had the car at work about a month ago for aus road testing, LHD model. Great to drive, has enough power to make you smile, and the handling makes you definitely think about swapping out the MR2. Driver position is really nice. Would love to get a rotex on it haha Unfortunately the engine is very close to the firewall. The exhaust manifold is like a flat pan, its hard to explain, but there definitely power gains from an exhaust system im sure
 
also originally they were aiming for around 1100kgs but couldnt make it with the requirements for new safety equipment. That said, its still light enough i think
 
Also, subaru only have that AWD BS here in aus really. Over seas they have made plenty of rear drive and front drive cars too. 

Ive been following the car since concept. Definitely going to purchase one. Every single car review raved about this car which is quite rare these days considering the competition
 
Big tuner names have already got their hands on the 86/Brz in preparation for the mid year release.
 
HKS apparently have a Rotrex super charger already in development so should be interesting! Toyota = supercharger and Subara = turbo

a few points.
 
1. its 147kw at the flywheel.
we usually talk power at the wheels, and you can probably take 30% off the flywheel figure for a FR layout transmission efficiency.... so say 110kw... or half a warmed up SW20.
 
2. even at 1210kg for an N/A they've said up to 100kg more if they turbo/sc it) it's going to weigh 20% more than the new MX5 which is tipped to have a lower centre of gravity and better weight distribution than the outgoing model which is already a great drive. the mx5's power is meant to be going up and it's weight is possibly going to be under 1000kg. while im on weight... the original mini was about 560kg and even meeting todays safety standards, lotus manage to put out cars with bodies under 900kg.
 
3. originally toyota aus wanted it here for 32k... now it's going to be 40... thats basically a different price bracket and means instead of competing against polo gti's it competes squarely with the base WRX. which has more power, more practicality and probably makes for just as much fun for average drivers.... and average is what most people are.
 
 
 

-110 kW is not  THAT bad. A stock JDM SW20 gen2 TURBO only puts down about 120 RWkW (yes I dyno'd mine in the past) - Its obvious that 98 fuel and 20+ years of engine wear take their toll....you still gotta drop ~10k into the engine bay to get a "warmed up SW20".
 
-Who cares about the MX5? its still essentially a hairdressers car. 
 
-New Impreza WRX price FROM $44,248, so its more.
 
 
 

86 may yet be a hair dresser car too - wait and see
 
funny i just got a wrx quote from subaru as $43,948 drive away... thats including, rego, stamp duty, ctp and dealer delivery...... whats the drive away price on an 86 going to be?... i'd say pretty close considering the wrx base price is a tad under 40k and the 86 is meant to be the same.

- "we" might talk power at wheels, but all cars are listed as power at the flywheel, so 147kw is more relevant to comparisons
- mx5 is a different category of car, 2 seat convertable... no-one in the market for the 86 will really compare it to an mx5 and vice-versa. I see your point about light weight though. Unfortunately light weight is also more expensive in manufacturing costs.
 - WRX might be slightly dearer (yet we still don't know the final price of the 86), but the bang for buck will see it more favourable than the 86 on power and functionality. As does golf GTi. Styling is all personal though.
 
The 86 is coming in at a time of overcrowding in the car market as it is, yet it fits a different category than most being RWD. Enthusiasts can rave all they like about RWD, but the average punter doesn't even understand what the acronym stands for, let alone cares about it when they go driving! For the sake of Toyota, and exciting cars for the future rather than tricked up shopping trolleys, I hope this is very successful.

Well at least it isn't a convertible. 
Who knows it could be <40k drive away for the base model, we'll wait and see.
Yep as mr2pod said, power at the wheels is irrelevant when comparing apples to apples.
A WRX isn't a proper sports car...it was originally designed as a compact 4 door sedan with a 4wd system and turbo slapped on.
sports car
n. 
An automobile equipped for racing, especially an aerodynamically shaped one-passenger or two-passenger vehicle having a low center of gravity and steering and suspension designed for precise control at high speeds.
 
 

Yeh I agree it should be a good hit. 4 seater and boot size and front engine for practicality and ergonomics. Plus it fills in a p plater gap for more selection (for the rich kids). Decent fuel and great 2010 decade pioneering on the looks.
 
My SW Baby might be old but they are proven to be quite solid and with a bit of work on the suspension and tyres I reckon she can hold her own against the newcomer   (we'll see)

I reckon its a great looking car. My boss has spoken to his dealer and they have said the car starts at $35k and goes up to $45k but there's no detail on specs yet.
 
I'm looking at getting a lease car, if the FJ cruiser was a turbo diesel manual i would have one already, the 86 looks awesome to me but i have two kids and don't think they'd like to be jammed in the +2.
Guess i'll have to try it out for size.
 
But to have a good spec s/c new would be pretty awesome.

MRTurbo
A WRX isn't a proper sports car...it was originally designed as a compact 4 door sedan with a 4wd system and turbo slapped on.
sports car
n. 
An automobile equipped for racing, especially an aerodynamically shaped one-passenger or two-passenger vehicle having a low center of gravity and steering and suspension designed for precise control at high speeds.

i think you crossed the line here, that rules out any modern rally homoligation car since the 80's as not being a true "sports car" along with many other cars sold commercially as "sports" cars.
 
what does "equipped for racing", encompass? 4 wheels brakes and a steering wheel? you can race any car.
 
so much speculation surrounding the 86, and so much hype. which is generally a bad thing. hype talks it up to much and then it fails to meet expectations. now everyone buying one thinks it makes them a "driving enthusiast/race car driver"