I picked the FR-S for a number of reasons (no particular order)

1: Reviews said it was the more twitchy/oversteery of the two. This is a good thing IMO.
2: I HATE the front bumper of the BR-Z - the current trend of black bumper sticking through gaping hole is just not my thing.
3: While the faux carbon fiber-ish texture on the FRS dash isn't exactly gorgeous, I really don't like the silver interior on the Subaru.
4: While HID's and Heated Seats are nice, I heard bad things about the NAV/Stereo system upgrade, and overall it just wasn't worth the extra money. Plus, Auto climate control is unnecessary, as are start buttons.
5: I'm not in my 20's anymore and brand bragging rights/etc was not an issue for me. I don't care that I drive a Scion. I'd rather buy the fastest scion than a slow Subaru. It's not like Subaru has some hugely impressive luxury stigma to it's brand.

All in all, it's more that the Subaru lost, not so much that the Scion won. The suspension setup and the front clip are (for my driving style and looks opinion) superior. It was cheaper. WIN WIN WIN.

Because Subaru of Sherman Oaks doesn't like selling cars. Not only I had to wait 30 minutes to get a sales rep, they also require your own insurance for test drives (I had just gotten rid of my Camaro so I had no insurance on that day) then the asshole tried to force me to buy a WRX instead of a BRZ. So I just stormed out and went to Toyota dealer across the street.

My old WRX had a Mitsubishi Turbo...

Anyways, Subaru is now using Toyota as their suppliers for switches, stalks, etc. Guess thats one of the benefits of their partnership. Toyota sells more stuff. Subaru gets cheaper prices and high quality components. Also some Camrys are being built at SIA's plant in Indiana. Although it seems that might end as Subaru needs more manufacturing capacity. They are breaking sales records and need to put Foresters and XV's in showrooms ASAP.

Both companies are going to benefit from this. I've allways belived that Subaru should use the Highlander platform for the Tribeca replacement. This just as an example.

Edit: Wanted a BRZ, couldn't buy it as Subaru's PR distributor decided not to import it. So I got an FR-S.
Preferred the BRZ beacuse of the higher equipment content and exclusivity.

I'll let it die. It is a Toyobaru.

Scibuta!

I got the GT86 because it is cheaper than the BRZ.
I saved around 400k in our currency or around $8k. This would give me enough to modify the car.
So far:
wheels and tires
basic brake improvement
TRD parts
radio
and best of all turbo kit :cheers:

I still have enough left over to go Stage 2 for the turbo kit :burn rubber:

Two more things:
1. there seems to be more merchandise specific for the 86.
2. love the 86 emblem
http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.48629...08617&pid=15.1

Bought a GT86, no FR-S in Oz and the BRZ hadn't been released when I ordered my 86.......so no choice really :iono:

I went with BRZ because my previous car was a "base platform" model and I missed having all of the bells and whistles.

Eric- but frs base comes with extras like Bluetooth power locks power windows. Just saying. Compared to my 2011 jeep wrangler it has alot of extras and you can tell by this I don't need extras money better spent in car

I've test driven both on the same test route, and the differences between the two are barely noticeable. The BRZ does seem slightly more plush over highway tar strips, the FR-S felt a bit like it was underdamped at the rear on the rebound side of things. The FR-S was a little bit more "free" feeling at 7/10ths, but meh. At 10/10ths the differences would be much more noticeable.

Since I couldn't decide any other way... I'm buying a BRZ because it comes in WRB.

The satnav is nice, but I'll likely not really use it enough for it to be worthwhile. The HIDs are definitely a nice bonus too. Neither are good enough reasons to me to buy the BRZ over the FR-S.

I chose one over the other because Superiority Complex. Sad but true.

I test drove both and preferred the BRZ Limited. The local Scion dealer wanted close to $26K and was not willing to go lower whereas the BRZ Limited came in at just $1500 or so higher with all the additional features.

I think it is great that folks have a choice and can appreciate those that want to save some money and those who don't want all the extra options.

That said, for what Clint is selling his BRZ's for, the Limited BRZ model is not much more than a baser FR-S. Most likely less than $1K.

FRSupra, this is a Subaru car - Subaru platform with Subaru engine, built in Subaru's plant. Toyota wanted to have a car like that in their lineup but they lost the know-how for building cars like those long ago, so they had to pay someone else to do it for them. And who else but Subaru. Not only Subaru has the know-how, but building a car with such performance without a boxer engine becomes a tall order. Or at the least not financially viable for the target price range. Yes, Toyota contributed with styling design and other things, but nothing truly major.

When Akio Toyoda took at Toyota's top seat, he was to transform Toyota's image into that of a maker of exciting products, and excitement only comes form sport cars. A priority of his was to build a car like the old AE86 which Toyota can no longer do/know how. So Toyota didn't have the means to build such a car, and building effectively and efficiently, and they decided to employ Subaru which has long established itself as one of the top makers of sporty compacts, and which as it happens Toyota partly own due to their share in Fuji Heavy Industries, and that is Subaru's parent company.

Here a couple of short documentaries I suggest you watch when time allows for it:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cQ0sDiL87eE"][SUBARU] 1 of 2 SUBARU BRZ Development Movie - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GdZcX7Hawhk"][SUBARU] 2 of 2 SUBARU BRZ Development Movie - YouTube[/ame]


Subaru btw had a good reason to be originally hesitant about the development, as they already have sport car in the mid-20K segment. But money talks (bosses too) and eventually the overall direction of the project made sense so they spearheaded it (thx goodness they did, I wonder what Toyota would have done on their own - Scion Tc-S?).

I don't write this to instigate a long exchange; it is just how things are.

Regards!

Initially I was going to go with a white FRS. While I do like the body of the frs (front bumper) it lacked many things which I didn't like. I went with the BRZ limited. It had the features I wanted. I test drove the FRS and I never test drove the BRZ.


Keyless entry
HID's
spoiler
heated seats
Head unit with Navi

Those features alone to me at least made it worth it to go with the BRZ. Of course to each his own, some people don't care for the accessories the car comes with.