Test Drive Advice
 

I have not made the jump to go and test drive a GT86 yet, but looking to test drive possibly tomorrow. I will be test driving a BRZ manual transmission and plan to purchase a Monogram FR-S when it is released.
Any advice you can provide...?

Drive it?

Test out all the features and listen to the stereo, make sure the A/C and heat work, etc...?

Take sharp turns etc.. idk what advice to provide you about test driving lol

Nick C.

Don't crash it? :iono:

I agree with OP, test drives can be overwhelming. There's so much you have to force your self to think of. Make sure the interior works for you. Make sure the power works for you (Keep it above 4k rpm IMO.. don't gun it in the <4krpm range).

Honestly, the worst thing you can do is buy it right there. I know so many of us on these forums did that, but you've gotta really give it some thought. On my second test drive, I bought mine. I wasn't completely blown away like some of the people here claim to be, but the FR-s was really the best option for me for inexpensive, fun, weekend car.

Don't let the sales guy drive it. My sales guy drove it off the lot first and then basically tried to impress me by red lining the rpms and driving dangerously on a bumpy curvy road. With barely 50 miles on the car you can say I was pretty pissed.

Maybe his mistook me as a young kid who would be impressed with that kind of stupidity, but I was just plain mad that this guy was driving the car I wanted to buy like it was his toy.

Don't be afraid to ask for a slightly extended test drive too. Not just 4 right turns. Take it on a road with some curves. Also, feel free to come back for a second test drive if you wish.

I straight up told them I wanted an extended test drive or I wouldn't consider the car. They gave it to me for a week and I put 600 miles on a car with 10 on it when I got it. I returned it and said I'll take one in Raven.

Got a new one and I am quite happy with it and they got a sale.

My dealer was cool as heck. He encouraged me to drift and floor it. So if your dealer is as cool as mine then don't hesitate to put some power on the throttle.

Well, Chad86, you will be for a fun test drive......[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Roger/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.png[/IMG]

First off, I would suggest you take a minute to get yourself seatedproper (for you). The driver’s seat not only goes up and back and tilts,it goes up and down.

You won't have to (and shouldn't) run it up past 4,000 rpms, to get an ideawhether or not it will be "quick" enough for you.

The "back seat" isn't going to get any bigger, so make sure thecar has enough people/cargo capacity for your needs. No, you can't evenput small children (in car seats) back there for any extended period of time.

The manual transmission may seem a bit "stiff", however, theyusually get smoother as they warm up and with use.

Be careful if you back up, these cars have a couple of so called "blindspots", however, with properly adjusted mirrors and twisting your neck abit, what's behind you can be seen.

Don't expect the salesperson to know much about the car.

Have fun!

humfrz

I was very thorough before I bought my FRS, and for a straight month I went on test drives, in this order -> FRS one time, veloster one time, genesis coupe one time, GTI one time, wrx one time, FRS another test, mazdaspeed 3 one time, civic si one time, mini cooper s one time, lexus is 250 multiple tests (gf's car), FRS test drive a third time

THEN I bought my FRS one week after my month of test drives and could not be happier.

check the rev limiter repeatedly......

1086...you did almost exactly what I did, although I only drove the Genesis coupe 2.0T, Veloster and Veloster turbo. Several test-drives over the course of four or five months. I think I tried each transmission in each car as well. Wound up with the automatic FR-S. I drove them all like a grandmother, but you get a good sense of the suspension and steering pretty quick, which is where the FR-S really shines. And I love the FR-S interior architecture. Power is just enough for me to kick the tail out on every corner if I feel like it.

I read and watched pretty much every FRS/BRZ review before test driving. Make note of whats important that you want to know about the car. I focused on how the car drove and was surprised at the visibility and comfort of this car. The car to me lived up to the reviews and my expectations. I bought right after the test drive but I negotiated the price before making the 1.5hr drive to the dealership

Agreed. I really wanted to explore other cars in the relative price range - and although some of them were a bit more quick (cause of their turbos) - the FRS's handling was unmatched - as well as the driver seat position, I like the fact that you could have ur ass slammed to the floor (or close to it). I think choosing the color I wanted was more difficult than the car, however - choosing the color took me months haha.

:laughabove::cheers::clap::lol:

Drive it on a highway, a bad highway. You may not like the road noise.

If you think the stock tires are loud try driving with a gutted car on r-compound tires.

I wasn't complaining, i was pointing out something 99% non car guys will find annoying.

Road noise won`t be a problem as I`m sure the noise will be either comparable or better than my current Celica GT.
:popcorn:

I guess I don`t want my dealer to do this to me...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-WoK1S1xaY"]Russ Swift Terrifies Radio DJ in Prank Toyota GT86 Test Drive - YouTube[/ame]

Heh...

Reminds me of this video:

[ame]http://youtu.be/Q5mHPo2yDG8[/ame]

This was an excellent one!

I had to watch that twice. Thanks!!

I usually go through a mental checklist of:

-check the acceleration. Is it sufficient or not and where is the power delivery.
-put the car through some curves both at regular and aggressive speeds (how does it handle)
-test the brakes for effectiveness and your ability to modulate them.
-check out your comfort with respect to seat and driving position as well as radio and hvac controls.
-Is the interior space and trunk sufficient.

Other than that, you may have special considerations such as kids (I checked the space for a car seat).

Most of all -have fun, but, don't be overly abusive since it is a new car and if you don't buy it, someone else may.

I didn't test drive aBRZ or a FR-S before putting down a deposit down on my BRZ. But of course I already knew it was the car my wife & I wanted and we weren't considering anything else.

Test drive
 

I received my car as a surprise gift from the missus for my 50th birthday.
So that meant no test drive...

I was a little nervous about that, but after pulling out of the showroom all my fears vanished.

This car delivers.

Welcome to the club! :)

The car definitely does deliver, wait until you get it broke in and on some empty mountain roads!

Test drives in this car are IMO fairly pointless. We all know the basic features of the car and there's no way you're going to get anywhere near close to finding out what it can really do during a test drive.

1. Get seated comfortably. If you can't get comfy, don't get the car.
2. Make sure you can fit what needs to fit, like kids.
3. Make sure you like how it steers, brakes, accelerates, turns, and rides over bumps.
4. Merge onto the freeway and drive for a little bit. Go a little quick on the offramp and onramp. You don't have to thrash a car to know what it can do. Lower speeds are quite telling.

I buy performance cars largely based on how they feel. I don't pay much attention to the numbers. That's why I have never bought an Infiniti or a Mustang. The steps above will tell you how the car feels. You don't have to thrash the car or take it to the track.