GTI vs MX5 vs GC vs Civic Si
 

Having preordered an Argento frs mt I decided a bit of test driving was in order. Here are my thoughts on those four test drives, and my hopes for the FRS:

GTI - Beautiful car on the inside. Finishes and equipment looked great and the driver information display was the nicest of the four cars. The seats were comfortable and heated. Headroom and even the backseat were great. The seating position and steering wheel seemed good, with excellent visibility albeit with an elevated seating position. This same seating position felt slightly ponderous on the road, however. Body roll was minimal but the car felt as if it was fighting to stay upright and fighting to stay constant during hard cornering. It went where pointed, with lots of grip and little drama, but still felt strained in doing so, as if I could feel the front tires contact patches struggling moreso than the rears. Still great fun to drive, with smile inducing torque in the midrange and a nimble feel. Felt much faster than an 02 1.8t I previously owned. This car is practical, efficient and powerful. My second favorite car of the group after driving all four.

Civic Si - My current vehicle is a Prelude, and I've had great luck with Hondas in the past. To me, this car lacks the character and feel that have made previous Civic Sis so fun to drive. it does have something previous Hondas have lacked, however, plentiful torque. The power band seems very useable and the engine revs freely with little engine lag, but the Honda character is lost. Revving past 6000 rpm just doesn't bring the same urgency and tone in he engine, as it thrashes it's way to a lower redline that Honda aficionados will be used to. The car handles well, but rolls and tips on its way around corners while delivering little communication via the drivers seat of the pants or steering wheel. To me the car felt like a powerful, well built family sedan with two doors. Give me my old prelude any day. My third favorite of the group.

Genesis coupe - A powerful, attractive car with little communication to the
driver, I felt as if the Genesis coupe was more akin to Mustangs and Camaros than civics or GTIs. It's a fun car to drive, yes, but the limits of the handling were completely foreign to me. I felt as if challenging an off ramp too aggressively would be scary, as the limit of handling would be difficult to anticipate. Power was excellent, and I found myself gunning the accelerator often to feel the seat of the pants feel only torque can bring. The steering wheel was my least favorite, and felt less meaty than any if the thers. The seating position is nice and low, with high side sills but seemingly good visibility. The interior felt excellent to me and attractive, gone are the days of cheap plastic and clicky switches in Hyundai products. The aesthetic appealed to me almost as much as GTI in fact, with nice leather, heated seats, and an attractive center console and radio, hvac controls. Still the car lacked character to me, felt heavy and difficult to wield. The transmission was less smooth than any other vehicle, and shifting just wasn't as fun. Count me out. My least favorite of the group.

MX5 GT- What a fun car. The interior was well laid out, but lacked the class of the GTI. Sliding down the power hardtop, I accelerated out from the dealership with a smile on my face. Sitting low to the ground, I felt connected to the car and the contact patches so much more fully than in the other cars, as the steering wheel, suspension and shifter worked in unison to communicate every nuance in the road. The steering wheel is thick but small, the seats comfortable and the engine note pleasing. Speaking of the engine, this model sported only 168 HP. It was enough. The speed garnered is, to me, so much less important than the communicative feel of the car. I felt the speed so much more fully at 60 kph than I did at 90 in the GC. True, the open air helps this feel, but it's more than that. The car just does a better job of speaking to the driver. Cornering was flat, acceleration brisk out of corners and the shifter was a joy to manipulate. The car felt composed over bumps, while conveying each one in a way that allowed me to feel the stresses acting on he suspension and brakes. It was as if even when pressed hard, the Miata was never stressed or strained. Just so much enjoyment in the drive. This car was the most fun I've had driving in years, and was by far my favorite of the group.

Obviously, I'm hoping the frs is similar to a hard top Miata with slightly more power. If the frs captures the feel and communication that the Mazda offers, while offering superior aesthetics and the benefits of slightly more interior and trunk space, ill be ecstatic, and I'm sure I'm not alone. We've been waiting years for this car. The power, the statistics lack import to me. I hope Toyota got it right. By the sounds of most reviews, I won't be disappointed.

V6 or 2.0T GenCoupe and what package?

2.0t premium package..

I'm going to give the R-Spec a shot when it gets close to BRZ buying time. Should be a bit better match up.

How was the pedal layout when you drove it? I've only sat in a prepoduction '13 and noticed a couple issues but it's probably just me. The sunroof model has crappy head room despite good seat adjustment (but I'm 6'3")and the clutch seemed too close to the brake for my feet.

To me the pedal placement was fine. I am three inches shorter than you however. The sunroof was actually a really nice feature and did not intrude on headroom in the car I saw. The interior was actually really nice all around.. Not bashing the car at all, just my preferences regarding the feel of the car. To have ~270 horsepower and still get 30 mpg is really impressive to me, and I'm sure others will gravitate to the style, power and economy. The front end especially is really sharp.

I'm surprised you thought it felt like a Mustang or Camaro as the seating position in those cars are higher and when looking through the windshield you can't actually see the road ahead in those muscle cars. Even magazines said they feel nothing alike. The GC reminds me of a 2006 G35 Sport with better seats and I that was my favorite Infiniti of all time.

I did test drive a 3.8 rspec, it was very nice inside and felt good to be in, if you can tolerate the red interior. It was fast but kind of boring, imo. I ended up buying a gti on friday. The gti just feels a lot smaller, with great interior space. The interior is fantastic and the car feels very tight driving around. I have never owned a turbo'd car, and only driven one a handful of times. So playing around in the boost isn't yielding the mpg I was expecting, only put one tank through at this time. I would not expect the heavier 2.0t gc to get 30mpg when driven normally.

Sub ft86 - I havent actually even been in a G35 to tell you the truth. They're definitely beautiful cars on the outside though..
E30kawi - Congrats, I know you'll love the GTI, even my older 02 was a great car to own and fun to drive, the new ones are def fun and still so useable. I know what you mean about it feeling smaller and I'd agree. With the sloping hood and efficient, well laid out interior the GTI feels compact and athletic.

I personally think civic si will destroy this car. New civic beat the s2000 in the track.

care to elaborate?

I can't see a 201hp 2879 lb FWD coupe beating a RWD 240 hp 2850 lb roadster with a 50/50 weight balance and a lower CoG.

the cobalt does that. its not that i dont belive him, but i kinda dont belive him. i mean he may very well be right but it would surprise me

Yes, new civic si was able to s2000 in a "low speed circuit track".
Im sure s2000 will he able to beat the si in a higher speed track.

It does matter what the hp is, it all depends on useable power band, keep in mind that new si is 2.4 L with much more useable torque. And reason why si was able to beat s2000 in a low speed track.

Let me take it back. I think si will either come very close or beat brz/frs in a track like tsukuba circuit

Also there was a video not to long ago in topgear i believe, where mugen civic literally destroyed the s2000. And yes thats a totally different car, but same chassis and same engine. These k20 and k24 engines are beast

And again, it will be depending on where they race. That miata vs brz/frs in best motoring, i think the race will be very different ifthey were racing in a autox event or small track like tsukuba circuit

This one?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sukHNCNGpns"]Mugen Civiс RR vs S2000 - YouTube[/ame]

There's a crazy Euro Hatch Type R. Mugen version is faster than every FWD car except the crazy Megane on EVO's course. And they are both faster than some very good RWD and AWD cars.

The Megane Trophy 265, which was slightly more than 1 second faster than the Mugen Civic (and much less expensive) is 5 second faster than the 86.

I don't have an issue to scan, all my magazines are at home..

Anyway I find myself agreeing with the Oilers' reviews.

The GTI is a very competent car with very little compromise. The 211 hp engine is quite fast, it usually has more than 225 hp.

I always feel the Mx5 very to nice tro drive (a least the restyled version) but the engine is asmathic, anything this side of a mk1 Clio RS is way faster.

No idea how the other two cars drive.

They are both faster than the following:

Elise SC
E46 M3 CSL
Boxster S
WRX STI
Boss 302...

They are serious FWD cars but the Mugen is super limited edition.

Don't count on a NorthAmerican Civic Si being anywhere close to it...