Subaru’s 2017 BRZ car review

That Subaru’s 2017 BRZ should come with a turbocharged version of the company’s 2.0-liter flat-four FA engine, like the one that makes 268 horsepower inits WRX sedan, is a foregone conclusion. After four years of sameness, the too-buzzy, too-slow BRZ was beginning to look like the sports coupe the world had forgotten.

But the potential-laden coupe was due for a refresh, and Subaru had to do something. Imagine the predicament, then: Do they engineer a solution to the packaging problem that supposedly prevents fitting the turbocharged FA engine in the BRZ’s nose, or do they revise its naturally aspirated engine to make more power? Subaru representatives say that the primary concerns about the BRZ are a low center of gravity, balanced handling, and low cost, and those preclude fitting the turbocharged engine.