Whisper this, but for a while it looked like one-time wild child Subaru might be reaching for motoring’s equivalent of a pipe and slippers.

With the demise of Banbury’s all-conquering Prodrive-run Subaru Rally World Team, the age of whale-tail spoilers, wheelarches more flared than a 1970s pop star’s jeans and exhaust systems louder than a Typhoon jet, seemed to be over.

With more muted styling, a focus on comfort and poise rather than power, and even the introduction of diesel engines, the Japanese car maker seemed to be sliding into motoring middle age.

But just when you thought it might be going a bit soft, Subaru has returned with its familiar raw blend of power, aggressive styling, pinpoint handling — and noise.

Priced from about £25,000, Subaru’s rear-wheel-drive BRZ combines a low centre of gravity, light weight, compact dimensions and bucketloads of fun.

Combining rear-wheel drive with a front-engined layout and high-revving engine, the BRZ’s name says everything you need to know about the car — B stands for ‘Boxer’, R for ‘Rear-wheel-drive’ and Z for ‘Zenith’.

Like its sister car, the Toyota GT86, the BRZ’s boxer engine contributes to the ultra-low centre of gravity which ensures the car stays firmly planted on the road.

I say firmly advisedly, because while the 200 horsepower, 2+2 BRZ is lithe, agile and focused on the driver, the front seat passenger might not be quite so enthusiastic about the glued-to-the-road, grippy feel.

Admittedly my wife was suffering from a bad back when she levered herself out of the suede and leather sports seat and might have been a little grumpy.

“How would you describe the ride in this car?” she asked. “Taut,” I said. “Torture more like,” she replied.

That’s a little unfair, but might be justified if you had to travel any distance in one of the two ‘occasional’ rear seats.

Anyone larger than a small child would have difficulty getting in and need a can opener to get out of them.

The driver is king in the BRZ and the instrumentation reflects that, with a three-dial, red-lit cluster arranged around a large tachometer, with a digital speed-readout and motorcycle-style digital gear indicator.

And despite its outrageously sporty character, the BRZ has luxury car equipment which ranges from automatic dual-zone air conditioning, keyless entry, push-button start, a touchscreen control system for controlling the six-speaker hi-fi and satellite-navigation, to Bluetooth for mobile phone connection, and even cruise control. So Subaru is back with a bang, with no sign of any early retirement from the sports car fray.

Auto facts Subaru BRZ 2.0i SE Lux
 

  • Price: £26,495
  • Ins group: 31 (1-50)
  • Fuel consumption: (Combined): 36.2mpg
  • Top speed: 140mph
  • Length: 424cm/167in
  • Width: 177.5cm/69.9in
  • Luggage capacity: 8.6 cu ft
  • Fuel tank capacity: 11 gallons/50l
  • CO2 emissions: 181g/km
  • Warranty: Five years/100,000 miles