Quote:
Originally Posted by daschtick
Here is my take - neither car will 'cream' the other. Stock for stock, the twins do not really perform much better than a 13 year older MR2, nor a Celica GT-S, nor a Prelude si. After 13 years of 'progress', plus all of the hype surrounding it, including all of the journalists gushing over it, I figured it would be amazing. But after driving to the dealership in my MR2, then hopping into the FR-S, I was expecting a whole lot more. Yes, it handles nicely, but the tires really hold it back, the brakes were mid-pack, and the torque dip was really disappointing. Really nothing beyond what a 2006+ Miata has to offer. The whole experience left me wondering what I was missing, since it seemed that everyone was raving about it.
The twins are by no means bad cars, but it just seems like there was very little performance improvement over previous similar cars. It could have/should have been so much more. Look at the performance increase of a 2013 Mustang over a 2000 Mustang, or of the Focus ST over the Focus SVT - If the twins would have had this level of increase, there may not be a lowly FWD Focus ST parked next to my MR2 Spyder! 
Now, with the news that there will not any future forced induction or convertible versions, I am wondering what is in store for the future of these cars. Kind of a shame, really. |
I completely understand where you're coming from. When people ask how fast my FRS is, I always say "it's got power like a DC2 Integra Type R". Yes, similar power to a car that was built and engineered more than a decade ago is what I reference the FRS to. But the FRS is so much more than that. The platform, chassis architecture, and motor are excellent starting points for a tuning base. It's certainly better than anything in its price range and with the aftermarket, it puts it into another league.
I'm glad that they put shitty Prius tires on the car. The thing I love most is that the FRS still stays very close to its competition but on those junk tires. Take a second and think about that. Junk tires but still turning in close lap times. That says A LOT about the tuning potential of the FRS. The FRS was never made to be fast from the get go. The engineers flat out stated that. HOWEVER, what they did do is leave enormous amounts of potential on the table for guys like us to start tapping into.
Subaru engineers said it best and I STRONGLY agree with what they said here:
2:30 in the video.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_byAbVdt6BY"]Subaru BRZ Development - (Video 2 of 2) - YouTube[/ame]
Basically, you can't spit shine a turd. You've got to start with a good platform designed from the ground up to have a top performing car. The FRS is just that. I could care less about how slow my FRS is stock. It's painfully slow and I let everybody know that. What I do tell people is that I bought it for its future tuning potential and superior handling. The FRS has great amounts of potential just look at what Evasive Motorsports has done with their car running in the Unlimited Class. Racing against fire breathing monsters like modified Vipers and Vettes and holding their own. That's the potential of these cars and I'm glad that I have one.
The Mustang you stated still handles like a turd. The Focus is still a wrong wheel drive understeering tragedy. The only thing that increased "performance wise" about those car is that they're now faster in a straight line. Sure they tweaked the suspensions more and progressed them further but that still doesn't cover the fact that they are still sub par performers. They are far from being the top dogs in their segment. I fail to see your point here with those cars.
The MR-S is quite the performer as well. And with a 2zzge like how the OP wants the MR-S with, it'd be quite competitive. But overall, I still believe the FRS/BRZ is better.