Also new, multimedia features including standard Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™ and standard Near Field Communication connectivity debut on Impreza.

2018 Subaru BRZ tS review: The grip package

Wings and things come at a cost on Subaru's sports coupe

When you find a great new driving road, or section of driving roads, within striking distance of your house it’s a good day. When you find said roads and happen to be driving one of the purest, most attainable sports cars on the planet, it’s a really good day.

It doesn’t take much, especially in southeastern Michigan where we’re pinned down by grid streets and poker-table-flat terrain, to perk my enthusiast senses up. Granted they were on alert because I was driving the $33,495, 2018 Subaru BRZ tS. I don’t want to go into too much detail on the wheres and whys, lest my neighbors go find this place and, as we say in Detroit, blow up the spot. But I will talk about the car.

The tS version of the BRZ takes everything that’s great about the base car and makes it excellent -- maybe even too good, if you like flinging the rear end around.

From our first drive:

“The new BRZ tS gets no extra power (sorry) but adds STI-tuned front and rear Sachs dampers and coil springs, new draw stiffeners that are supposed to improve steering response and 18-inch lightweight wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport tires. It also comes with an enormous manually adjustable carbon-fiber spoiler, and new front, rear and side underbody spoilers.”

So we’re still working with 205 hp, a solid amount for street driving, along with 156 lb-ft of torque. And we’re also still working with Subaru’s near-perfect short-throw six-speed manual transmission.

When you fire up the 2.0-liter flat four it sounds like a big weed whacker or a small jet ski. The engine vibrations penetrate the cabin, which is rare in modern cars. It goes with the raw nature of this car, as does the fact that the tach needle bounces as you shift gears.

It’s still not fast, exactly, but the BRZ has to be top five in the "Most Fun Car to Drive Legally on the Street" category. It’s a blast to rev it to 7,000 and shift as fast as you can. Since it’s so loud and windy in the cabin, it feels like you’re going fast -- you’re just...not.

‘Maybe a good thing,’ said my insurance company. And all that new grip with the tS package? Well, it sort of makes the car feel slower, though it surely isn’t.

The base BRZ comes with 17 x 7-inch wheels; the tS gets 18 x 7.5s. That, in addition to the tuned Sachs dampers, body bracing and coil springs, make this car stick to whatever version of road you have. The stock version is tail happy. With the traction control off you can just decide to light up the rears at basically any point in a turn. This tS makes you work for it. You have to get it all out of balance, then yank the wheel and stomp the gas to get it to slide. It would be perfect for a track day or autocross event, but it's a teeny bit less fun if you want to gently drift (in a safe, controlled environment, with a professional driver, of course).

It doesn’t feel much stiffer than the base BRZ to me, which makes it a serious contender for a daily driver. In fact, a friend does just that with his non-tS around Detroit without a hiccup, except for switching to winter tires when the temps drop. His wife does have an SUV, which admittedly helps with grocery-getting and people-moving. I would have no problem joining him with this tS, wing and all.

Around roundabouts, the tS sucks up the curbs and pulls you wherever you point the skinny, smooth leather steering wheel. I would like some texture in it, if I’m nitpicking, it feels a little cheap, but the electric power assist steering does a fantastic impression of a fully-hydraulic, old-school power steering setup. You can feel the tires on the pavement (and hear them) as you crank the wheel further off center.

The tS also comes with Brembo brakes (12.8-inch front discs, 12.4-inch rear), which make this 2,800-pound car feel like a 2,200-pound car. It’s the highest praise I can give and possibly my first concern when picking a track-day car.

If I’m throwing out a few complaints, I would ask for a more-aggressive seat package, even though this low car is already hard to get in and out of. A thicker steering wheel might be nice. The radio isn’t super loud, but the car is, especially with the windows halfway down on the expressway. Oh, and you get blinded at night by every SUV and crossover on the road because you’re so low to the ground, which isn't a complaint about the BRZ as much as it is all the SUVs and crossovers on the road.

The base BRZ Premium starts at $26,455 including destination. Add a few options and you might be at $29K. If you want your BRZ super grippy, you’ll have to spend an extra $5,000 or so. If you want it drifty, save the cash and get one of the lower-spec models. You won’t be disappointed either way, especially when you find a hidden gem of a road to use it on.

ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $34,355
AS TESTED PRICE: $34,355
POWERTRAIN: 2.0-liter H4, RWD, 6-speed manual
OUTPUT: 205 hp @ 7,000 rpm; 156 lb-ft @ 6,400 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 2,842 lb
PROS: Oodles of grip at all speeds, amazing bang for the buck
CONS: More serious than the base car (which could be a 'pro' depending on your tastes)

BASE PRICE: $34,355
AS TESTED PRICE: $34,355
POWERTRAIN: 2.0-liter H4, RWD, 6-speed manual
OUTPUT: 205 hp @ 7,000 rpm; 156 lb-ft @ 6,400 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 2,842 lb
PROS: Oodles of grip at all speeds, amazing bang for the buck
CONS: More serious than the base car (which could be a 'pro' depending on your tastes)

Subaru has unveiled an “improved” version of the BRZ in Japan.

While the model is coming up on its seventh anniversary, the car hasn’t been forgotten despite its modest sales figures. That being said, the updates are minor and will likely go unnoticed by most buyers.

With that in mind, Subaru says the car has an improved aerodynamics as the BRZ has been outfitted with new fins which suppress air turbulence at the “rear of the body.” Elsewhere, engineers installed revised dampers which promise to improve stability and control. Besides the aforementioned updates, the JDM-spec BRZ RA-Racing has new seat belts and a modified roll bar.

Power is provided by a familiar 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produces up to 204 hp (152 kW / 207 PS) and 156 lb-ft (212 Nm) of torque. It can be connected to either a six-speed manual or an optional six-speed automatic transmission.

In Japan, pre-tax pricing starts at ¥2,480,000 ($22,238) for the entry-level BRZ R and tops out at ¥3,325,000 ($29,815) for the STI Sport with the automatic gearbox.

While Subaru took the time to update the model, the company only expects to sell around 160 units every month in its home market. The situation is significantly better in the United States as Subaru sold 4,131 BRZs in America last year. However, that number is still less than the 6,846 86 models that Toyota was able to sell in the country.

Speaking of the latter model, Toyota has already unveiled the 2019 86 and it features a new TRD special edition. It comes equipped with a number of performance upgrades including Brembo brakes, SACHS dampers and exclusive 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4 summer tires.

Only yesterday we read a report that the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ ‘twins’ would not be replaced once their life cycle comes to an end. This struck us as odd, so we decided to investigate.

The good thing with the World Wide Web is that you can get tonnes and tonnes of information. The bad thing is that you can also get tonnes and tonnes of misinformation. Oftentimes, it’s hard to distinguish between the two, and even huge media outlets have, more than once, been duped.

After we talked to Toyota yesterday about whether the 86 was going to be axed, and receiving an immediate reply that this is totally false, we thought we ought to chat with Subaru, too, and find out their plans about the BRZ.

Subaru USA spokesman Ron Kinno’s response was swift and leaves no room for interpretation:

“We do not endorse this report coming from Japan’s Best Car”, he told CarScoops. “We are moving ahead with a next-generation Subaru BRZ, but have no further details at this time.”

This is indeed good news for petrolheads who, due to dwindling demand (and sales), have little choice when it comes to a fun to drive compact sports car. People might cry ‘badge engineering!’ and, for the most part, they are correct, but considering the low sales volumes, as the sports car has also become a victim of SUVs, a joint project is the only way to roll out such a model without losing money.

Kinno’s answer might also hint that Toyota and Subaru will, once again, cooperate on the replacements of their compact coupes. After all, the 86 is manufactured at Subaru’s Gunma assembly plant alongside the BRZ, and it would not make sense for any of the two automakers to develop the next-gen of their model alone.

Will they stick to the flat-four engine? Probably. Will they use a revised version of the current platform? Given the accolades it has amassed, that’s very likely. Will they, at last, fit an engine with more than 200 HP, as their customers want? If the redesign allows for its fitment without ruining the handling balance, we don’t see why not.

When can we expect to see them launch? Can’t answer that one, although we guess they shouldn’t be more than two or three years away.

A turbocharged Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ is not going to happen on the current platform of the sports car duo – that’s something we know for sure. Not only that, but we are quite sure the automakers from Japan are not planning a power boost for the current 2.0-liter engine, which generates 205 horsepower (153 kilowatts) and 156 pound-feet (211 Newton-meters). An increase could come with the new generation 86/BRZ, if we are to believe a new report from Japan’s Best Car, brought to our attention by our friends at The Drive.

The publication claims the two coupes could ditch the current 2.0-liter naturally aspirated boxer in favor of Subaru’s 2.4-liter FA24 engine that’s currently available in the Ascent SUV. The report doesn’t specify whether in this new application the motor will be naturally aspirated or will use a turbocharger. This means there are two options for the new BRZ/86.

The first is a 2.4-liter engine without a turbocharger, which, as The Drive points out, could generate around 220-230 hp (164-171 kW). That’s definitely not the boost in power enthusiasts have been hoping for but at least it’s a healthy upgrade over today’s 205 hp (153 kW). There’s also a chance that Subaru and Toyota could use a forced-induction version of the motor, which in the Ascent offers 260 hp (194 kW) and 277 lb-ft (376 Nm).

In fact, that’s not the first time we hear rumors about the sports car duo getting a larger engine. Similar information was released back in April last year when The Japan Times also reported the center of gravity will drop for better handling. Improved driver assist systems are reportedly also in the cards.

The new generation Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ should arrive at some point next year or in 2021 at the latest. Some sources claim the two companies could preview the production models with concepts during this year’s Tokyo Motor Show scheduled for the second half of next month.