Good Way to Appreciate the Handling and Steering Feel on the FRS Even More!
 

Rent a Ford Mustang from Avis/Hertz, etc. and drive it for a few days and switch back to your FRS/BRZ. Such a dramatic difference in the steering feel between the 2 cars. When I first test drove the car it felt so precise. Of course, your body adapts to the feel and sort of forgets that feeling. Going from the Mustang back to my car helped me remember one of the main reasons I really like this car!

Funny. I have a corolla too and experience the same feelings.

I switch between my mr2 and the frs. The frs still wins in the handling department, but not by much. It gets slaughtered in power though. But driving my wife's boring hybrid Lexus for a weekend and jumping back into the FRS is refreshing.

My wife's mitsu RVR is the family vehicle. I some time for get to slow down for turns which can be interesting. The strangest part though is that it has the continuous variable tranny so there are no gears! Just smoothly speeds up while the revs stay relatively flat. FREAKS ME OUT!

He he he... my wife in her trip to Japan for 2 weeks, was driving one of those little boxy car almost every day. It struggled uphill when carrying 3 passengers and I remember the first time she sat on it she said it felt like driving a mini truck.

But she did miss the crazy easy parking though. Those box cars are like dream to drive for those non car nerds who only after convenience and ease of drive. T

I just drive my stock dbl cab Taco family truckster or my wheeling CJ7. Boats vs Jetski

Had the same experience. Rented a Mustang V6 for a weekend in Malibu. More than the sloppy handling or lazy transmission, the thing that irked me was the seating position.

The interior was a nice surprise though, and I liked the track apps feature.

I DD a Pruis +7 (Prius v in the US)... Quite a difference....

When we need space, we drive Sienna SE, but, don't let the SE fool you, it is like night and day between the two. It starts off with just approaching the two because the FR-S appears to be half the height of the other. Getting in is climbing up into instead of down. And it keeps going with driving dynamics. You name it and it is the diametric opposite. The van has a purpose just like a container ship, but, I have said it before and I will say it again, driving the FR-S is just like Tony Stark wearing the Iron Man suit - it feels like an extension of you instead of driving a boat.

I dd a 2004 subaru forester at least 5 of 7 days a week. The FRS is mainly for track and nice weekend drives. I drove the forester to Texas for two weeks last month and when I got back I hopped into the FRS and it was the greatest feeling ever. It felt like a rocket! One thing I always notice when switching cars is how amazing the turn in is on the FRS.

The only reason I rented a Camaro is because the alternative was an Explorer or something.

Wow, reminded me of the last Chevy V6 Automatic I drove:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...LWB_3-Door.jpg

I had a similar experience when I drove a 2014 Lancer Evolution MR. I drove it on a curvy road for a test drive then immediately got back into my car and drove the same road on the way home. Not that the MR is a bad car, but under those circumstances it was very underwhelming and I was very happy with my car in its current state.

When ever I get into my gf's lancer (gts) it feels so sloppy on the road and the brake pedal is like mush lol

I'm in a Chrysler 200 rental while my car is at the body shop. Going to be a pretty radical change when I finally get my baby back. Probably going to fall in love all over again.

Sometimes I drive the wife's Audi when we do errands or shopping, and its a world of difference.


I do work at a Dodge dealership so I'm reminded pretty much daily about how awesome my car is though.

I'm driving an Avenger right now on a business trip, which is basically the same as the 200 underneath. What a dog. When I checked into the hotel and was instructed to write the make and model of the car on the registration card, I was tempted to write "Dodge Shitbox."

But driving another car is not when I fully appreciate the handling of my BRZ.

It's when there's a big pile of steel chain lying in the road and I dance around it easily but the car behind me hits it.

I've been telling people that I'm in a Chrysler Shitwagon when they ask what I got as a rental.

when driving my wife's Honda CRV its like driving a bus compared to my BRZ

I've said the same thing about the crv. It felt like a uhaul van

Or jump out of a 3/4 ton long wheel base, automatic Ford Powerstroke pickup into an FR-S.... wow.

I actually can verify this as well. Long story short, saw a used mustang gt online and was gonna attempt to trade. Initially scrapped the idea, then had a bad experience at my dealer with a "free " oil change and out of frustration decided stopped at a ford dealer to test the waters, and my credit.

Well after a few hrs of back and forth and me almost walking, they offered to lend me a '14 GT for 24 hrs.

Of course the first few times i revved the v8 getting on the highway or on the streets i smiled, but after going thru my normal commutng routes, and nearby places i frequent, i just felt blah. The handling felt like a crownvic/ice cream truck. If not for that beautiful V8, the mustang gt and i'm guessing all the other american muscle wwe heavyweight cars are huge pieces of shit. sorry, but this is coming from a guy who grew up dreaming of owning a mustang gt with a 5.0, and always assumed it would be my "perfect" car.

Even looking out in my driveway and seeing the mustang instead of my fr-s made me sad. I even grinned like a loser when they pulled my car back up after turning the stang back in.

In a horrifying turn of events, my sister in law literally backed into my right rear wheel wheel shortly after, but i digress.

Someone on here said it well, the fr-s is greater than the sum of its parts.

People who knock it are idiots, and know nothing about what makes a great car great.

To be fair, the Chrysler 200/Dodge Avenger is so awful I'd be happy to get a Toyota Yaris instead. Today one Chrysler 200 was used for courier duty...the speedometer failed, it was replaced with a more superior car...a damaged Hyundai Accent. I work in rental so I get this feeling pretty much every day. None of my work cars compare to the FRS. Closest thing I get to possibly drive that can even be compared to how it drives it would be a Mustang GT. The problem I have with the Mustang GT though...its awful if you're forced to drive slow, and the handling while actually good...its not memorable.

Try driving a Mazda 2 with 3 other people in the car trying to get up to speed on a California Freeway lol. Rented one when I was down in San Diego. Had to wring that 100HP engine just to get going.

My wife's car is a Mustang. I hear ya'!

It's an amaizing feeling... to drive another car, no matter the car, and when i get back in my frs i feel everything is right in the world, "now thats the way a car should be" feeling.... We frs owners are lucky, we have something that many search their whole life. Drive a 1998 suzuki vitara and then get in the frs.... Magical, truly a engineer wonder

Nah. It really depends on the kind of driving you're doing. I drive A LOT for my job, and there are times when it would be nice to cruise the highway with a lot more room, a lot of horsepower up front and a softer suspension to handle the terrible Louisiana pavement. That's when it's more about comfort than performance, and the performance is there to serve comfort. You don't really need cornering ability when you're going to spend the next five hours driving in straight lines.

When I was in the market for a new car, oddly enough the choice came down between the BRZ and a Charger SRT, which most people here probably wouldn't have even considered a choice. The Charger would have been a more comfortable car on the highway. I decided that I'm willing to put up with less comfort for the handling of the BRZ when I need it, but I could definitely see the appeal of not having my state's poor roads beating me to death for hours at a time. If I had unlimited funds, I would have both.

The Avenger I have rented is the worst of both worlds, though. Although it has room, it's so weak it makes it less comfortable to drive because I'm constantly fighting the car.

When I bought my BRZ, I kept my Jeep Cherokee and put a 4.6L stroker in it. It's a lot of fun to drive in a very different way. I can jump in and roar and bounce across the city potholes that would rip the bottom off the BRZ at more than 2 mph. It can jump curbs and go places the BRZ just can't go. I can plow through standing water sending up rooster tails that would wash the BRZ down into a storm drain. What's down that dirt road? I won't find out in the BRZ. When I get my lift and axles installed, I'll be able to go practically anywhere a truck can go.

I wonder if the '15 Mustang will improve meaningfully in any of these areas. I know it's lower & wider & has IRS, but will it actually be fun to drive ? The '12 GT's I tested were bo-ring to drive.

Just drove a rental Corolla through the Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee. If you don't know what that is Google it as it is worth it! To say I missed my car for the drive would be the understatement of the century!!!!!!!!!! Next summer and some track time I WILL BE BACK with mine.

HAHA this is hilarious. My wife has a '12 corolla too, and i share the same experience.

Now we fight who gets to drive the FRS to work.

I definitely had a similar experience. After driving my FR-S for a month, and driving it a lot, I had to take my old 4Runner to the shop. When I got in I immediately tried to put the clutch in before remembering it's automatic. Then when I was driving, it was the weirdest feeling. Imagine the polar opposite of everything that makes the FR-S great: it was tall, the transmission was an automatic truck transmission (no more needs to be said there), and the steering input/response felt incredibly soft and unresponsive. I still love the 4Runner, but in comparison it was night and day.

Try Autocross :)

its an auto right? i use to have one..its the CVT transmission. i hate CVTs!
if you look at the specs of a manual then that of an auto with CVT you'll notice they usually have the same horsepower but the torque is way down on the CVT.

Ya those CVTs don't have any distinctive shift points and can feel weird as hell to drive!

I think the '15 will definitely be an improvement over the outgoing gen, BUT...

It didn't really get any lighter, I think it actually gained weight.

I knew the fr-s was really well balanced, but didn't really notice until I drove the outgoing stang and could feel the spongey suspension, the body roll, the nose heavy engine diving into every corner.

I'd really only consider the newest gen if they made it super light. Even then, i don't think i'll find a car in my budget besides the twins that has the same level of driver experience and engagement.

For me personally, and I feel many can agree, the fr-s is the best handling car under 30k.

Besides the miata, theres no other car with the handling, balance, looks, and rear wheel drive of the twins.

Everyone points at the wrx, the focus st and other turbo hot hatches, cheaper v6 muscle cars.

All of those pale in comparison to what the fr-s gives you.

I drive a 2002 WRX stage 2 with Ohlins coilovers, sway bars, 4 pot swap, welded rear diff, LSD in the front etc etc, jumping back to the BRZ makes it feel civilized but totally underpowered.

Driving my 1994 Impreza L super modified shitbox makes both feel amazing...