I didn't think it was such a bad comparison. After all, on public roads it is much more about the subjective experience than who can spank whom.
There's certainly a whole lot to be said for an extremely low center of gravity. I still miss my RX-8's handling compared to the Z. And once I had a Porsche 914-6 which was spectacularly good on the track at Lime Rock. I suspect that the biggest advantage the BRZ offers is the flat-4 being so low in the chassis.
Of course, our cars will spank it in a straight line, plus the tires on the BRZ are not very sticky (Prius tires!), so we should be able to outcorner it too. Yet the subjective experience -- like that of the Miata -- could be a whole lotta fun.
Around here on winding Connecticut back roads, it is often hard to get above 30-40mph. At these speeds the Miata & the BRZ have a huge advantage over the Z and the Corvette, which are a much better experience at higher speeds than either of the small-engine cars. But at low speeds, Miata's & BRZ's are just a lot of fun! Furthermore, I'm glad to see another sports car in the market. Competition reaffirms to Nissan that this kind of car is important and will help the corporate bean-counters justify future versions of the Z for the faithful.
My $.02
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