Opt for three pedals in the 2022 Subaru BRZ and you’ll miss out on several safety features.
While all models in the redesigned BRZ range finally get blind-spot monitoring, lane-change assist and rear cross-traffic alert, models with the six-speed automatic receive even more safety technology.
Extra safety kit for the auto models includes reverse autonomous emergency braking, automatic high-beam, and Subaru’s EyeSight.
Subaru uses the EyeSight branding for a suite of active safety features across its range, which includes:
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Adaptive cruise control
- Lane-departure warning
- Lane-keep assist
“At this stage, the EyeSight driver assist system is not available on the manual,” said senior product manager Goran Popov.
“Will it ever get it? That’s a great question, and it’s one where we’re in a continuous dialogue with the factory about.
“It’s something we’d like to see down the track, because we still think there’s a great room for manual transmission vehicles in the market.”
While the current car lacks any active safety technology yet features a five-star ANCAP rating, that was based under much older and more lenient criteria.
The new BRZ has yet to be tested by ANCAP, though the lack of features like AEB could mean it misses out on the coveted five-star rating.
It also means it – and likely its Toyota GR86 twin – will be one of the few sports cars under $100,000 to lack standard AEB.
The Mazda MX-5 and Ford Mustang, for example, have this feature, while the upcoming Nissan Z will also feature it.
“Our ambition, and that of the engineers in Japan, is to only provide customers with the absolute best and the best example of that is the commitment by the overall organisation to zero fatal accidents in a Subaru by 2030,” said Subaru Australia general manager Blair Read.
MORE: Everything Subaru BRZ
