Celica to FR-S?
 

Edit: So now that the FR-S is officially out. Do you guys still feel the same way about the car? I'm not liking the cheapness of the interior (no push start, plastic door inserts replacing the leather ones, cheap looking radio from a 88 camaro). I might wait a year or two now for a special edition like the High voltage series they offer in the TC line. I even heard TRD is working on a SC for this car.

I currently have a 2002 TRD Celica GTS with a 6spd Manual.

I'm hoping to upgrade to the FR-S when it eventually comes out. Curious to see if there alot of Celica owners/lurkers that are on here that may follow the path I'm about to take.


I also have a 91 MR2 turbo and recently sold an IS350 to get the celica, so I am not a stranger to Rear wheel drive.

'99 Celica GT owner here looking into purchasing my first RWD, manual car in the FR-S.

I'm going to keep the Celica though because I love the body style and I think I'd regret selling her since I can afford to keep both cars.

No offense, but i believe this thread belongs here:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6

The topic involves the FR-S (reasons/thoughts on buying one as a Celica owner), so it's ok here. :thumbsup:

^Thank you kind sir.

I say do it. Maybe you can wait for feedback from owners and magazines first before deciding to get the car. I'm sure there will be ton of people getting the car when inventories are available, so feedback and experience will be out there shortly after the car release. You have to test drive first of course. For me, it's really hard to avoid an affordable modern sportcar. I will pick one up a few months after it releases.

My mistake. :respekt:

The FR-S is at the top of the list.

Other cars I'm considering are:

G37 coupe Pro's...sexy looking, very powerful, manual tranny
Cons:pricey and heavy

Audi A5/S5 Pro's...gorgeous looking car, AWD, decent power(A5) very powerful(S5)
Con's: Heavy, pricey, reliabilty?
Genesis coupe: Pro's...22-26k price, good looks, manual tranny
Con's: it's a Hyundai (but they are getting respect), crappy feeling tranny, reliabily after 5-6 years???

Lexus 3rd gen IS coupe/sedan? Pro's: Lexus/Toyota, what can I say. mature sports/sedan car, reliable
Con's: Pricey and not a driver's car until you put all the fsport peformance parts, no manual tranny.

FR-S/BRZ Pro's: Lightweight, 200 hp-14:1 power to weight ratio, good gas mileage, love the red stitching on black interior, price under 30k, manual tranny.
Con's: don't know yet.

The one thing I like about light cars (Celica) is they are fun tossable cars.

IS250 RWD has manual tranny and it's 6spd too.

204hp, 3450 pound car, 0-60 7.8 seconds ,1/4 mile in 15.8@88mph

Tacoma truck tranny which sucks balls. Ask anyone on Club lexus. I almost bought a brand new 6spd manual IS250, but decided to get the 350 as the tranny I test drove grinded like crazy and made horrible noises.

Btw, the rumor is the 3rd gen IS is not going to have a Manual tranny.

I know right. 6spd in IS250 is not that fancy at all. I was thinking about get IS250 MT too, but I decided to go with used IS250 AWD because I found a good deal on that. I hope the rumor about no manual tranny is false. If Lexus is trying to make the brand more sporty, they should give mt on entry level sport sedan, and additionally offer dual clutch for higher end like F variant.

I had a Celica GT-S when it was still in production. A few MR2s and a G35 later, I miss the Celica and wish I'd kept it the whole time. The FR-S is a natural step up from the Celica and we fall squarely in its target demographic. It's what the Celica *should* have been (lightweight, high-revving, RWD) ever since the Supra spawned off its nameplate in the '80's.

The auto tranny in the third gen will be sportier than the second gen, similar to the IS-F. The only way to get a manual in the current model is to special order one.

If so, it will probably be like the one in new GS. Interesting. I hope they adapt 8spd for IS350 though.

Back to the topic. LOL