways at a track yet is unflappable when at canyon pace.

But should it disagree with your driving and revoke traction privileges from the front or ass ends, you can easily atone with gentle nudges of the steering and pedals, allowing you to quickly find a proper rhythm. And this car will let you find that rhythm.

Foot down. Rev! Rev! Rev! Nearly 7,400 rpm as the shift light glows yellow, then flashes red in the gauge cluster. Grab the next gear before the fuel cut strikes and do it all again. You can probably grab fourth for only a second or two on Glendora or the upper half of Azusa Canyon before slamming on those firm, tireless Brembos. Turn in quickly but delicately, and let the car confidently lean in and take a set around the carousel-like bend before the FA24 rockets you towards the next. Rinse and repeat.

We’re Going To Miss You When You’re Gone

As someone who’s driven much faster cars and owns a bastardized, track-focused BRZ, I didn’t think I’d walk away missing a stock one so much. This Subie entrances you with its predictability and unintimidating nature, all without being so clinical that it becomes boring. You find yourself driving at a pace you didn’t know you could, all without fancy drive modes or adaptive this-or-that.

Compromised, sure, but less than you’d think. It’s how it delivers so much of an experience without excess frills while taking so little from you in return that impresses the most. Perhaps that’s the magic of many free-breathing, lightweight, stick shift cars unencumbered by sensory-depriving tech disguised as advancement. The BRZ tS isn’t a new recipe, but it’s a damn good one that we should wring the hell out of for as long as we can.