Mechanical changes include a lowered coil spring set, flexible tower bar and short-shifter kit for the six-speed manual transmission.
Yet the BRZ S is highly sophisticated dealing with multiple intrusions at greater speed, and over the broken concrete slabs of the Princes €Highway’ through the Sutherland Shire of New South Wales, for example, the BRZ S strides with surprising fluency. A Renault Megane RS 265, over the same stretch of 70km/h urban arterial, bangs like a skateboard.
Likewise, when towns are cleared and country roads appear the BRZ S demonstrates a terrific blend of comfort and control, always biased towards the latter, but only slightly, which is appropriate for a sports coupe.
Even then, a 7.6-second 0-100km/h is nothing special for a $45K car, and that time fails to accurately convey the low-rev lethargy of this engine (it’s hinted at by the peaky delivery of its outputs).
Off the line, the BRZ S feels slow unless plenty of revs are dialled up and the clutch is dumped. In sixth gear at 110km/h the engine is spinning at 2800rpm, not quite enough to maintain that speed on hills, which is slightly disappointing.
Some driveability flaws are not means to write off this engine, however. The FA20 Subaru engine has been picked specifically to not add weight (screwing on a turbo would), to keep throttle response (a turbo would reduce it), to not overwhelm the tyres or chassis (a turbo would necessitate stronger parts) and to therefore keep costs down.
On twisty roads, the BRZ S gels harmoniously, like few other cars do regardless of their price.
The engine may not tolerate drivers unable to judge good corner entry speed and intensely work the wonderful, short-throw six-speed manual gearbox, but that can only be a good thing. Kept above 4000rpm, and preferably close to its 7500rpm cut-out, the Subaru BRZ S sends a wonderful single-pitch induction rort into the cabin.
Throttle response is sublime, as is the aforementioned steering, and because the tyres aren’t particularly grippy, feeling the front end start to lose grip and progressively getting the tail to slide marks the BRZ as one of the most intimate drives. Only the stability control could be more progressive, even in Sport mode.
In terms of driving purity this seemingly humble Subaru is to a grippy turbocharged car what natural springs are to a can of Coke.
Without a regular BRZ to drive back to back the benefits of the BRZ S in handling terms are, however, somewhat more difficult to define.
Easier to judge is the value equation of this BRZ S. While the regular BRZ is reasonably well equipped with bi-xenon headlights, dual-zone climate control, cruise control and a full-size spare wheel, the S gets no extra trinkets. Leather/alcantara heated sports seats remain a $1500 option, as are satellite navigation ($1815), reversing camera ($468.85) and front and rear parking sensors ($918.40).
Nav is definitely the most worthy selection, as otherwise by far the most disappointing feature of the interior is the basic audio system and aftermarket, crudely-attached (to the top-right of the windscreen) Bluetooth phone kit. The BRZ therefore lacks audio streaming tech but adding nav also integrates that necessity. The lime green display of the standard audio system – Toyota-derived, but more basic than a base Yaris – also contrasts with the orange lighting everywhere else in the cabin.
