For those whose FRS/BRZ is their only vehicle

[why?]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

I wanted a Honda Fit for a little bit, closest I'll get to an EG6 or EK9 of the 90's and no little kids would want to steal it.

Maybe I'll get the Yaris and have a little "fun" with mods to get rid of that itch.. since im planning on leaving the FRS as is for now.

I never understood the fit, it seems like people are trying to hard to make it into the next civic, and it just isn't.

You can get a 1st gen Yaris for rather cheap and as long as it hasn't been in any accidents and there is not rust or rot the mileage really doesn't matter, plus both the engine and transmissions are only about $400 each.

Add an inexpensive suspension and it can be really fun to drive and you've maybe spent $6k or so if you splurged on one that has less than 100,000 miles.

And if you really want to mod it there are quite a few options. There are a handful of 500 hp Yaris running around, most seem to be in Thailand.

[why?]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Not sure if you understand how small those little trucks were. A Tacoma is a monster compared to them.

Oh I know, and I mean what I said. The base stripper was tiny. It is a totally different vehicle than the ones actually on the lot. It could have been any early 80's small pickup truck.
This picture makes it look larger than it really is.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by why?

Oh I know, and I mean what I said. The base stripper was tiny. It is a totally different vehicle than the ones actually on the lot. It could have been any early 80's small pickup truck.
This picture makes it look larger than it really is.

Ahhh got it! I didn't know they existed. Not sure we had them here and if we did they are scarce.

[why?]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Ahhh got it! I didn't know they existed. Not sure we had them here and if we did they are scarce.

extremely scarce. The one we sold was ordered and took a month or more to be received. When the customer ordered it no one knew it was even possible, they had to find all the codes and the like to actually print the paperwork to get the deal done. I wouldn't be surprised if you could still do it if you really wanted to, and the dealership would have to go hunting like they did back then for all the correct ordering info.

[Overdrive]

As far as the website is concerned, this is as good as it gets. The base model 4x2 with the 4-cylinder is only mated to an automatic now, but with no frills and no options at all except the Utility Package that takes (???) off about $1700, it comes out just shy of 22 and a half for MSRP.

http://www.toyota.com/configurator/#...5/accessories/

No idea if that link will properly work or not, but this is supposed to be the summary page after a build. I think it will work, but it'll probably be missing that Utility Package option checked off.

If that old school one like you had pictured is still available (I remember seeing one years ago at an auto show for maybe $20k), that's awesome, but if not, this is pretty much its (not so small anymore) successor.

EDIT: Found the utility package details: "Utility Package (4-Cyl. Access Cab): removes rear seats (seatbacks, headrests and seatbelts) along with rear cup holders. Adds black door handles, black mirror caps, black bumpers and fixed rear window."

So, the El Cheapo version.

[soulreapersteve]

Originally Posted by why?

I never understood the fit, it seems like people are trying to hard to make it into the next civic, and it just isn't.

You can get a 1st gen Yaris for rather cheap and as long as it hasn't been in any accidents and there is not rust or rot the mileage really doesn't matter, plus both the engine and transmissions are only about $400 each.

Add an inexpensive suspension and it can be really fun to drive and you've maybe spent $6k or so if you splurged on one that has less than 100,000 miles.

And if you really want to mod it there are quite a few options. There are a handful of 500 hp Yaris running around, most seem to be in Thailand.

Its because due to the market and safety standards, the more modern civics are more like accords of before; larger, more weight (relative), etc.

Enthusiasts miss the 90's civics of small, light, fun (subjective). People are still having fun with the civics of today but its just not the same.

So close to getting an EK after looking at the s2000 but due to theft concerns, I settled for the more modern FRS

[Silver Cervy]

Originally Posted by Mr.ac

Yeah, honestly about 90% of the 86's on YouTube are driven by asshats thus I understand where you are coming from. Had I only knew the level of douchebags ricers that are fellow owners, I would have bought a different car.

Hey, it's still better than being part of the Jeep community

[Rakshaa]

Originally Posted by why?

You don't need a bigger car with kids. You can fit 2 car seats in the back. There are pictures on the forum, it can be done.

If you are over 5' tall, it's going to be a pain in the ass to drive. As for getting the kid in and out of a coupe, it's much more convenient out of a 4-door (not to mention a myriad of other reasons like comfort during the ride for kids, trunk space for strollers and accessories etc.)

I'm not saying it can't be done - I know it can. It's just much better in a small SUV or sedan in comparison.

[Lynxis]

Originally Posted by ~el~jefe~

I am curious if there are other people out there on forums that this is their absolute only vehicle they will own and use.

I am awaiting mine after ordering, and curious about peoples' experiences having this car as their only ride.

Not reading any other responses, I'll talk about mine although I suspect they will echo others.

My BRZ is my only car, year round daily driver, track and autocross car. Lightly modified with coilovers, wheels and tires and front BBK and that's about it.

Overall, it's perfectly acceptable as a daily driver assuming you're a reasonably sized human and don't need to put people in the back seats regularly. Contrary to popular belief, the back seats are usable provided everyone is under 6ft but don't expect anyone to be comfortable.

Trunk space is small compared to a sedan but it's actually pretty good for a car of these dimensions. It's perfectly fine for grocery shopping and regular errands and even many odd things can be made to fit with the rear seats folded down although there are limits. For example, I managed to fit my 42 inch flat screen TV in the back of my car when I was moving although it was very tight so a larger TV wouldn't fit.

The car has very little sound deadening and so it picks up a lot of road noise. You may want to run a quieter tire if you are going to be driving a lot. Louder tires will wear on you after a while, especially on longer trips.

Finally, winter driving. This only applies to people who live where it snows and being in Canada, I get plenty of the stuff. Being a RWD coupe with front biased weight balance, winter tires are STRONGLY encouraged if you're going to be driving it in the winter. I'd go so far to as say not to bother winter driving this if you aren't going to put winter tires on it. Last winter, I was on OEM suspension but 8 year old winter tires that were cracking and sketchy as hell but I got around OK and never got stuck. This year, I'm lowered 1 inch on coilovers and using newer winter tires and it's not nearly as bad although deeper snow makes me more nervous than it did last year. That said, this year has actually been extremely mild with regular highs of 3c/37f during the day so this winter hasn't been bad with only 1 snow storm that was bad enough to make me nervous to drive through it but it was fine.

[Scrappydoo]

Originally Posted by Rakshaa

If you are over 5' tall, it's going to be a pain in the ass to drive. As for getting the kid in and out of a coupe, it's much more convenient out of a 4-door (not to mention a myriad of other reasons like comfort during the ride for kids, trunk space for strollers and accessories etc.)

I'm not saying it can't be done - I know it can. It's just much better in a small SUV or sedan in comparison.

I'm way over 6' and it's fine.

In fact it's comfortable. I love the way the pedals aren't offset and the steering wheel is central on the drivers side. Peeves me a bit when it isn't.

[darthpnoy1984]

Originally Posted by why?

I never understood the fit, it seems like people are trying to hard to make it into the next civic, and it just isn't.

You can get a 1st gen Yaris for rather cheap and as long as it hasn't been in any accidents and there is not rust or rot the mileage really doesn't matter, plus both the engine and transmissions are only about $400 each.

Add an inexpensive suspension and it can be really fun to drive and you've maybe spent $6k or so if you splurged on one that has less than 100,000 miles.

And if you really want to mod it there are quite a few options. There are a handful of 500 hp Yaris running around, most seem to be in Thailand.

The Yaris/Vios platform is one car that you can't easily destroy there loved by the taxi cabs in Philippines pretty peppy especially with the manual.

[darthpnoy1984]

Bought the car off insurance auction at 26K Miles repaired and restored it, I'm nearly hitting 45K on my 15 FRS it's my daily commuter, grocery getter, road trip maker from LA to San Francisco, countless canyon drives. I intend to drive this for a long time so get out there and enjoy driving the car because this car is meant to be driven not as a garage queen.

[Rakshaa]

Originally Posted by Scrappydoo

I'm way over 6' and it's fine.



In fact it's comfortable. I love the way the pedals aren't offset and the steering wheel is central on the drivers side. Peeves me a bit when it isn't.

I'm 6' and very comfortable - that was not my point.

I'm saying put two people behind you and see if your driving position changes


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CatDaddysBBQ]

It's my only car. I've had it for nearly 4yrs. Came from a VW GTI, so I was apprehensive about losing out the crazy utility that thing had for such a small car. My wife has a bmw 128i, so that is BARELY more useful, and I don't consider it any more practical for argument's sake.

There are definitely the occasional issue I have in terms of fitting something in that a slightly more useful vehicle would have no issues with - like a TV, a mini fridge, or something medium-sized. But honestly that's roughly 2x a year or so. Hardly a deal-breaker, and definitely not a reason to not buy the car. (I LOVE it). But it swallows up a week's worth of groceries with room to spare, will accomodate a couple of medium-sized suitcases, and you CAN get 4 wheels/tires in there, though it's not as easy as the marketing people at Toyota would lead you to believe.

And in the Chicago area, we have all ranges of weather, temperature change and awful road quality. It's a non-issue for me. I bought a 2nd set of wheels for nice weather seasons (as most of us do), and use the OEM wheels for a set of winter tires. With them, the car drives TOTALLY fine in the snow, and is far cheaper than a winter beater.

It's been FAR more useful day-in and day-out than I expected. Sure, there are those occasional moments I wish I could have a bit more space, but it's not a hopped up econo-box. It's a dedicated sports car, and considering that, it's really useful.