As a former owner of an 86 I've been following the 2nd gen closely out of curiousity.
I don't hate the new BRZ styling wise, but it looks a bit 'off' for me. I think the new nose and the fender vent behind the front wheel have been done a bit awkwardly. They could clean that up and integrate the lines better so it flows into the car instead of looking like a cheap aftermarket bodykit.
Engine upgrades are OK. They mostly seem to have focused on eliminating the mid-range torque dip which made the 1st gen feel (and actually be) too slow under hard acceleration. I kinda like that they stayed NA, as the number of affordable NA sports coupes is rapidly shrinking.
Still, I think this car needs more powah from factory. 228HP is an OK step up from 205HP, but that was already too little for the current market. I feel like the BRZ is a car that would become much more desirable with 260HP - basically at that point it would be like a ten year old Cayman you can buy new.
Still, I hope it sells well to send the signal to the automakers that there is still a market for a simple, affordable, RWD coupe. If they don't sell, Toyota/Subaru and other makers will stop offering cars like this new.
I've done my part to encourage the Japanese to keep making these sports cars. I bought an 86 brand new in 2015, and a 370Z brand new this year. If things work out I will be in the market for another brand new Japanese RWD coupe in about 5 years too, so hopefully the Supra, 400Z and BRZ/86 are all still on sale by then.
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