Trying the FR-S on for size
 

On the first 86 questionaire i recieved 2 months ago i asked if i would even fit in the car.. Im 6'5 330 lbs and 38 inch waist. A month later Jason from Beyond Marketing emails me and says scion will fly me down from norcal to long beach to go to scion hq and sit in the fr s.. Today i got to see the car i have been waiting 3 years for, i got to sit in it, i got to DRIVE IT =D and i was able to get some info from Mike at Scion

Absolutely fantastic! You wont understand what an amazing job toyota and subaru have done until you drive this car. Danny from Beyond Marketing picked me up from the Long Beach airport, we went to the Scion HQ where there was a Ultramarine FR-S I sat in it for a while and took some pics while just having a good time, Mike from Scion asked me what transmission i had ordered and i told him manual..so he pulled a manual Red FR-S around and i sat in that...then i asked if i could drive it and he let me take it around the block.

I SHOULDVE gotten a pic of me standing next to car to give you guys a good idea of the cars size, and i should've got a video clip of the stereo and the exhaust while driving..but with two FR-S's i was in a state of excitement...so sorry..lol

The FR-S is such a joy to drive, its hard to describe, you literally have to just go and FEEL this car, the numbers don't do it justice, it FEELS quick, the clutch is short and smooth, the brakes are crisp, and the gas is responsive, the stock exhaust sounds great, and its just a fantastic car. essentially i got to do two quarter mile ish strips (drove a square around scion HQ), i shifted at around 5400 i think and i didn't get past third gear, the gears are tall, you can reach 60 mph in 2nd. the pedals are aluminum with rubber grip pads, the pedals are close together but in a satisfying way. Also its engineered so that your right leg rests against a wall instead of in the middle of your center console. anyone 6'1 or taller will appreciate the sidewall. The car is SMALL but has a presence. the trunk and interior has more space than it looks from outside. Visibility is very good all the way around, side mirrors, and rear view are very good. from the front theres a space down the middle of the hood and then the wheel fenders are HUGE on top. lol

Danny (Beyond Marketing) was texting Mike (Scion) a few other questions i had after we left..one of which is any info about the TRD supercharger...so ill get that info soon hopefully.probably nothing but never hurts to ask..also gonna find out if the pioneer system has a subwoofer

As of right now apparently they don't have any final spoiler designs i guess, or at least Mike didn't know, the BRZ has some diff ones...i don't think they have established the Scion factory ones yet, there will be a lip spoiler of course and I'm hoping for one similar to the tC pedestal spoiler

because of the modding nature of this car you will be able to put whatever spoiler you want on it really.

http://www.dragongarage.com/titusdra...9-49_115-1.jpg

I have about an inch of headroom, my sight line is in the middle of the windshield, which is surprising, as tall as I am usually my sight line is towards the top of the windshield making it hard to see things like stoplights...lol... also most of my height is in my torso, so you could be taller than me but if its all in ur legs you would have enough headroom.


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The hood is VERY lightweight, there are many stabilizer bars in the engine bay

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These are the stock wheels. 17' I was very impressed with these.

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Note: the hood is popped right here. hence why its sticking up

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The steering wheel telescopes which is nice. the leather wrapping is comfortable and grippy. the steering is light yet responsive, the amount you have to turn the wheel feels just right

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This is the Pioneer Bespoke sound system, sounded awesome, full touch screen and it has a subwoofer I'm pretty sure, i will confirm, car comes stock with a usb port and a aux port for playing music and charging devices. The stereo is in a relatively high spot on the dash so you don't have to take your eyes too far from the road. the overall quality of the knobs and interior was surprisingly good.

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All the FR-S's will come with red trim on the seats, steering wheel, shift boot, and e brake handle. update: apparently the FR-S will NOT have red seat trim on the production models, the steering wheel, boot, and shifter is still on the table possibly

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careful, you might go blind

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notice the angle of the door controls, the sitting position is more slanted than the average car, though you COULD sit up straight if you wanted to..and didn't happen to be 6'5. though i was comfortable.

http://www.dragongarage.com/titusdra...-48-14_795.jpg

I forgot to get a pic but the "86" emblems on the sides are AWESOME looking, like the badge of honor..or badassness


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G141OlAoPNg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G141OlAoPNg[/ame]

sound clips of exhaust



http://www.dragongarage.com/titusdra...-26-22_818.jpg

And a little easter egg, i spotted this, which happens to be Ken Gushis 600 HP Drift FR-S. EDIT: apparently its not, speculation would suggest its Ken Gushi's drift tC.


Pic uploads thanks to Kiteless

Congrats. Interested to hear/see your experience!

What circumstances did you drive it under?

Please do tell!! :w00t:

Don't leave any little detail out. I'll be looking forward to seeing what your first drive was like. If possible, try and include references to cars which you may have owned/driven in the past.

You're a lucky guy!

bneale

awesome man i'm glad it worked out!! WOO HOOO can't wait to hear more! Did they happen to say if we'll get to drive it in a couple weeks for the trip??

Danny from Beyond Marketing who drove me from the airport (in a stylin scion xB) said hes pretty sure there will be a car for us to play around with for the 4 day trip

Go SCION !!!
 

What Service and Congrats :w00t:

Def cool stuff they did that for a First 86 :happy0180:

Can't wait to hear/see !

I thought thats where the First 86 winners were going. I also wonder if thats how this guy got to test drive the car.

I'll bet my next doughnut thats how/why he got to drive it. It's most likely there for the first 86 winners.

EDIT: I'll be taking my doughnut back now! Looks like I was correct.

If thats the case, we should have like 50+ testers to say how they like the car or not. I hope people are being honest with their opinons (not that I think they're not being honest) and not just saying "OMG this car is awesome" simply because their on this forum.

As a canadian, I'm outraged we were snuffed from this contest!

bneale

I drove out of the parking lot then three quarter mile ish strips of road, went in a square around the HQ, never passed 3rd gear. Shifted at 5500 rpms. Not used to a high reving engine.. But it was fantastic

I will do a extremely detailed write up. Ive driven 2008 and 2012 v6 mustangs, a 2010 wrx, a g35 coupe, mini cooper s, mazdaspeed3, mazdaspeed6 (my current car), a 2011 civic Si sedan, 2011 cadillac STS, 2008 bmw 328...the FR-S drove better than them all. No bs. Its light, its responsive, quick acceleration, smoothest shortest clutch ive ever driven. Responsive brakes, touchy throttle.

im also on mazdaspeed forums, and 3 different mustang forums. Trust me, the FR-S is genuinely BRILLIANT

Not that it really matters too much but what color was it that you drove:thanks:

Great. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I'm really interested in seeing peoples "unbiased" opinions of this car and yours seems quite unbiased. From the cars you've driven, it sounds like you know what a "good car" really is.

I just hope we see more people from the First 86 program driving it and sharing their thoughts.

bneale

FR-S review
 

I am just going to have a hard time, coming from 6+ Turbo cars to N/A as far as Power/TQ. 02 WRX, 04 STi, 08 STi , 08 335Xi, 09 135i, 11' STi. from 300+hp to 200hp, but I really enjoy autocross and want to enjoy Rwd fun and focus on handling more than straight line speed. I def will share if we / when we get to test one out :thumbsup:

I kinda expect it to feel like what a Rwd Integra Type R would be like , similar weight / power, given advantage to FR-S for TQ/Displacement.

I can't wait !!! Woop Woop !!!

Coming from an sti or 335 the fr s might feel slower in acceleration, but it handles very good. If you can afford stis then you should get an frs/brz and supercharge or turbocharge it.. Would make it incredibly fast

I was expecting to be underwhelmed. I have quite a passion for Mustangs... The FR-S blew my mind, it completely changed my perspective on how a car should drive.

You guys all make me seem like small fish! I'm 27 years old and I've only ever owned a 94 Integra and a 98 Audi A4 with the 2.8L engine.

For me, the power will be the same as my Audi but the FR-S is atleast 1000 pounds lighter.

bneale

I first sat in a ultramarine. Automatic transmission with the premium soundsystem.. (awesome stereo.. More on that later) Mike from Scion asked which transmission i had ordered, i told him manual so he brought up a manual red fr s which is the one i drove.

The fr s will feel much quicker than the 2.8 =)

HAHA, yeah... definatly quicker. Even the neighbor's dog is faster down the block then I am. I just hope its more dependable also.

In the last 2 weeks, all of the electronic door locks just stopped working (Alarm arms, doors are left unlocked, opening the door does not trigger alarm) and I think I just broke a tie-rod or something in the steering. The left front wheel is jammed in the "turn left" position and doesn't seem to work anymore.

I took my Dad's older Jag just to get to work this morning! The Vanden Plas is huge and it feels like the queen should be in the back seat!

bneale

Lol. You cant go wrong with a toyota

:happy0180:

So @ 6'5 how was the overall seating/comfort during your short drive.

Also curious, I'm 6'4" and 210lbs.

I'm jealous.

That is all.

You will fit comfortablly. No doubt about it

i'm gonna be the shortest one at first 86...where are all these tall people coming from???

I was comfortable. Headroom was fine. Only complaint was my right leg would touch the steering wheel when i went for the brake, im gonna drop 20 lbs before my car comes into the dealer in april, should fix that. Also i have very broad viking shoulders. So the seat back didnt fit me very well., but just barely, im the exception id say. If i buy id put in aftermarket racing seats with flatter and wider backs, and id be completely comfortable. You sit like 10 inches off the ground. Its awesome =)

That's good to hear. Though I'm not as tall as you (6'2 198lbs) and the only car comparison that I recently drove was an IS250. One of my main concerns was how much leg room would the interior allow for us tall drivers.

You will have plenty of room =) its small on the outside but the inside is quite roomy

Thanks for the review. Good to hear that the car is a delight to drive. Can't wait.

About to takr off. Will get pics and videos up with more detailed info later tonight

You talking about the car or the dog? ;)

No, that should be no problem. I've had 2 Toyotas well over 100K miles (an '85 MR2 and a Geo Prism). I know a huge Subaru guy who had a Brat that finally completely fell apart around him at about 120K and at a large portion of it was off-road.

Also, I've flown behind Subaru boxers in a gyroplane and in a fixed wing experimental. They are HUGE in that aftermarket space for nuts like me that love to fly, but also love our lives.

I was wondering that myself. Looks like I'm gonna be fighting it for oldest (at 53) and shortest (at 5'7" on a good day).

Awesome! It's getting closer! :party0030:

[QUOTE=titusdrake;159197] If i buy id put in aftermarket racing seats with flatter and wider backs, and id be completely comfortable. [QUOTE]

If you buy? I would have thought with all the lavish praise that you heaped on the car that the decision would be a "slam dunk". What would deter you?

I'm totally jealous, or "totes jel" as I believe you kids say these days. :)

Brett

I'm 5,7" as well, but you have me by 13 years. It's nice to see a wide range of ages for this car!

[QUOTE=Rampage;159266][QUOTE=titusdrake;159197] If i buy id put in aftermarket racing seats with flatter and wider backs, and id be completely comfortable. I dont know how much it costs yet =(

not close to oldest.....64 here!!!

[QUOTE=titusdrake;159284][QUOTE=Rampage;159266]That's probably the sticking point for me as well. Man, why don't they just release the price already?!?!

That's pretty impressive that you think it drives that well with the list of vehicles you've had. I'm definitely buying one, but it's going to need a turbo kit. :lol: