Disagree very, very strongly here haha. Let me explain. Almost any driver will notice a 220lb difference. It is extremely noticeable and changes almost every aspect of the cars movement. As soon as you move the steering wheel, you can notice an immediacy in input over the 3.0. At the limit the 2.0 has a much wider margin, far more forgiving than the 3.0 (on the same tire and width keep in mind) And the suspension in the 2.0 isn't 'lesser', it's just not active. It's still springs and dampers in a MacP and MultiLink setup. The suspension in the 2.0 is great and is very much akin to the 3.0 in Normal Damping.I haven't driven the 2.0 (obviously) but a different feel could easily be the lesser suspension that comes on it.
If you fill up and put a 200 lbs driver in each, the weight difference between both cars is 5-6%. Now I'm sorry, but unless you're a professional racing driver, you're not going to notice that
Shittier shocks however, you will notice immediately. Throw in an open diff, and you have your different feel.
Just my 2 cents.
The big flaws of the 2.0 are the open diff and standard gearing. The car makes more than enough torque to still be fun on the street, but the standard gearing becomes long due to the lack of legs compared to the 3.0. The car is much easier to rotate thanks to the weight, and is much more forgiving too, but the lack of LSD sours all of that since it doesn't put the power down. This car is stupidly easy to flick though, few occasions where it felt BRZ good, just got let down by the other stuff. Brakes are adequate for the street, pads and fluid definitely needed for track work, but the same can be said for the 3.0.
Having driven the cars back to back, I want a 2.0. I think it provides enough of a difference to make it a unique driving experience stock for stock. I prefer lighter, more handling-fun oriented cars. But it needs an LSD and a shorter final drive. The balance on it is sweeter than the 3.0, and to take 200lbs out of the 3.0 would be an expensive ordeal in the aftermarket.
So to make this relevant, I think an 8k difference between the cars would be fine but only if the 2.0 had an LSD and a 4.0 final drive. Power can be sorted post haste with a tune too. As it stands it's missing that little bit that it needs to be a real contender. A performance pack upgrade would be great but if that closes the price gap to 5k between the cars, then the value prop just isn't there.
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