Is a Subaru BRZ or a Nissan GTR Better for a Young Man?

The Subaru BRZ looks like the love child of a Jaguar XKR S and a Lexus LFA. It has beautiful lines and modestly aggressive styling and is rear-wheel-drive. The Nissan GTR is an all-wheel-drive, turbocharged supercar that is an engineering masterclass and is known to enthusiasts as Godzilla. You can find out more about the Nissan GTR at carsales. Which of these two would be better for a young man?

Coming in at less than 3,000 pounds, the BRZ is light, giving it supercar-like handling for the younger audience. The GTR weighs 3,800lbs. Less weight surely appeals to young men.

The BRZ has a low center of gravity, which will appeal to young men who like to hurtle along twisty roads. The engine is low-sitting, and lower than that of the GTR.

In terms of virility, the GTR is on top. It produces 542hp and 464lb/foot of torque compared to the 200hp and 151lb/foot of the BRZ. A turbocharger can double the horsepower of the BRZ and triple the torque, but even then, it lags far behind the GTR. The GTR can also accelerate faster, reaching 62mph in three seconds, while the BRZ takes 6.8 seconds.

The BRZ is more eco-friendly, with a milage of 22mpg in the city and 30 on the highway, compared to the GTR's 16mpg in the city and 23mpg on the highway. But young guys don't care about that.

The BRZ's infotainment system has been criticized for its small buttons and confusing menu structure, although it's startlingly easy to replace it with an aftermarket unit. The interior also appears somewhat cheap. The GTR excels in both respects. But young men are cheap by necessity, so the BRZ would better suit the young and male.

The BRZ is cooler. It's only available online, something of appeal to the young, and when it was offered for sale in Australia, the first sale occurred within 20 minutes with the car sold out in three hours. When the car went on sale in Japan in 2012, the first two months of sales were four times the target. Ted Lalka, Subaru's Canadian VP, said, "One of Subaru's challenges is getting noticed. The BRZ is creating an amazing amount of buzz for us."

The GTR was, at least, the 2012 Car of Texas according to the Texas Auto Writers Association. 58 cars were tested by 49 members of this organization, which numbers among the most respected auto journalist groups in the United States. The BRZ came third.

It is the BRZ that is cheaper, an overriding consideration for the young. Its price starts at $26,265 and it was ranked #3 in a list of affordable sports cars compiled by that esteemed agency, U.S. News. The GTR is several times as expensive - $96,820 for the Premium and $106,320 for the Black Edition - but it is cheaper than other cars in its segment, offering performance normally only found in even more expensive exotics. The two cars depreciate at the same rate, percentage-wise. The BRZ beats the GTR in a number of ways, but there are few young men who could afford a GTR, and for that reason alone, they'd be better off choosing a BRZ.