Sold my 2016 Scion FR-S
 

Like the title says, it's gone. I wanted to leave a review of what I liked and didn't like about the car. I had the car for 2 years and put 40k miles on it. It was my daily driver.

For reference some of my previous sporty cars:
2007 Nissan 350Z
2012 BMW 335i coupe
2005 Mazda RX-8
2005 Infiniti G35 coupe
2002 Honda S2000

Dislikes first:

For a daily driver driving roughly 90 miles each weekday, the seats aren't ideal. I noticed if you raise the seat up it almost feels like the seat is tilting ever so slightly forward putting pressure on my tailbone. The easy fix for this was to drop the seat height to the lowest setting so it sort of cups you into the seat.

The engine is meh. The dip in the power curve actually didn't bug me like it does a lot of people - it actually put me in the habit of downshifting to avoid it altogether. Which is always fun. But the thing that did bug me was the general unrefinement of the motor. Every time I would hang revs it just had this buzzing shakiness to the whole car that wasn't very pleasant. And it isn't exciting to wind out like my RX8 was. Just not a thrilling car to rev out at all. Does it need more power? Yes. It's not a good feeling losing to V6 accords. But full disclosure: I was never a fan of Subaru's glass motors to begin with. It won't be missed.

The exhaust note was lacking. Most aftermarket options sound too ricey and the header modification to give it the boxer rumble IMO doesn't fit the personality of this car at all. I played it safe and bought a TRD exhaust. It did increase the sound but that's about all it did. The exhaust didn't have any particular character just a slightly loud hum. I did like the way the triangular exhaust tips looked though.

Rear seats are practically useless. Should have just removed them and saved the weight.

While I'm not one to complain about tech options the fact that my car came with halogens was a bit disappointing. Even Corollas come with Xenon's now. Not really a big deal just nit picking now.

Fuel mileage isn't bad, but for being so low on hp and curb weight you would think it got better mileage.

Alright now the Likes:

The car handles better than anything I've owned. It really is so much fun to toss around. Pretty much any farm road I will drive 9/10ths and I will have the biggest smile on my face. I'm not too big on drifting, but anytime the rear end stepped out I purposely kept the gas pedal floored and counter steer just for sh!ts and giggles.

The car looks good. I got many compliments on my paint choice (Oceanic Blue). It looks a lot more expensive than it actually is lol. The side profile is spot on and the rear end looks wide and low. Overall it's one of my favorite looking cars that I've owned.

Reliability was rock solid as expected from Toyota. Not a single thing went wrong with my car.

The 6MT actually held up to my abuse. I know some transmission don't like to be rushed, but this one never missed a gear, or caught a synchro, or felt like I was shifting through rocks. It got the job done. I could count on it when I drove 10/10ths.

Overall for the price, this a great little sports car. While I didn't particularly enjoy the engine, it still managed to put a big grin on my face when I drove it hard. If future me ever has a son, I honestly think I will try to find a mint used one of these for his first car. I can't think of a better overall sports car for someone to learn driving dynamics.

All the best to you all and may all your dreams come true.

Cool retrospective review/writeup, but I found a strange juxtaposition in your post:

Yeah, what's a glass motor? :eyebulge:

Excellent write up, I've had mine for 6 months and yeah, there definitely is a lack of power, particularly for passing on the highway. What car are you replacing it with if you don't mind me asking?

Edit: Also, did you ever look into a turbo/SC? Why didn't you go that route if you wanted more power? Or even change up the gearing?

OP sold it cuz his whole house had water damage. XD

ok sorry about my bad joke... >__> It's a really nice review. :w00t:

The 3.5-liter V6 Accord is rated at 278-horsepower and 252 lb-ft of torque, which is pretty much for a family sedan. I don't know why you expected to not lose from such a car. Sometimes, we are fooled by the looks of our cars and expect much more on the performance side. Besides, Subarus are not considered anymore strong cars. They are focusing now on consumption and on safety features. Even the STI's performance has been surpassed by other manufacturers. Until they give us something else, we'll have to rely on modifications or otherwise change brand.

Downshift to 5th or 4th. Engine can handle the revs

Very very good review, agree with all your pros and cons

I will never ever be able to understand the oft made statement "I have problems passing" with this car. The vast majority of cars on the roads have between 90 and 150 HP yet they all manage to get past other vehicles with no issues. Did everybody that can't get past other cars all come from Mustang GTs or something where you just mashed the pedal? Hell just the other day I was doing 65 on a back road and a Mitsubishi Mirage flew past me with all it's 80HP, 74lbs torque. He didn't seem to be struggling even if he was a far braver soul than I to go that speed on the road we were on. Going turbo or SC because you "can't pass" is just a way your own brain is trying to rationalize your need for one. Downshift and pass.

High end sports cars have just gotten to have so damn much HP that that is the new benchmark in performance. Comparing an 86 to a GTR or something is ludicrous. There will always be a faster car no matter what you drive (untill you drive the fastest car in the world) so you need to be satisfied with what you can afford and enjoy it and quit complaining.

See that is part of my issue. Everybody compares it to the higher level cars and say how slow it is when in reality it is in the top percentile of the normal production cars. Most cars can't even touch it but to read here it sounds like everybody drives where there is nothing else on the road except high trim Mustangs, Camaros, Vettes and exotics all zooming around them as they plod along.

I suspect the OP maybe was used to an auto trans?

I have problems passing all the time... Fucking assholes at the track... :mad0259:

A lot of your complaints would have been noticed on a test drive.

perhaps, but the auto, especially in sport mode, does an ok job at downshifting to around peak power when you're wot. think people who complain about passing power on the twins are those with a MT...they keep it in either 5th or 6th going 60-70 MPH and punch it like they expect a big block chevy under their foot :iono:

Not sure what to tell you man, all I know is I was in 3rd or 4th gear, foot to the floor the other day trying to get into the far lane and a Toyota Sienna minivan was gaijing on me (I honestly think he was trying to race me or block me). I did let off throttle because traffic in front of me slowed down, and I decided to go behind the van anyways, but yeah, i found myself wanting for more power in that specific situation. Maybe I should have downshifted another gear and redlined it but didn't feel like doing that at the time (I have no problem pushing it that far, I'm not light with the throttle).

I came from one of the worst cars of the 21st century but still find myself wanting for a bit more power, personally.


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Damnit, Bobby!

think the issue is people don't give the 2GR enough credit :) the days of economy/luxury cars being slower than performance cars are over

If you have it to the floor and you are not accelerating fast enough then you are in the wrong gear for what you are trying to do. You would not have to red line it but simply be in the right gear for the job. Adding power will not help if you are not using what you already have to full advantage.

Its why we can't have a more "aggressive" overdrive gear to keep revs down in 6th gear anymore, people afraid to actually row their gears.

I'm breaking in my new one and yet I manage to find enough power under 4000rpm while not at WOT to pass cars on the highway.

I guess I'm doing it wrong?

Going to have to agree with this, especially the first complaint about seating position. To me it's perfect, I'm also 5'9" though and my dad who is 6' says the seating is very comfortable and feels right. Perhaps this is a question of anatomy

^ this. tcoat no stupid, me like tcoat

I'm 6' and it is perfect. Even my 6'1" dad who always complains about seating in small sports cars (he's a luxo-barge kind of guy) said he was comfortable.

But yeah seats are a weird thing. A lot depends on how long waisted or long legged you are.

Thanks. I'm not really into aftermarket stuff. I guess I have old man taste.

I never said it had trouble passing. I think someone else said that.

I said it could use more power so I wouldn't lose to V6 accords. And yes I understand why I'm losing to V6 accords. But when you aren't a car enthusiast and you see a sleek sports car you wouldn't expect it to lose a drag race to a plebeian family sedan. Hey but I had the same issues with my RX8 so don't get too butt hurt guys. It's a minor gripe about an overall great car.

And the guy/gal that asked visit the STI engine/modifications forums for more information on glass motors.

As far as what I'm replacing it with that remains to be seen. The new F Type R is striking my fancy. But not sure if I want to spend that much. So I think I'm going to take a break from sports cars for a while.

In the specific situation I was talking about, the Sienna minivan with more hp/torque was also gunning it. I think I was in 3rd or 4th so I would have had to downshift again to get in front of the minivan if I had the space. Also, sometimes other cars don't merge properly and there's barely an opening for me to merge. Or I go to pass a truck and it takes forever, even redlining at times. Maybe the cars/trucks in my area are just crazy but that's my experience. I'm learning how to maximize the power in this car now and barely find myself in situations where I feel low on power, but there have been enough instances to make it a concern for me.


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You should get the Lexus LC 500.

Please don't say that! I am sure you agree with these and these are valid for AT too. You can and should downshift with AT as well. Sitting back and expecting right foot to do the job is for muscle cars not sports cars. We are supposed to downshift with AT as well. Redline is at 7500 rpm for a reason!

At least one V6 Accord now knows not to mess with an FR-S here ;)

I wouldn't call FA20 a "glass" engine. To me, FA20 engine is one of the two best features of this car. The next is handling as you already like. When you have screaming 7500 rpm (complete range useful), 12.5 compression, 30 mpg average fuel efficiency while having all that fun, how can you call this engine a dislike? Please! Plus, my engine is handling 300HP like a champ without any modification other than an oil cooler!

I'm sorry that you sold your car, enjoy the next.

I suppose owning an FR-S in a place like Houston, not renowned for twisty roads, would be a less than wonderful experience. I live 2 miles from some of the best canyon roads in the USA.

Thanks.

BTW, do you feel accomplished after beating a V6 accord? :)

I guess it's all a matter of perspective. I've had cars with engines that really "scream", and unfortunately the motor in the FRS wasn't one of them.

Basically with any 90-150hp car, if you try to pass them and they decide to mash it too, you are not passing anything within 1000ft. lol
The lack of torque kills this car and you need to utilize the full power band to do anything.
I have an evo also. While my boosted twin can hang top end, the evo just launches itself out of a steady state cruise so rapidly and can literally zip by cars within a second or so. If I do the same thing in the FRS, it takes forever to gain ground.

I tried to pass a e-Golf with the frs after a double right turn at a light and it took forever just to gain any ground. He had about 200tq down low while I have like 100tq max down low and peaks at about 250tq at 7000rpm. lol
I had about a 250hp delta on it.

In conclusion, these cars are really slow bottom end. lol

which high revving NA 4 cylinder isn't? never experienced a NA 4 banger you don't need to rev out.

Yep I know you never mentioned a lack of passing power, I was just talking about my own experience. Basically any modern car can smoke an 86 if you don't do a proper launch and aren't perfect with your shifting. I knew that coming into this and still love the car overall...it's really a momentum car more than anything. But I have had a few frustrating experiences on the highway. Isn't the new Supra supposed to be revealed next month? Maybe that will interest you.


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So again the .00008% of the cars on the road that can do better are thrown up as the norm. If you are trying to pass a car and they speed up and then you try to beat them it is no longer passing it is now a race. Yes you could lose a race to a more powerful car but MOST of the cars on the road are not more powerful.

Yes you have to actually drive the thing to get the best out of it. Any noob can mash a pedal in an Evo. I repeat I have NEVER had an issue passing.

Please show where "Any modern car can smoke an 86". The stats say otherwise. No doubt there are some but this whole "everything is faster" myth is ludicrous.

agreed, getting "smoked" is silly but to be fair there are a lot of 5 sec cars out there, espcially accords :bow:

The 6.1-6.2 0-60 time for the 2017 86 is with a perfect launch and basically perfect shifting. Not everyone is gonna get that. Once you're at speed, many cars have significantly more torque at lower RPMs and could essentially walk this car if you're not in the right gear. I regularly am in traffic with cars in the 4-6sec 0-60 range with powerful midrange torque. All they have to do is mash the pedal and they are already way too close to this car for comfort. Did you want a list?

All V6/turbo 4 family sedans
Turbo 4/V6/V8 American muscle
V6 minivans
V6-V8 SUVs (Jeeps, etc)
Turbo compacts (Civic EX-T, Golf GTI)
All bikes
WRX

Again I love my car overall (even if it's about to be destroyed by Irma lol) but I don't think it's being too harsh to say that in a straight line, this car does not excel. I think a turbo/SC are fine options but not necessary at all if you're patient and wait for openings. Most other vehicles have a *significant* HP/Torque advantage though, that can't be denied. And it can be seen in daily life if you drive enough highway miles like I do.



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Yep and for every one of them on the road there are probably 200,000 11 to 14 second cars. Notice a common theme to the list? These are not the bulk of the cars on the road. Many of them I have never even seen before.

I forgot, you don't live in socal, so you don't understand :D
People be damned if you try to go around them even if they are driving slow. lol
Having to work harder to pass someone just to not pass them sucks. :D
Having easier passing power is not n00b friendly. It's just more capable.
I hate having to work harder also bc I literally have to achieve a higher top speed to go around them risking myself for a ticket when I can just cover more ground in as little time as possible to get around people.

There is no defending this; the FRS has a hard time with 90% of cars out there.