Everything else I read said the opposite, that the FR-S was more neutral and that the BRZ had a tad more understeer dialed in but higher maximum grip. No?

It's really subtle. Both cars are planted. The BRZ has more turn in understeer, but will handle more gas through the corner. The FRS has a more neutral initial turn in, but as you apply the gas, it will turn to a subtle oversteer, making for a greater corner radius.

They are both supremely brilliant.

Agreed. The Top Gear magazine reviewer said the differences were nil. Most journalists are claiming a "definite and immediately recognizable difference" or something to that nature. I've kinda been figuring it's pretty subtle, albeit I haven't driven a BRZ yet.

Nathan

Drive what you brung!!!!

There is a whole pointless piece to this thread. Most track enthusiasts will change the suspension anyway, nuetralizing the differences. The thing about this car is the bits you can't easily change are perfect (driving position, center of gravity, weight distribution, lightness, etc...)

I repeat. Take it to the track... at least once.

Thanks for the review and insights into both cars. It seems the vast majority of owners are sooooo loving this car. Mine is a DD and I'm curious to see how it does in winter with snow tires on my daily commute. That is really my only concern (not a real concern, just wondering about it) with this car, lovin it so far.

Thanks for pointing this out! I haven't seen this mentioned in a comparison of the two yet, and you're absolutely right. If you intend to change the stock suspension setup, then there is no difference and you're better off choosing the car on which one you like the looks/amenities of the most. Great writeup!

You guys have to keep in mind that the minute you change your springs and dampers these subtle tendencies between the two cars won't be the same. The difference between the FR-S and BRZ are in it's spring/damper tuning. If you put aftermarket springs and struts or coil-overs in the car, you can make a BRZ handle like an FR-S or vice-versa. The 86/GT86 have different spring/damper rates from the FR-S and BRZ, too.

From the sound of it I'd like a setup like the BRZ initially until I get the hang of the car, and then would want to dial it in a bit more like the FR-S to have sharper response and a tad of oversteer.

^ Right.

Unless you plan on keeping the car bone stock, buy the model you want and then you can easily modify the suspension to drive how you want it. Swaybars, dampers/springs, coilovers, alignment, tires, etc. can all be changed and will all affect the balance, feel, and handling of the car.

Nice writeup though, gives a good idea of how the cars handle in general. Now try to avoid the mod bug ;)

Thanks for this review. The bench racers want to be able to say how their car will be faster given X mods, and Y driving conditions. ;)

I'm shopping FRS because I like the body style better, but I'm shopping BRZ because I like the features. Am I good enough of a driver to tell the difference in suspension set up? I'll likely never know, because Hawaii doesn't have a race track any more. :(

I am going to be annoying but I'm having a lot if buyers remorse over my brz. Ive started getting comfortable closer to its limits and I find myself really wishing the tail would pull out more at times. But I also like the idea of factory tuned handling and I'm worried putting frs Springs on my brz won't quite give me the pure perfected feeling of these cars from factory. I'm really close to trading in the brz for an frs, and I know too little about engineering of modern cars to be sure. For instance.. is the frs steering tuned at a software level to compliment the mechanical suspension? Or is the feel entirely from the mechanics? Is this all in my head and I'm so new I wouldn't notice the difference anyway? Does anyone else have a lot of time in both cars and can wiegh in at all?