2nd review from Popular Mechanics - of FR-S/GT 86

[Sport-Tech]

For some reason my earlier post on this review was immediately deleted and the topic linked to the first PM review thread, which is not the same review, these are 2 different assessments, the first of the BRZ, this of the FR-S/GT 86...

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...drive#fbIndex5

Of note: "Toyota Racing Developments working on supercharged engines and suspension upgrades."

Better steering feel than the new 911?: "Last month’s launch of the new Porsche 911 marked a high point in the black art of calibrating electronically assisted steering systems, which can suffer from strange surges and artificial feedback to the driver. Meet the new king of the hill: This Scion’s steering is quite brilliantly linear, while also providing a constant stream of feedback to the driver".

What’s New: First seen in 2009 and based on a new rear-drive floor pan, this swoopy sports coupe is the result of a cooperative deal between Subaru and Toyota. Subaru provided the running gear, including the engine and transmissions, while Toyota designed the body shell and provided the engine’s combined port and direct fuel injection. The Subaru version, called BRZ, debuted at last month’s LA Auto Show, and we just took our first test drive. The Toyota version debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show. It will be called the Toyota GT-86 in Japan and Europe, and the Scion FR-S in the United States, where it goes on sale next spring (We drove the GT-86, but it’s nearly identical to the FR-S.)

No supercar, this is a basic, lightweight (just 2600 pounds) sports coupe, and the first rear-drive application for the Subaru flat-four engine. Performance is modest, with a top speed of about 150 mph and 0 to 62 mph in about 7 seconds.

Under the skin is simplicity itself, with a MacPherson strut front suspension and upper and lower control arms in the rear. The brakes are distinctly pedestrian—single piston sliding calipers with vented rotors—and there’s a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions. A limited-slip differential is standard, and the steering is electronically rather than hydraulically assisted. Even the wheels and tires come out of the parts bin. The aim here is chassis balance and driver response, not outright grip and clever electronics.

"Many rivals have turbos, big tires, and four-wheel drive," says Yoshi Sasaki, product planning boss for the car. "They have become sports cars that control their own behavior—sports cars have become boring."

Tech Tidbit: Last month’s launch of the new Porsche 911 marked a high point in the black art of calibrating electronically assisted steering systems, which can suffer from strange surges and artificial feedback to the driver. Meet the new king of the hill: This Scion’s steering is quite brilliantly linear, while also providing a constant stream of feedback to the driver.

Chief engineer Tetsuya Tada says he started development of the system as if it were completely unassisted, then added the electronic assistance once he was happy with the responses and feel. He also admits that the Japanese craze for drifting helped to define how the chassis should behave and feel. "We wanted a car that would drift, but it isn’t just for that," he says.

Driving Character: The FR-S is supposed to be a two-plus-two coupe, but the cabin’s rear seats won’t accommodate much more than a couple of bags of groceries. What are they for, then? The press pack gives a clue by telling you that the trunk and folded rear seats will carry a spare set of wheel rims and a trolley jack. Indeed, this is a car for the weekend racer.

It’s all about the driver. The supportive bucket seats set the tone, and the car features a buck-skin-covered steering wheel because the test team thought that material gave the best grip. There’s a simple three-dial instrument binnacle, rotary heater switches, and a big central screen for the navigation system. The backlighting is a bit garish, and we could have used a bit more height adjustment for the steering wheel. But other than that, it’s just about perfect.

4 of 5
Press the start button and the flat four sounds exceptionally unexceptional. Even when initially under way, the engine note from the twin 3.4-inch-bore exhaust tips isn’t much to speak about, although it develops into a snarl as you approach the 7450 rpm redline. (Tada says even he doesn’t like the noise and is working on a fix.) The power delivery is flat, but the engine piles on revs with enthusiasm and, with a closely stacked gear set and a short-throw shift lever, you quickly get into the swing of sliding the old-school gear lever.

The driver sits back from the wheel and the major controls are light and direct. From the first few yards traveled, it’s clear the level of steering feel and chassis feedback are going to make this car memorable. But get to the first corner and you understand what the car is all about. The nose comes around eagerly, with little body roll thanks to a low center of gravity. Once it overcomes a slight hesitancy, the GT-86 is beautifully balanced and neutral. You instinctively know how much grip is available. At high speeds its four-wheel drifts through the turns with a balance that makes you look like a race ace. On the wet Sodegaura track near Tokyo in Japan, we could maintain lurid tail slides, though the power output is marginal to achieve that sort of opposite-lock cornering in the dry. True, the grip is limited and you would certainly be going faster and developing more side load in some rivals, but you’d not be having as much fun.

The FR-S looks forward and back to a time when cars taught you to react in the right way to slides. And if you do get it wrong, there are a couple of electronic stability program settings to gather it all up and point the car down the road again. Toyota’s new coupe doesn’t rewrite the laws of physics, and you can still spin it into the infield (or the barriers). Nevertheless, this is as nimble as they make cars these days, and as fun a track day car as you’d ever desire.

Driver’s Grievance: While Toyota did the body design and is trumpeting the looks, this is a pretty derivative design that apes late-1980s sports coupes such as the Mitsubishi Talon. The speed bumps on the front wings are a nice touch, but this is a long walk from startling. We also wonder why the manufacturer bothered with those vestigial rear seats. They’re just silly because there’s no legroom for anyone to sit there.

Bottom Line: Cars like this shouldn’t exist in our safety-netted automotive world. The reality is that car makers assume that drivers don’t know best and introduce intrusive safety electronics to prevent the almost certain hole in the scenery if such forces were unleashed by the ordinary driver. By contrast, Toyota has started from a position of trust and built a car that assists and encourages its driver, with the most remarkable level of feedback of any car launched in the last few years. The performance is modest and it doesn’t look like much, but once you’ve driven the "Hachiroku" (its nickname in Japan, which translates as "eight six"), the competition seems wrapped in cotton wool. Months before the launch, the maniacal Japanese tuning industry is already at work, with Toyota Racing Developments working on supercharged engines and suspension upgrades. But as it is, the FR-S moves straight into the pantheon of rice burners. And as a halo car for Toyota’s pretty ordinary range of sedans, it’s a job well done.

[Mr.Jay]

They are reviewing the Scion FR-S? This is interesting then and should calm down the crazy burn in hell scion guys

"Press the start button and the flat four sounds exceptionally unexceptional."

[ft86Fan]

Not a bad review. Surprised that they don't like the look that much.

[random]

Originally Posted by Mr.Jay

They are reviewing the Scion FR-S? This is interesting then and should calm down the crazy burn in hell scion guys

"Press the start button and the flat four sounds exceptionally unexceptional."

The start-up and idle engine sound isn't that important, though it's definitely a nice-to-have since that's one of the first impressions you get of the car as you're about to drive it. Fortunately, in the same article, a couple of sentences later:

"Tada says even he doesn’t like the noise and is working on a fix."

Looks like there's still time to make the engine's start-up and idle sound more charismatic.

[Guff]

Originally Posted by random

The start-up and idle engine sound isn't that important, though it's definitely a nice-to-have since that's one of the first impressions you get of the car as you're about to drive it. Fortunately, in the same article, a couple of sentences later:

"Tada says even he doesn’t like the noise and is working on a fix."

Looks like there's still time to make the engine's start-up and idle sound more charismatic.

He is implying that there is a start button, which debunks one of the biggest complaints from the "Burn in Hell Scion Guys"

[Zaku]

*puts away the torch and leaves the Mob* What was that about a start button? (jkjk) ahem nice article and hmm I too am alittle wary about the noise the car makes I guess Im just not used to a Boxer sound coming out of a Toyota lol. But it doesn't bother me so much.

[EDub]

Originally Posted by Mr.Jay

They are reviewing the Scion FR-S? This is interesting then and should calm down the crazy burn in hell scion guys

"Press the start button and the flat four sounds exceptionally unexceptional."

Except you guys all missed the part right in the beginning where it says :

"(We drove the GT-86, but it’s nearly identical to the FR-S.)"

[Zgrinch]

Originally Posted by Guff

He is implying that there is a start button, which debunks one of the biggest complaints from the "Burn in Hell Scion Guys"

Careful ...... Don't stir up the masses!!

Originally Posted by EDub

Except you guys all missed the part right in the beginning where it says :

"(We drove the GT-86, but it’s nearly identical to the FR-S.)"

[Snoopyalien24]

So since Tada doesn't like the exhaust, maybe means we will get an option, like Subaru does

[Mr.Jay]

damn I did miss that got too excited

[Ikaros]

Lol, yeah at first I thought it was actually a Scion until I saw the part where they said it was nearly identical. >_>