Subaru may be the king of all-wheel drive in its product line, but the automaker knows a thing or two about making vehicles that are fun to drive along with being really safe. The BRZ sports coupe is just such a car (sans AWD), and for 2015 Subaru adds more sport the model line with the Series.Blue limited edition.
2015 Subaru BRZ Series.Blue/Images by Author
For a little review, BRZ was co-developed with Toyota as a fun sport coupe paying homage to the days of motoring fun in small, rear-drive cars. BRZ – and its counterpart FR-S as Scion (Toyota) – offer low weight with a low center of gravity for a very responsive, taught chassis perfect for everyday jaunts and weekend romps around a motorsports track.
The 2015 Subaru BRZ Series.Blue limited edition takes this to the next level as Subaru offers the package on 500 blue pearl and 500 white pearl vehicles for the U.S. this year. Series.Blue basically adds an STI performance package to the vehicle but without the boosted turbo under the hood. Nearly every other part of the vehicle does get some attention with Series.Blue however.
Right away I could tell this white pearl tester featured significant changes to the suspension system. It rides tighter, and handling is more sensitive to input changes. Series.Blue rides on black glossy STI 17-inch alloy wheels shod with performance rubber. Each car gets unique black STI front, side and side-rear under spoilers along with an underbody panel for enhanced downforce and stability at speed. They also help beef up the car’s image a good bit.
Inside Subaru gives Series.Blue more unique treatments including leather and alcantara upholstery and a blue and black leather wrapped steering wheel and shift lever and parking brake handle boots. The start/stop button is bright red with the STI logo prominently displayed and a carbon fiber design is splashed across the dash. Series.Blue is finished with larger stainless steel exhaust tips and a new shark fin roof antenna.
Nothing changes under the hood sadly but drivers might be able to find some powerbands hidden in the 200hp FA-Series 2.0-liter Boxer four-cylinder engine. Thanks to the six-speed manual gearbox this tester was outfitted with I was able to keep the vehicle performing best above 4,000 rpm. Fuel economy is rated at 22 mpg city and 30 mpg highway, but I doubt I was seeing those numbers during my week behind the wheel as the fuel gauge seemed to be moving south faster than Santa Claus this time of year.
Final sticker pricing for the 2015 Subaru BRZ Series.Blue came to $30,285.
The car is fun to drive, although its tight quarters can be challenging at times for someone like me who prefers pickup trucks over sports cars. That said, once settled in, the Subaru BRZ Series.Blue offers a fun, responsive driving experience that will have drivers seeking the twisted routes on the navigation unit as opposed to the geometrically straight (a.k.a. boring) roads.
