Quote:
Originally Posted by sho220
The Lotus may not be wildly powerful, but it'll blow the doors off the twins. Not even through break-in? You're still in the honeymoon phase...give it another 6 months of slugging around and you may find that you're not as happy about the power (or lack thereof) as you thought you were...
I'm approaching a year of ownership, still love the car, but it's underpowered imo...
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DD a Lotus?
People compare the twins to the E30 BMW's but its chassis is better. This car has a chassis that matches a E24 BMW with 600 lbs less weight. A new E24 cost $40k thirty years ago ($100k today.) It was an unsung Autobahn super-car that had amazing handling for its weight. The FR-S is faster in the quarter and 0-60 than that old $100k BMW supercar.
Cars have taken a huge dramatic turn for the worse as far as chassis in the last 30 years, Heavy, FWD, Unibodies. appliances. Some with turboed torque but still appliances.
As far as HP/Torque, the main revolutional "advancement" for torque/HP came with intercooled turbo charging engines, popularied with the '86 Regal/GN. The Buick engineers pioneered electroni FI + intercooler + turbo. Those cars had frames. Drag race solid axel cars. Slap the same concept into a FWD unibody econobox with 300 ft-lbs of torque is not a drivers car no matter how much weight they add to "tighten" the chassis and make it meet safety regs..
This Toyobaru car has the same price (inflation) adjusted as a the 1994 Civic Si from 20 years ago. A car that would have never become hugely popular/satisfying were it not for the double wishbone front which helped offset the wrong wheel drive matched with its bullet-proof under-powered engine.
This Toyobaru has the COG so low as to not need DWB up front. The chassis is a blank canvas to add as much motor as one wishes over the next 20 years of ownership. If you buy cars and trade them in every 2 years, find something else. This car is a keeper, meant to be
owned, personalized, upgraded. And I bet this 100hp/L low torque motor is as bullet proof as the old Honda motors proved to be. Its as revolutionary as the 54 vet or 64 stang. Not a debut magazine queen.
On the roads I drive I ask what good more HP/Torque would give me? Less downshifting,
thats it. Driving the same roads FWD I always get that rollercoaster pit in the gut WTF nausea, thats uncurable. Adding torque is very curable, unless you trade in every 2 years.