The Subaru BRZ is now available for purchase directly from dealerships for the first time since its Australian launch, though, its previous free servicing offer has been dropped.
On sale in dealerships from January 1, 2014, the 147kW/205Nm naturally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder-powered Subaru BRZ matches previous online pricing at $37,150 and $39,730 for the six-speed manual and six-speed automatic respectively.
Originally sold exclusively online in Australia – due to limited production availability from Japan – the Subaru BRZ came with free servicing for the first three years or 60,000km.
This has been now been changed, however, with the expansion into dealerships bringing with it a switch to capped-price servicing of $199 for the first three years or 60,000km. The new servicing plan turns a previous $680 saving – the cost of serving the BRZ’s twin, the Toyota 86, over its first three years – into a $116 premium, with the first four services now costing owners $796.
The new-year change, credited by Subaru to an increase in BRZ production at its Gunma plant, also means buyers can now choose to either make their purchase online or more traditionally at a dealership.
To date, 1611 Subaru BRZs have been sold in Australia since its July 2012 launch, with the local division claiming a total of 1800 units inclusive of pre sales.
Since its June, 2012 launch, 8753 Toyota 86 models have been sold locally, with 6706 units finding homes in 2013. The 86 starts from $29,990 and includes capped-price servicing of $170 per scheduled service.
Although January 1 marks the first time BRZs have been available for purchase through dealers, the sports cars have been seen in showrooms before, with demonstrator vehicles spread across a selected number of dealerships since launch.
