i test drove the FRS yesterday! and im a little worried....
 

i got to take out an automatic frs yesterday, i left it in full automatic mode and put my foot down... and nothing. it was VERY sluggish, and not what i was expecting.

i drive a civic si now so i'm used to not having a lot of torque but this is not what i was expecting. it doesn't make any sense either, the frs has the same horse power, a little more torque, and is about 150 lbs lighter. maybe it's just because i was in the automatic and had it on regular auto (not the paddles), but it just felt like a "regular" slower car. i was never considering the auto, i just wanted to try out the car. but hopefully the manual is a completely different car acceleration wise...

other than that i loved it. you sit low to the ground, the suspension is stiff, the steering felt great. but i'm very worried about the power now... it doesn't have the fast revving acceleration i'm used to in my si. at least not in the auto.

has anyone driven both? why is the auto so slow? is the manual any better?

The auto has taller the gear ratios, the manual should feel quicker than your Si. That's how the auto gets an extra 4mpg. Also, the less-direct connection to the drivetrain will make the auto feel a bit more laggy as well. I don't think you need to be worried.

that makes sense, makes me feel a little better.

I have driven both. the auto is actually faster than the manual, but you have to put it into sport mode. Regular "D" mode is intended for economy and smooth comfy shifts for your daily commute.

The auto trans has 4 modes in total:

1 - D mode - normal daily driving
2 - D with sport mode turned on - Tranny does all shifting, but does so much more agressively than in normal D mode. It holds gears longer and downshifts mmore agressively
3 - Manual mode - Kind of like D mode with wport, only you control the shifts
4 - Manual mode with sport mode turned on - This is where the magic happens. Upshifts are amazingly fast. Downshifts are throttle blipping and amazingly fast. It will let you downshift into very high revs (not oner-rev, but very high in the range0. It will also not upshift unless you tell it - it will bounce of the rev limiter unless you tell it to shift.

The auto is pretty amazing. I still chose a manual and I feel it leaves me more options on the tuning front, and I prefer driving a manual, but those are preferences. I reccomend going back for another drive.

I have the same feeling as OP.

after the auto, i was very very sad. my regular civic seemed faster lol...

then i tried the manual version. all doubts were set aside :)

i was for sure in the regular D setting. just said D under the speedo in the little info box.

Next time hit the "sport" button on the center console. It is a whole different car. Actually all 4 of those modes I posted are different.

Looks like OP missed out on some fun in the auto lol. Go back for round 2 and let us know how it goes :)

It's faster shifting, it's slower on the track (any type of track).

they shouldn't have even put this "slow mode" on the car! (in my mind it shouldn't even come automatic, but from a business perspective i understand it.)

For driving around town you may want to drive a bit more leisurely and get better mileage. Can't drift all the time.

:confused0068:

I have an 07 Civic Si m/t sedan and have driven both the auto and manual FR-S. From my limited exposure I would say the m/t Si and FR-S are in the same ballpark acceleration wise, and the auto just feels more tame. I did not drive the auto in sport or manual mode as I was watching a scanner and dodging traffic in the LBC in a car that wasn't mine. :)

Every car manufacturer has to be concerned about fuel mileage. I think this mode makes sense for a lot of daily commuting, and many people may prefer it if/when gas hits $4-5 a gallon.