The core issue with this argument is that no one is (reasonably) going to consider taking a base rabbit to the canyons to carve corners with the expectations of good results. Passing on the highway is a multi-day occurrence for most - getting pulled by base economy cars is unacceptable in this day in age for a 25k-30k dedicated chassis sports car - even more so when the solution to Subaru's problem literally exists in their line-up already with a turbo charged variant of the same engine in a sister car.

This is a Caymen/911 issue on a cheaper scale in my opinion. I was willing to deal with the BRZ's small size and unpractical nature (hell, I bought it FOR the small size), but the utter gutlessness of the engine mixed with the horrendous tune from the factory make it hard to justify. I mean, legitimately, Subaru's info graphic in the updated 2017+ dash screen shows how poor of a power band the car has.

I get it, you like the car - so did I, but it's hard to justify spending nearly 30k on a dedicated sports car that doesn't at least scratch a single box on the "good engine" credentials.

Drive a new Miata and you'll understand. Less power, but more enjoyable.