Subaru chops BRZ price

SUBARU has lopped up to $1735 off the price of its popular BRZ sportscar, with the facelifted version of its spicy two-door rolling into showrooms in late-November.

The BRZ will arrive on Australian shores at about the same time as the updated version of its twin, the Toyota 86.

Pricing for the BRZ now starts at $32,990 plus on-road costs for the manual, which represents a saving of $1230 over the previous base variant, while the automatic is now $1735 cheaper at $34,990.

The more generously specified Premium is now $34,490 for the manual, a saving of $1187, and the auto is priced from $36,490 – a drop of $1692.

Previous BRZ pricing was driveaway and it ranged from $37,150 for the base manual to $41,230 for the Premium auto.

Toyota’s 86 is currently priced from $29,990 plus on-roads for the GT manual through to $38,490 for the GTS auto, although it is unclear if pricing will change when the refreshed version arrives.

As reported in August when the updated version was revealed, the BRZ gains a 5kW and 7Nm power and torque boost to 152kW/212Nm, helping improve the 0-100km/h sprint time by 0.2 seconds to 7.4s for manual versions. The 0-100km/h time for the auto variants has not changed and remains at 8.2s.

Under the skin the BRZ also gets chassis modifications including a revised suspension tune with stiffer front suspension towers, a reinforced cross-member and revised spring and damper settings, as well as an enhanced exhaust for improved throttle response and performance.

Visually, the BRZ gains new LED head and tail-lights, new bumper design that Subaru says makes for a wider and lower look and a new 17-inch alloy wheel design.

Inside, upgrades include red stitching and optional BRZ-embossed front seats, upgraded infotainment system, new instrument gauges, a new steering wheel and functions such as fully automatic air-conditioning, hill start assist and Vehicle Dynamics Control ‘Track’ mode.

The Premium grade adds leather/Alcantara trim and heated front seats.

Subaru Australia managing director Colin Christie said the car-maker has seen an up-tick in interest in showrooms since the update was announced back in August.

“BRZ is an even more compelling package when you consider the upgrades to specification at less cost to customers,” he said.

“Despite exchange rate pressures, our strong relationship with the factory has produced a great result for BRZ fans and that’s reflected in the volume of showroom interest since we teased the specification upgrades in August.”

Sales of the BRZ have slid to the end of September this year, with registrations down by 50.5 per cent to 246 units compared with the 497 in same period last year.

It trails its Toyota-badged twin by some margin, with the 86 recording 1713 registrations so far this year, a 27.7 per cent slump over the first nine months of 2015.

The 86 is still the second most popular model in the sub-$80,000 sportscar segment behind the wildly popular Ford Mustang that has found 4621 homes so far this year.

2016 Subaru BRZ pricing*

BRZ	$32,990
BRZ (a)	$34,990
BRZ Premium	$34,490
BRZ Premium (a)	$36,490

*Excludes on-road costs