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"Kuzu City, Tochigi, Japan\u2014It&amp;#039;s rare we get to test a new sports car aimed directly at those who want a sports car but don&amp;#039;t have Porsche money in the bank.   This one is, of course, the long-anticipated Subaru BRZ, as in Boxer, Rear-wheel drive Zenith (as in peak, not the television set). Jointly developed with Toyota (and to also be sold as the Scion FR-S in the U.S.), the BRZ was mostly engineered by Subaru and mostly styled by Toyota, with companies tweaking the other&amp;#039;s efforts to personalize the machine somewhat.        2013 Subaru BRZ    Getting right to the driving\u2014look out, Miata. With the exception of the brief, unfulfilled &amp;quot;Solstice interlude,&amp;quot; Mazda has owned the small sports car market and with good reason. Great car, the Miata, and Mazda has never taken its eye off the ball when it comes to keeping it pure and honest.   Strong Off the Line   Mazda finally has real competition. From the start, the 2.0-liter flat-4 pulls smoothly, and is flexible enough to drive off at 1500 rpm in 6th gear. It&amp;#039;s more fun, of course, to be down a few notches in the smooth, lightweight 6-speed manual transmission. The engine pulls strongly from 3000 rpm to the 150 lb.-ft. peak at 6600 rpm. Redline is 7400. Subaru says the BRZ hits 60 mph in less than 7 seconds with the manual gearbox. Along the way, you&amp;#039;ll find the exhaust to be as exuberant as the engine.        2013 Subaru BRZ    Considering cars of this ilk, I think of a road that connects Highway 1 with 101 in Northern California, a twisting, climbing-then-falling two-laner among the redwoods. What you want there is a machine that not only handles with ease, but also has the sort of torque character that means you aren&amp;#039;t shifting every other corner. In 2nd gear? No problem, stick with it. In 3rd? That&amp;#039;s okay too. Instead, enjoy the drive, the even turn-in\u2014there&amp;#039;s just a bit of confidence-inspiring understeer\u2014and the good balance even when the road might dip into a rut in the apex.   The ride is a proper match to the handling, isolated for both quality and sound, and yet not separating you from the driving experience. On a straight highway where exhaust sound and handling aren&amp;#039;t important, shift up to 6th and the exhaust falls away for a reasonably calm highway ride. Keep going and we&amp;#039;re told you could top out at more than 135 mph. Overall, it&amp;#039;s a good dual-character machine that&amp;#039;s fun on the weekends but won&amp;#039;t beat you up during the week. Early mileage estimates peg the BRZ at 30 mpg on the highway.        2013 Subaru BRZ    Do It Automatically   At risk of sounding heretical here, you can have just as much fun with the automatic. Paddle shifters are standard, and when you shift the mode from D to M for manual, the mapping tightens up. Nice rev-popping to match downshifts and, again, the torque minimizes the amount of shifting you&amp;#039;ll be doing.   The Miata does get points for being a roadster, where the BRZ is only a coupe. We&amp;#039;d put money down that at some point there will be a soft top BRZ, but don&amp;#039;t hold your breath.        2013 Subaru BRZ    Besides, it&amp;#039;s a very handsome coupe. The Subaru and Scion are basically the same design, and hint at a sort of 7/8th-scale modern rendition of the original Datsun 240Z...and we mean that as a compliment. The Subaru and Scion share the same taillights, but the Subie gets HID headlamps. Unfortunately, both designs have the non-functional grille at the tops of the front fenders. The roof is a &amp;quot;double bubble,&amp;quot; not in the classic Zagato sense, but &amp;quot;flat bubbles,&amp;quot; taller on the sides for added headroom and stiffness.   The roofline&amp;#039;s side curve peaks right about where the driver gets in, so entry and exit for anyone around six feet is easy. You&amp;#039;ll snuggle right into the well-bolstered seats, which should be as comfortable for long runs as for tight corners. Outward visibility\u2014with a minor exception in rear view\u2014is quite good for a car of this size.        2013 Subaru BRZ    Inside Line   In this day of hard interior plastic/low-cost interiors, Subaru has done a reasonable job of making certain everything you touch has a comfortable feel to it. There&amp;#039;s leather on the shift knob, emergency brake handle and steering wheel, the last adjustable for rake and reach.      360-Degree Panorama of BRZ Interior     Three gauges are straight ahead, the center a tach with a digital speedo, the analog speedometer to the left, fuel and temp on the right. HVAC controls are in the center stack, configured with knobs and levers that are large enough that you can easily operate them, even with gloves. No mysteries, no fiddling around.        2013 Subaru BRZ    There are two possible negatives inside. Subaru may call this a 2+2, but that&amp;#039;s being optimistic. It&amp;#039;s more like a 2+ kids. Subaru points out, howevever, that with the folding rear seatback you can fit a pair of golf bags or four racing tires, helmet and tools in back.   The other area of concern is the radio/navigational system. Kudos to Subaru for making navi standard at this price, but the system is clumsy and requires a lot of time with eyes off the road.        2013 Subaru BRZ    Tech Basics   We&amp;#039;ve already written about the technical basics of the BRZ. The 200-bhp, 2.0-liter, fuel-injected flat-4 that sits well back and low in the chassis, all the better to lower the center of gravity and reduce the polar moment of inertia. You can have either a 6-speed manual or the aforementioned 6-speed automatic gearbox, and a Torsen limited-slip differential is standard as are 17-in. wheels and tires. Front suspension is MacPherson struts; the rear is a double-wishbone layout with Impreza roots. Steering has electric assist with a ratio of 13.1:1 through a 14.4-in. steering wheel.   Price? Nothing final, but we believe the $25,000 sports car ball has just been lobbed into the Miata&amp;#039;s court.       Specifications   ENGINE   Engine type flat-4   Displacement 2.0 liters   Fuel system direct injection   Horsepower (SAE) rpm est 200 bhp @ 7000   Torque est 170 lb-ft @ 6400-6600 rpm   Transmission 6-spd manual, 6-spd auto      EXTERIOR DIMENSIONS   Wheelbase 101.2 in.   Length 166.7 in.   Width 70.9 in.   Height 50.4 in.   Curb weight 2770 lb      STEERING   Steering type  power rack &amp;amp;amp; pinion   Steering ratio 13.0:1       SUSPENSION   Suspension, f/r MacPherson strut/double wishbone       TIRES   Tire size P215/45R-18 f, P225/45R-18 r    "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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