Advantage FRS or Disadvantage BRZ (major concern?)
 

On Saturday I saw a truck with 6 - 8 BRZs in a rest area in Charlotte. We woke the driver and asked him where he was headed and he said NJ. I had a chance to get a good look at the lower front fascia of the car and noticed that the radiator was visible (exposed) through the black louvers. All the pictures and videos I saw of the BRZ never revealed this important detail. I did not like the view. It seems to me that pebbles, small flying objects, bugs, dirt can easily get caught on the radiator. Even though I feel that the black, plastic honey comb grill on the FRS feels cheap it does not expose the radiator like the BRZ. Major concern?

The radiator is visible through any grille. Road debris will get through any grille on any car. It's a fact of life.

My 1987 MR2 has a similar grille. It's just as low to the ground. After 26 years and 200,000 miles, the original radiator was still working fine. I chose to replace it only on principle, based on how old it was.

90% of the cars on the road have visible radiators. Unless you are hitting a huge rock, I highly doubt that will be a concern.

EDIT - Turbowned beat me to it.

Not enough to be of real concern. They both have the same internal bumper core, and grill pattern and shape of the opening is close enough that in the same type of collision with small items or even a big one, the resulting cost of repairs and whatever you damage is close enough.

Exposed radiator
 

I don't think that the radiator will get damaged, but I don't like the fact that I can see silver radiator tubing thru the black grill of my FR-S. I will say that the driving experience makes up for any percieved issue with cosmetics. Everywhere I go people flock to my car like it is a celebrity of some sort. Few know what it is but all want to!

I understand what you mean, OP... And I actually felt the same way when seeing the black honey comb grill as a better protection compared to the BRZ... But as others have mentioned, rocks / pebbles / bugs will still find a way to come through. I do feel better with the Scion's extra coverage as it seems.

At the end, a sports car like this is meant to be driven... And I can't let the wear & tear bother me as much as it has the ability to.

Squirt it with some black spray paint.