Look, I know I just went on a tear about how, in the realm of cheap, small, and light sports cars, Miata is always the answer. I still stand by what I said, but I recognize that sometimes, maybe, you might want a slightly bigger trunk, a back seat that’s really more of a parcel shelf, and usable cupholders—without snuffing out the playful, fun-to-drive spirit of a cheap, small, and light sports car. The 2025 Subaru BRZ Murasaki Edition fills that role nicely.

What’s new for 2025? 

The current, second-generation BRZ came out three years ago, to much hype—at least from me. I was surprised to even see a follow-up to Subaru and Toyota’s original collab, let alone one that addressed almost every single flaw of its predecessor so neatly. This year, both brands are keeping it fresh with two limited-run, special edition variants: Toyota has the GR86 Hakone, and Subaru the BRZ Murasaki.

It’s more or less the Canadian-spec version of the BRZ Series.Purple down in the States, but with a few key differences. First is obviously the name, but it means the same thing; murasaki is simply “purple” in Japanese. Second, our purple BRZs are based on the top-spec, stick-only BRZ tS. This means you get adaptive-but-not-electronic dampers, as well as pretty gold Brembo brakes that are a lovely throwback to the Blobeye-gen WRX STI.

All 100 examples of the BRZ Murasaki are finished in Galaxy Purple Pearl, a new colour it shares with the WRX for 2025. It’s much more subtle compared to, say, a Daytona Violet M2. On a cloudy day, it appears almost black with a very subtle hint of purple, but it pops beautifully when the sun hits it just right. It rolls on bright silver 17-inch wheels, which are a welcome change from all the gloss black and satin grey out there, and we Canadians get door graphics that are vaguely Porsche-like. It’s a sharp-looking little thing, but if classy’s more your vibe, there’s the green-over-tan GR86 Hakone.

Interior impressions

Inside, the BRZ Murasaki trades the blue stitching and accents for light grey, and there’s a sweet plaque right by the shifter to remind you you’re in the purple one. Otherwise, the interior looks and feels exactly the same — materials and fit-and-finish are pretty okay, the seats are supportive and the Alcantara feels nice, the steering wheel and shift knob fall easily enough to hand, and the crisp and easy-to-read digital gauge cluster looks great and operates smoothly.

I’ve grown to tolerate Subaru’s portrait-oriented 11.6-inch infotainment display they use in, well, everything except the BRZ. But I much prefer the BRZ’s decidedly simpler eight-inch display. Sports cars should keep it simple, stupid, and this setup does, flanked with plenty of physical controls and switchgear. Admittedly, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto would be nice—or at the very least, USB-C ports.

Technically, the BRZ does have a back seat, but it’s best left as an extra parcel shelf; even with the front passenger seat locked as uncomfortably forward as possible, legroom is still non-existent and your backseat driver’s head will bonk the back glass. But up front, I’ll begrudgingly admit the cockpit is more usable than a Miata’s. There are usable cubbies and pockets, a whole friggin’ glove box, and the cupholders are slightly less useless but still set a bit too far back. Whatever. The trunk can happily swallow a couple weeks’ worth of groceries, and maybe even a Costco run if you’re good at Tetris.

How does the BRZ Murasaki drive?

The Murasaki uses the same 2.4-litre normally aspirated four-cylinder Boxer engine as the rest of the lineup. It puts out 228 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque across the board, even in the spiciest and priciest tS, and by extension the Murasaki. We’re jiving with the not-so-new-anymore engine after a couple of years; it’s punchy, you no longer have to rev the snot out of the car or downshift to keep moving at a meaningful clip, and it loves to be wrung out. You probably won’t win a stoplight drag race against a GTI, but it’ll be close, and there’s enough of a spring in its step to put a goofy smile on your face and keep it there.

Being based on the tS, the Murasaki uses the same adaptive-and-mechanical damper setup sourced from Hitachi. It’s a neat setup, basically using two oil channels inside for a wider range of dampening, but without the complexity of being electrically adjusted. It also uses the same Brembo brake setup with upsized 326- and 316-millimetre front and rear rotors. Last but not least, it keeps the shiny side up using the same Michelin Pilot Sport 4 summer tires as the base BRZ.

All that is to say, it still drives great. The original BRZ was the furthest thing from a pool noodle; the tS-sourced bits on top of the improvements to the new one won’t go unnoticed by more seasoned folks pushing the car to its limits on an autocross course, while mere mortals such as myself will appreciate the balance and tail-wagging playfulness is still there, enough to make even the most mundane grocery-store run enjoyable.

The BRZ tS, and by extension the Murasaki Edition, are only available with the six-speed manual. Throws are short and I didn’t pick up on as much rev hang as Nathan did with the GR86 Trueno, but the shifter feels tall and the overall shift action is nowhere near as fluid as a Miata. As of last year, Subaru figured out how to make its EyeSight suite of active safety features work with a manual transmission, meaning this 2025 Murasaki has goodies like adaptive cruise control.

Is the BRZ Murasaki worth it?

Price has always been the BRZ’s ace in the hole. The Murasaki sits at the top of the lineup, at $39,495 as-tested but before destination, taxes, and all that. Nearly forty grand isn’t cheap, but it undercuts an ND MX-5 with the Sport pack by a few grand, and a heavier-and-much-bigger Mustang EcoBoost by a good chunk. If purple isn’t your cup of tea, you can save yourself even more and opt for a BRZ tS in a colour you actually want.

Miata may always be the answer, but if you absolutely must have a parcel shelf that doubles as an occasional back seat, you could do a lot worse than the 2025 Subaru BRZ Murasaki Edition. It keeps things fresh with special purple paint and a plaque inside — a plaque that may as well say, there’s always room in this world for cheap, small, and light sports cars.