Having spent 12 years with a WRX, and moved a couple years to a Hyundai Genesis Coupe; while my wife still drives a Subaru Forester... Subarus are a bad example here. They've got great engines and other factors, but their automatic transmissions really suck.

Is there anywhere else where you can get what's supposed to be their high-performance car (my WRX was the year before STI came out) or the performance variant of another (my wife's Forester is an XT), where that automatic transmission is just a 4-speed? And subjectively, it's a rather balky one at that, with very slow shifts.

For comparison, my Genesis Coupe's auto tranny is an 8-speed, which maximizes the time that the engine is at its most efficient. It's also got smooth lightning-fast shifts in comparison to either Subaru.

I have a manual 2015 Subaru WRX, and I can get way better MPG number than listed, if I want to. I don't, but I can.

I call bullshit. Last time I looked up the BRZ, the automatic was far better than the manual, something like 36mpg vs 30mpg (highway). Most likely, the manual has much lower gearing than the automatic.