Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB

This review may not be worth bothering with for some of you--I almost didn't post about it, but a few sentences resonated strongly with my experience yesterday during a short test drive :

Quote:

The FR-S isn’t heavy (roughly 2,800 lbs.) yet it has such a solid feel to it that you’d expect the numbers to be higher. We drove over some deliciously curvy roads and hills and the FR-S acted as if it was glued to the asphalt and concrete. On straighter roads, it was difficult to keep it below 85 mph, especially since it felt as if we were only going 55.

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...hn-heilig.html

I don't want to replay the "is it too good for its own good" arguments here, but coming from a car of similar size and proportions but 200 lbs lighter (the sole one I have owned - a 1st gen Tiburon) I had pretty much the same thoughts as the reviewer when I drove my own car again. Although in every way far more competent, the FR-S "feels" a little bigger, heavier, and more imposing than the Tiburon. It's a wonderful experience driving it, but something also seems to be lost in translation. Part of it may be due to the more-damped steering feel and lower NVH of the FR-S, part of it a result of its reduced visibility forwards and aft (see my test drive comments for a discussion of the latter). Another forum member who drives a G37 currently and has owned other vehicles (BMW, I believe a Supra) found the FR-S light and nimble by comparison.

Anyway a much longer test drive should help clarify things.