Daily Driven FR-S Questions

[mush]

i daily drive mine and i love it, i chose auto with no regrets
my only complaint is... it looks good stock, but once u take it home and stare at it theres TONS of things that can be improved... my bank account is feeling that right now haha

[NateNasty]

Wow wasn't really expecting all this feedback! Thanks for sharing your experiences guys. I'm glad i'm not alone haha. I'm going to keep this car stock for the most part besides probably some exterior mods.

[Jyn]

I just bought mine last week. It's my first MT and I just moved to a bigger city. My takeaways so far:

- first manual car? You're gonna stall in traffic. Accept it. Part of the fun is guessing whether or not the guy behind you at the light is gonna get to go thru :p
- Stock speakers suck. I have the Monogram, which has the Bespoke 5.1 system and it still sucks. Oh well, the engine noise more than compensates for it.
- the touchscreen can be slow to load on start up. That becomes an issue when you start stalling in traffic and have to drive in quiet shame for 30 seconds with no music as Bluetooth reconnects haha.

Other than that I really love this car. The clutch is a lot easier to learn on than other cars I've driven (98 Mustang, 240SX). My mom didn't really want me to get a MT, but I bought this car myself and figured if I didn't do it now, I never would.

[MikoV]

I've got the AT 2014 Frs. I drive it everyday highway and local. Feels real nice and sporty when you want it to. Sometimes when I drive regular highway speeds I forget im in a sports car. Real smooth and honestly I haven't noticed it being loud at highway speeds. Did I mention it shifts freaking fast.. my friends and I had no idea. I got a muffler delete and when I shift at like 4k rpm it sounds amazing like race car amazing. Overall get the car! All cars generally have problems. I haven't experienced anything bad so far.

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[kALMIGHTY]

Maybe I can help you out a little bit as well.

So I'm 20 now, but I was 19 when I get the car 7 months ago. My parents paid for half of it but I wasn't forced into buying a specific transmission. I got to pick the manual like I wanted, and the main reason I wasn't forced to buy an automatic is because no one else is going to drive my car anyway.

Is your mom making you pick automatic because she wants to drive it, or is it another reason? If it's not because she wants to drive it, try to convince her to let you get the manual, especially since it's cheaper to buy, and cheaper to maintain in the long run.

I'm not saying the automatic sucks or anything, but you said you want the manual. The problem isn't with the automatic, but the problem is that if you get the automatic, once the honeymoon phase is over, you're going to wish you had the manual like you originally wanted. It'll be one of those "what if" type situations. You'll learn to love your car but there will always be something nagging you in the back of your mind, thinking MAYBE you should have gotten the manual.

You could talk to your mom about why you want a manual, and try to convince her. Maybe even offer to teach her how to drive a manual if that's the reason she wants you to get an automatic.

Either way, hope you get your car soon, and hope you enjoy it!

Edit: I forgot to mention that I do daily drive my FR-S. I drive about 40 miles every day, going to university, and work, and sometimes even more than that if I have plans to go somewhere on the weekends and stuff. My schedule is mostly quite nice and I manage to avoid both the morning and evening rush hours so I'm never really in stop-and-go traffic anymore, so driving a manual is quite fun with open roads. When I am stuck in traffic, it does get a little tiresome to continue riding the clutch to make the car move an inch at a time, but you get used to it after a while.

[CruiseZen]

:burn rubber: Manual transmission is definitely the way to go. Automatics are boring to drive.

If you decide to get the FR-S and have a limited budget you better stay off this board because if you don't you will likely catch the mod bug. lol Seriously, this car is great fun to drive and it's my belief that the major bugs have been worked out in the 2014 model.

[MikoV]

Originally Posted by CruiseZen

:burn rubber: Manual transmission is definitely the way to go. Automatics are boring to drive.

If you decide to get the FR-S and have a limited budget you better stay off this board because if you don't you will likely catch the mod bug. lol Seriously, this car is great fun to drive and it's my belief that the major bugs have been worked out in the 2014 model.

Automatic is way fun to drive.

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[qganja]

i have an AT 10series, i always wanted MT. cant complain because its a present from my wife and she can drive it too... lol AT has grown on me and it doesn't suck at all, remember it has dual clutch (or feel? no flamin!lol) it shifts faster.

anyways, one thing good with an AT
is that yoy can put it on M and sport mode on open/back road or spirited driving. when you hit traffic, simply put it in D.

my 2 cents

edit: get what you like, i suggest you test drive both MT and AT. i know asian parents im coming from one too.

[CBThib307]

Originally Posted by Jyn

I just bought mine last week. It's my first MT and I just moved to a bigger city. My takeaways so far:

- first manual car? You're gonna stall in traffic. Accept it. Part of the fun is guessing whether or not the guy behind you at the light is gonna get to go thru :p
- Stock speakers suck. I have the Monogram, which has the Bespoke 5.1 system and it still sucks. Oh well, the engine noise more than compensates for it.
- the touchscreen can be slow to load on start up. That becomes an issue when you start stalling in traffic and have to drive in quiet shame for 30 seconds with no music as Bluetooth reconnects haha.

LOL. This is actually my first manual car. I can report that when your listening to a CD it will start playing again before the splash screens finish loading, so it's more like 5 seconds of quite shame.

[Jyn]

Originally Posted by CBThib307

LOL. This is actually my first manual car. I can report that when your listening to a CD it will start playing again before the splash screens finish loading, so it's more like 5 seconds of quite shame.

I've started listening to radio more to fix this problem, but somehow commercials just make me angrier after stalling.

[Pegasus]

Get whatever you truly want, I got manual because I knew that I would regret automatic everyday because I sissyed out. I would think I was missing out. I don't regret it.

To me, these are the big 2 about manuals. I never knew manual until FR-S, 1st it's not as difficult as my parents said. It's pretty easy, but it is another commitment. 2nd, it's not that great honesty. I've been reading that manuals are the greatest thing since sliced bread on the internet since I was 2 years old. Now that I'm actually driving my FR-S that supposedly has a nice shifting action. It's just moving around a stick and playing some pedals. Not a deeper dimension or anything. So don't go in thinking it is.

Fun yes, but your really not missing to much. Nevertheless, I'm glad I went manual.

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by NateNasty

Hello all. I've been lurking on this forum for awhile now and decided to join recently. I currently do not own a FR-S at the moment but I plan to within the next couple months or so. I've been doing my research heavily on this car of about couple months and man is it a beautiful machine. I just sold my 1st car which was a 98 corolla that was handed down to me. But it started to get maintainence issues regularly and is on its last limbs. I'm 21 years old and commute to work, school, and home on the daily. I have about a little more than 3k saved up for a down payment for the car but i want to save a couple more Ks so that my monthly won't be as much.

As much as i want a manual transmission my mom really wants me to get an automatic (i know.. i know), but i cannot really argue with her because she's paying for half of the car. I'm lucky she even fancied my idea of getting the FR-S. (I'm from a asian background -_-, and a mamas boy so i gotta listen to my mom).

Anyways I drive roughly about 30 miles a day. I don't really drive more than myself on a daily basis so i'm not really concerned with the seating on this car.

I'm looking to daily drive the FR-S. and i'm asking what're your experiences with it? What are the occurring problems that your having with the car, if any, in the drivers cabin or mechanically? What bugs you the most about the car , and what would you wanna change?

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond in advance!

As an initial point, get the car with a manual if you're considering. It's one of the easiest manuals to drive in traffic because of how absurdly light the clutch is. Manual is just more fun IMO.

To your main question, the FR-S is fine for daily driving.

Positives: Gets good gas mileage and is relatively practical. Good visibility, decent sized trunk, and folding rear seats when needed. It's light and has very good stock suspension, so the car is seriously agile, especially compared to cars like the 350/370z, Mustang, Gen Coupe, etc. Steering feels very sharp. The manual transmission is precise and intuitive to use. Seats are great (bolstered enough for track/autocross, but not restrictive in daily driving) and the seating position is perfect.

Negatives: Because of the relative lack of torque, you should expect to downshift often to pass or accelerate. Some may find that annoying. The ride can be firm/jarring over bumps. The road noise is moderate and makes the already weak stereo sound worse. The car is light weight, so there's not much sound deadening. Bluetooth connectivity is limited. 2nd gear is notchy when cold.

Overall I love this car, but understand it is a bit raw and light on both torque and creature comforts.

[subiestyle]

Originally Posted by Jyn

- the touchscreen can be slow to load on start up. That becomes an issue when you start stalling in traffic and have to drive in quiet shame for 30 seconds with no music as Bluetooth reconnects haha.

bahahaha. funny stuff.

[subiestyle]

OP, if you're like most asian families, then your mom is also probably helping you with school, food, and home.

so you're not "really" paying for half the car.

i haven't driven the automatic version, but it probably is just as fun as the manual.

it's not the gearbox that is fun. and actually, the manual gearbox is just mediocre. the fun is the car balance and feel.