interesting article 370Z vs BRZ comparo
 

The BRZ was actually something I was looking at before I got my Z. Styling wise I think its a close call but I prefer the Z, although I havent seen the BRZ in person.

Subaru BRZ vs Nissan 370Z vs Mazda MX-5 - Autocar.co.uk

Here are a couple of videos too if you are interested. One is it BRZ vs Mustang which is kinda intersting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPoZ1...layer_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD3hg...ayer_embedded#!

Interesting read. And I can see how these guys would take to this lightweight ultra-numble platform. I wouldn't mind this car as a DD. But as "The" sports car. I'm not buying it. They compare it to a honda nsx. The nsx was a fast car. I am too used to hp to lose it for handling that I can get very close to with a proper aftermarket suspension setup. Until this thing gets turbos. I couldn't consider it as the only sports car in my garage. But I do applaud the balance this car brings forth. I hope it sets the tone for other cars like our Z's in the future... only with more speed.

:iagree:

honestly i dont street race, but i cant wait to smoke the BRZ FR-S wannabe raceboys. A good driver in a 370 can do damage, best bang for your buck baby.

That article was a waste of time. The Z FTW in any situation. :happydance:

Z is in another class.

The MX5 is the proper competitor for the BRZ/FRS though.

The folks here would agree:
BRZvs86vsRoadster BATTLE - YouTube

The BRZ is undeniably faster around a track than the miata simply due to higher horsepower/faster in a straight line. A commenter on Jalopnik noticed that the Miata often was able to carry more speed into the corners.

Looking forward to a comparison between the 370z and the BRZ/FRS on the track. As long as limp mode doesn't kick in.... :stirthepot:

You can spend half the money and get a RX-8 with the same performance

I agree some what.. but if we start looking at numbers then we have to talk about the Mustang GT which has the criteria you mentioned, high HP/TQ numbers and is fast around the track... but everyone seems to hate them around here. I'm with you though, I'd love one of these for my DD especially with the great MPG it gets and the looks of the BRZ are nice too. But I love my Z there is just somethign special about it.

I still am on the fence about the FT-86/BRZ concept..... I wish it were AWD they look okay in person.

AWD would defeat the purpose of this car, besides. there's already a car like that at that price point, the WRX.

The NSX comparison was beyond the pale. A twenty year old NSX is still worth more than a new BRZ. Still the BRZ sounds like a great deal for another. I am settled.

i want them to compare the brz vs the high performance(?) sentra.

But the Rx8 sucks up tthe same amount of gas as our cars. The BRZ may get mid-30's highway mpg. (Still rumor). Rx 8 is also pretty dated now to me as far as style.

when i saw the headline, my first thought was what a weird comparison.

After seeing the specs and pricing I'd rather get a used Lotus Elise.

Really seems like the author had his mind made up before he even did the comparison.

Fair points, but it is also 10k cheaper! Car is just overrated.

Thats an interesting point... suggests the Miata is better set up. Very, very interesting seeing its the slightly heavier car too. Corner speed has always been a strong point for the Miata/MX5 but its getting a bit long in the tooth now, I would have thought the FRS would be aiming to beat it in all areas.

All in all, its very VERY tame for what the OP article calls a 'sports car'. I think it will sell a LOT though, and good :) maybe they will bring out the version they should have had on day one; forced induction.

I didn't think it was such a bad comparison. After all, on public roads it is much more about the subjective experience than who can spank whom.

There's certainly a whole lot to be said for an extremely low center of gravity. I still miss my RX-8's handling compared to the Z. And once I had a Porsche 914-6 which was spectacularly good on the track at Lime Rock. I suspect that the biggest advantage the BRZ offers is the flat-4 being so low in the chassis.

Of course, our cars will spank it in a straight line, plus the tires on the BRZ are not very sticky (Prius tires!), so we should be able to outcorner it too. Yet the subjective experience -- like that of the Miata -- could be a whole lotta fun.

Around here on winding Connecticut back roads, it is often hard to get above 30-40mph. At these speeds the Miata & the BRZ have a huge advantage over the Z and the Corvette, which are a much better experience at higher speeds than either of the small-engine cars. But at low speeds, Miata's & BRZ's are just a lot of fun! Furthermore, I'm glad to see another sports car in the market. Competition reaffirms to Nissan that this kind of car is important and will help the corporate bean-counters justify future versions of the Z for the faithful.

My $.02

Totally agree with you. I love great handling cars, but I NEED that power for the times I'm not in the twisties (which is most of the time). Plus, like you said our car has plenty of handling and with a few mods can crush the canyons.

Mergnthwirker - Also agree, everyone needs to keep making fun, affordable sports cars.

I LOVE the Z - You can't beat its looks and performance at the price.

While I have yet to see the FR-S/ BRZ in person, it definitely isn't as good looking as our coupe. Curves are sexy! ;)

I saw them both at the dallas auto show. Both were silver (how dumb is that displaying them both in the same color.) The FR-S has a sharper looking front end. The BRZ is kinda dull up front. The brz has a few standard faux luxury features. But the other 3 corners are identical. Honestly, they are sharp looking cars. On the exterior, they are the next nicest thing to a Z. They make gencoupes look like garbage. On the interior, the auto-shifter looks official. Love it. But the dash and cabin materials are wrx cheesy. The Z, borders infiniti quality. Hyundai still uses better interior materials, or at least they look that way from the way they form the pieces.
The pics don't do it justice but the Z still looks flashier.

From the pics, I'd agree - I prefer the looks of the FR-S over the BRZ (Better front fascia). The rear of the car just doesn't look special. The profile looks decent, but again the rear fenders and back just seem like after thoughts. Again, I think the front end looks great on them. There were some pics on the net for a Greddy modified FRS in black and it looked mean! Maybe it's just the ugly stock wheels that is throwing it all off.

The Hyundai interior is shaped well, but the materials are shitty. Shape is more important to me, but the plastics really feel cheap and scratchy. I think the Gen coupe looks great from the outside (the rear and is fantastic, front is ok). The updated version is ugly though.

Very good input, reminds me of when I used to have a honda hawk GT, that little bike had all of 35 or 40 hp but in the twisties I would smoke the R1's which at that time were king of all bikes. I could just pin the throttle and scoot along through most turns, in the straights the other bigger bikes would smoke me. But I still had a blast on that small bike.

EDIT:

I added some videos to my OP

I am not sure. The car needs another 50hp imo. 200hp and 6s+ 0-60 these days, not so attractive for a sport car. Honda did that years ago - RSX-S although it's a FWD, it still handles well.

On the plus side, the BRZ looks good, light, and RWD. I'd probably go with the Subaru version if I were to buy one of these.

Why not just get a WRX?

its not a RWD, 4dr, not as balanced as the BRZ.

The RX-8 is easier to drive and it is better at transition, but it is hardly a faster car than the Z. I had two...

That Autocar comparison to the Z doesn't seem fair. If the BRZ can't beat the Z on this autocross track, then I doubt it can beat the Z on any other track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POPiUCtytqc

The BRZ/FR-S seems to scream two things, cheap and fun! A new base level Z will cost more than the BRZ. One thing that will be interesting to watch, the Z's aftermarket has grown slowly, we had to wait a long time for forced induction and the S/C kit and elements such as VVEL remained locked with no solution in sight. The BR-Z will have an astounding aftermarket available from what I've seen thus far. If you plan on staying stock, then I'd go with the Z, but if I was going to build a nice Jap Tuner car with strong aftermarket support and many options that is a thrill to drive even at 40-50mph, I'd go with the BRZ.

interesting video, stock BRZ vs non stock Z. IF the rumors are right the STI version of the BRZ will be beast.

correct. the writer's opinion is invalid.

Z > brz or other dumb crap they wanna call it

exactly. i could never write a comparo for this reason. people with biased opinions cannot make fair comparisons

either way, Z > other crappy stuff

:-p

My thoughts exactly! While I always planed on installing a turbo kit for my Z, after seeing this 11.3 @ 127 BRZ 1/4 mile I am seriously considering a turbo kit BRZ and selling my Z.

Think about it.. with such little time for development, this little car has already bested our FI Zs on our own top track times list. And that is nothing short of amazing IMO.

I think the author likes the BRZ. I never saw much testing between the three cars, just opinion. The FRS does sound nice though.

This quote is why I own the Z and I'm not shopping for a BRZ.


"The Zed certainly is. You don’t need much more than 3000rpm before the Nissan’s 3.7-litre V6 hurls this long-nosed throwback forward with inscrutable urgency. It’d bolt away from the other two cars down any straight, and on less perfidious old mountain roads than these, it would quite soon be in a completely different département altogether."

200hp this level of power,,,,,can it be so-called a sport car?i dont think so....
too far away....

Yes, but with turbo kit and 400 HP its faster than any 370z 1/4 so far on our forum. It is what you make it... sport or RACE car.

By this logic, a 350Z is faster/better than a 370Z 'cause there was a guy who got his 1/4 mile in the 9.3 sec range with just some mods. :rofl2:

Better is a fairly vague term. Faster 1/4 mile car yes.. It is at this point in time.

I never said it was "Better" :tup: