BRZ might not be a name on the tip of everyone's tongue when it comes to talking about sports coupes, but if there is a better looking example of this kind of car out there, I have yet to see it.

It is Subaru's first rear wheel drive car in decades and is fitted with legendary Boxer engine mated to a delightfully slick six speed gearbox. There is also a six-speed automatic with paddle shift.

It looks terrific and so is the driving experience is the thanks to the superb handling, limpet like grip, direct steering and rasping engine note from the two large exhausts to the rear.

The car features fully-independent front and rear suspension and, on SE and SE Lux models, a Torsen rear-axle differential ensures improved traction.

All of these features come into play when giving the car its head.

The two-litre engine powers the car from 0-60mph in just over seven seconds. Not the most rapid, but with the car so low to the ground it feels a lot quicker.

The engine has to be pushed to the rev limit to maximise acceleration and that is when the rasp of the twin exhausts kick in. The handling is simply superb, gripping the road in limpet like fashion and cornering like it's on rails.

Good performance and pretty good economy with official consumption figures of around 35mpg, which seemed a pretty realistic figures.

It is also reasonably practical with a decent sized boot which can accommodate a couple of small suitcases and in addition there compact storage spaces for knick knacks and small oddments, plus a central console compartment, two centrally-located cup holders and bottle holders in each door.

The layout of the car with the wheels pushed to furthest corners optimises inside space and allows for two rear seats. They were pretty much useless for adults unless it really is a short hop, but a small children would fit in them reasonably comfortably. The bonus is they can be folded flat to increase capacity from 243 litres with the rear seats in place to 1,270 litres.

Driver and front seat passenger have plenty of legroom and the slim windscreen pillars means all round vision is reasonable for this type of car.

At a shade under £25,000 for the 'base' model, you get plenty for your cash with loads of standard equipment.

It looks sleek and powerful thanks to muscular wheel arches enclosing smart, 17-inch alloy wheels. The hexagonal grille at the front of the long bonnet is flanked by smart headlights and a neat touch is the indicators built into the wheel arches.

The sporty look continues inside with a combination of clear piano switches and dials. The instrument binnacle has a large digital display complementing the clear analogue speedometer and tachometer.

The fit and finish though has a utilitarian rather than luxurious feel with harsh dark plastics which is a bit of al let down. However it feels sturdy enough.

Front seats come with six-way adjustment as standard, and head restraints feature three-way adjustment - up, down and tilt. Front and rear passenger seats are fitted with ISOFIX anchor points.

A performance car like this needs to be safe and the Subaru scores heavily with traction, stability control and asisted braking, plus hill start assist on manual model.

Front, side and curtain airbags are fitted as standard to all models, as well as a knee airbag to cushion the driver's lower limbs during a collision.

Only slightly let down by the interior, there's a lot of car for the money, it's a thrilling drive and it comes with a five year unlimited mileage warranty.