[sandm]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

Definitely a more serious performance car but.... used STI's are like E36 series used BMW M3's from the good old days: You can be assured they were thrashed pretty damned good and Im not sure I want to go down that path. Even if service is/was up to date. They live rough lives. Not for me!

like anything knowing the prior seller can help. there's 2 sti's in my mothers neighborhood (over55 in vegas) both owned by 60+ ladies. don't ask me why or how they bought them. having seen both cars leaving the sub, I'd have NO issues buying either one. they have likely never seen rpm's over 5k.
private party would not scare me from looking at one. dealer, NO WAY.

[sactownbwoy]

I had the first gen bought brand new in '14 and had it for almost 6 years before selling it 2 years ago. Put almost 100,000 miles on it and modded it all kinds of ways. Not alot of power but easy to add power, supercharger or turbo kits are abundant for them. I had mine tuned for flex fuel and it gave it a little bump in power.

I liked it because it was a fun inexpensive sports car. Know lots of guys that track theirs autox and full size courses and they love it.

The cockpit of the Camaro reminds of my BRZ which reminded me of the RX7 FD I had in Japan.

[wheelspeed]

Originally Posted by DorsoDuroJohn

screw it, just go get a 2017 or 2018 STI. Hands down a better call all around.

Nah. AWD can't be as fun as RWD, and fun is what life is about.

My minivan is AWD for practical purposes here in Pittsburgh, but I want nothing to do with any AWD sportscar.

[DorsoDuroJohn]

STi is rear wheel biased, so it's really pretty fun in winter for sure! But also in the fast or slow twisties in the summer it is very planted and just rips though. Sure you can't swing the back end out, but you aren't doing that in a stock BRZ either with that power plant.

[DorsoDuroJohn]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

Definitely a more serious performance car but.... used STI's are like E36 series used BMW M3's from the good old days: You can be assured they were thrashed pretty damned good and Im not sure I want to go down that path. Even if service is/was up to date. They live rough lives. Not for me!

I wouldn't say that is true for more than 50%. I owned a 2016 WRX and a 2018 STi. They only hit twisty roads really hard, where I was up in the rev range. Then of course spirited driving on the highway at stupid speeds occasionally. That's not trashing exactly, just using it. Same thing I use my camaro for daily.
Finding that used car is what will be the challenge, it's not like you can tell from looking at it.

[sandm]

Originally Posted by wheelspeed

Nah. AWD can't be as fun as RWD, and fun is what life is about.

My minivan is AWD for practical purposes here in Pittsburgh, but I want nothing to do with any AWD sportscar.

all depends on your definition of fun. going to the 1/4mile track and decimating rwd v8's with my old evolution9 was great fun when they realize I'm 100+hp down from them. back in the day, not a lot of 4cyl cars running into the 11's and a good contributor was NO wheelspin at launch.

love the camaro but it's different "fun" than an awd rally car. each has their place on the sports car definition list.

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

I would never consider a BRZ or Toyota 86, even the more powerful '22 versions. They are way too underpowered for me. Maybe they are well balanced and fun FE RWD Manual setups, but they are slow in all regards.

And I'm not a fan of the styling/looks. Something seems off to me in the proportions and styling that makes me think they don't look very good, either.

I'd rather someone buy a BRZ or 86 than a compact crossover, but these cars are not for me.

[metros11]

Personally, I prefer the styling of the 86 over the BRZ, overall. Although if I go 4 cylinder, it'll probably be Miata.

[s346k]

Originally Posted by Idaho2018GTPremium

I would never consider a BRZ or Toyota 86, even the more powerful '22 versions. They are way too underpowered for me. Maybe they are well balanced and fun FE RWD Manual setups, but they are slow in all regards.

And I'm not a fan of the styling/looks. Something seems off to me in the proportions and styling that makes me think they don't look very good, either.

I'd rather someone buy a BRZ or 86 than a compact crossover, but these cars are not for me.

thats exactly why you don't buy one to replace your camaro.

[arpad_m]

It would probably be fine as a first sporty car, but after a Camaro? Come on. The exterior design doesn't appeal to me at all either, so I wouldn't shortlist this one, even if it were ultra cheap.

[Silent_H_]

I think they are awesome! The older BRZ was on my short list when I was shopping, but I ended up preferring the power of the Camaro more. If the new ones had been out it may have been a different story! I think that bit of extra torque will make it feel as zippy as it is!

[Ron2ss]

When I was looking to stop riding my Harley, I looked at a BRZ and read all the reviews and watched all the videos about them. Nice cars that handle very well but underpowered. I was willing to sacrifice power but came away feeling claustrophobic after a rest drive. I ended up getting a Fiat (Fix It Another Time) 124 Spider thinking that the open top roadster would alleviate the cramped feeling the BRZ created. Well it did and since coming from a motorcycle the open air cruising fit the bill. The Fiat handled very well too. Only problem was that it was very unreliable. In the shop for one failure after another. I traded it for my 2020 2SS vert which solved all my problems. Not cramped compared to the others, handles extremely well, has plenty of power and has the open air experience. I enjoy driving my Camaro just as much, if not more than riding my Harley.

[Kstroke]

Owned a 2019 BRZ with the performance pack before my Camaro. Overall it was a fun car and decent daily.



My issues were with the Recaros, which were a bit too tight (I'm 6'2" 215) and of course the engine/torque dip.

If you want to get picky, the ride wasn't as compliant as the Camaro's and the way it sounded was very "meh" especially compared to my Camaro with the npp exhaust.

On the plus side, the steering and the transmission were awesome and thankfully the gear ratio's were nice a short so you got to row through them all the time, unlike the Camaro's long gears. The BRZ felt light and agile, more fun but less planted than the Camaro.



So if the new one has resolved the torque dip and you skip the Recaros it would essentially resolve the two biggest issues I had with mine. Throw on an exhaust so it at least doesn't sound like a sewing machine and you probably have a really fun car.

[funked1]

I had a 2015. Great handling, terrible, just horrible engine.
Sounds like they managed to cure the awful engine and not screw up the good things about the car. Honestly I would rather have one of those for track days, because consumables are cheap and speeds are lower if I make a mistake.