FRS for "non-car guy"
 

Just joined the club few days ago and here's my first post:


I'll get right to it. I am by no means a 'car guy' when it comes to the knowledge of what makes cars tick. For the past year though, I've considered getting an FRS. The hype is so great that I couldn't help but be lured into it.
1. I don't know how to drive stick
2. This would be my only DD
3. My current and only car I've had is an automatic 07 chevy cobalt
4. My driving would be mainly highway (Phoenix, AZ)
5. Married but not planning on a family soon


Also, I am very very much interested in LEARNING and I believe having a new, nice car like this will help my motivation to do so.

Question is, should I go for the AT FRS or am I better off looking for 'just another sedan'?

Welcome to the forums.

I live in Canada. Where there's tones of snow. And when the wife has the RAV4. I take my 3 year old with me. The back seats can accommodate small kids in child seats.

Yes I use this a DD. It's fantastic. Big plus is it's great on gas. If you decide to have more than 1 child. This tiny sports car might be a really tight squeeze for everyday travel with 2 and 2 children. I'm glad I'm on planning on having only one child

Get a manual and learn. Try something new :)

I drive an auto and freaking love it! It is not a highway car though so there might be a better car for passing on the highway and a little quiter if that matters. If I was you, I would go buy a FRS/BRZ

You lucky man! I would looooove to drive my brz on those beautifully smooth phoenix perimeter roads..

But as for your questions..

Its a great car to learn stick on! Stick is easy to learn and its fun. Adds another notch to your belt as well. I knew how to drive stick but this is my first standard car and Its amazing to drive. Wouldn't want it any other way.

Ive been DD'ing mine all summer with no complaints at all.

No more sedans bro! Grab the coupe and have some fun, I promise you you wont look back.

If your still on the ropes go grab one this Saturday and test it out at the dealership.

My honest thoughts about this car are this: (previous vehicles have been 2002 Mercedes C class and a number of big trucks) 6 months into ownership I still walk with my head looking backwards after I park. I cannot wait to get in my car and drive every day I have owned it and I have NEVER had that with my previous cars. I've driven a 458 Italia Ferrari many times and I find this car just as much fun to drive. Its a pure gem of a sports car and I wouldnt sell mine for anything.

Just recently purchased an auto and love it, off the line I can definitely see why many swear by the manual.

I'm biased since in two weeks into ownership but I feel you can't go wrong manual or auto with this car, if you're willing to learn and this is within your budget... Make the jump! It seems like your heart is set on a twin.

All of the above posts!

I wont try to be rational because sports-cars are first and foremost an emotional thing. There are a thousand reasons for NOT buying one and if your really want one, none of them are going to matter.

In my definition of a meaningful life, every man should own a sports car and sleep with a redhead at least once before they die.

How about a 252hp focus ST... wait...wait that's just the ad im seeing atm.

They are great cars but only you know what you truly want my best advice is go test drive one and possibly a few other models that peak your interest and go from there

To tell you how much I love the car, a few weeks ago mine got totaled cause an old lady t-boned me, come Friday, i'll have a 2016 FRS. I never had any intentions of getting rid of my previous FRS (2013 MT w/ 44k miles). but it got rekt so here I am trying again with no regrets. for what its worth, im also married and have a kid on the way

If you wanna learn and become a "car-guy" you'll either become that car-guy and regret getting the AT or you'll never become that car-guy because you went with AT. Get a manual!

Get a mazda/volvo/bmw/Audi sports weagon. O.o....

This car have too much quirks that a non-car guy is gonna have problems with.........once honeymoon period is over you will be looking for replacement.

This is a good car to learn on, do nothing to it and have a blast or do everything to it and retire a decade later from spending all the money on it.

I'm not sure what your particular dilemma is it AT/86 vs Sedan or is MT an option? If you have any desire to learn manual transmission I say give it a shot, I'd bet hundreds of people bought a brand new FR-S/BRZ and their first time driving manual was on the test drive or on the way home. I have a friend who bought a MT WRX and learned how to drive it as he road tripped it ~350 miles home.

That being said, the AT gets lots of praise and I be you'll be happy with the upgrade. Not sure if you're the kind of guy to take the plunge and be happy or if you'll start finding regrets quickly, tons of posts around here of guys who said 'screw this' and traded for a big V8 car or downgraded to a more economy minded chassis with a nicer interior and build quality but consider that this car is far from perfect for anybody and some people downright don't like it for valid reasons.

Good luck.

edit: my primary car for almost 3 years now, 42k miles, there are minor annoyances that would have some people in a fit of rage (there are more than a few threads about how this car is "garbage" and "Toyota and Subaru really dropped the ball"), but I'm a car guy so they are fixable or I can adapt, the pros outweigh the cons for me several times over, I, and others around here are in the minority otherwise they'd sell even more of these than they already have.

It is just a car. A little different then some but still just a car. Not mystical, magical or mysterious but just a car. Does some things really well and others not so well since it is just a car. For many of us it is a damn near perfect DD and commuter transport but it is still just a car.
Did I mention that it is just a car?

I like to think of mine as a Magic school bus, but to each their own...