Questions about BRZ/FR-S @ NYIAS

[Sparkplug]

Originally Posted by bimmerboy

Just got back from the NYIAS, thought I would give my impressions:

I was so happy to finally see the car in person! Everyone who says that the pictures don't do this car justice is right. Really a beautifully styled car, which before this car, no one could really say about Subaru's.

I sat in both the FR-S and BRZ.

Exterior- I think by now you know which front end you like better, and this proves true in real life. Although I must say the Scion front end looks very good in person. The pearl white FR-S looked STUNNING, and the wingless look really, really suits the cars lines. The dark grey color (i think its called graphite?) looked awesome as well. There are so many natural body lines on this car, really gorgeous to look at in full lighting. I also noticed the rolled fenders which is very cool. As others have mentioned, no picture really picks up how distinct the roof looks. On the BRZ i loved the HIDs and that C shaped accent LEDs. The WRB paint is great. I was never a fan of the 17" wheels, however in person they look great. The exhaust tips are FUGLY though, def one of the 1st things I would change.

Overall, VERY nice exterior for a 25-26k car. There was a DGM STi sedan nearby, looked ugly and outdated after seeing the BRZ. This is coming from a die-hard wrx/sti fan too.

Interior- I sat in the FR-S first. Initial impressions were great. The steering wheel is TINY and has a great feel to it. The ****pit is very well laid out. I actually like the tach color on the FR-S better than the BRZ but understand that Subaru has their own red theme for interiors... The cloth seats in the FR-S did not feel low-quality or cheap at all. The scion sound system rocks! Very nice for a stock setup. Yes, the HVAC controls are ugly.
The seats are very supportive and felt great. About the rear leg-room issue... It's horrible. Do not expect any adults to actually fit back there. I'm only 5'7 and had my gf (5'4) get in the drivers seat. Even after she adjusted the drivers seat i was still uncomfortable. I've been in multiple 94-97 Integras and would dare to say the rear has less space...
Onto the BRZ, all they had was a limited, really bummed i couldn't sit in a premium. That being said, I was NOT sold on the leather/alcantara seats at all. Didn't feel as high quality as the seats in the STi. Push-button start/stop and HVAC controls certainly look nice, I wish all trim levels had this standard. Got to row the gears in the BRZ, wow that shifter throw is short and positive. Reminds me of my friends s2000s shifter, which is a good thing. I think many scion owners will be MORE than happy with their cars, as well as premium BRZ owners. I really do not see the added value in the limited model, but i am sure others will disagree. Just my $0.02


Overall- I love the car even more now and seriously can't wait to get a BRZ premium. Seeing the car in person has calmed my concerns about not opting for the Limited BRZ, as the wingless look is awesome, and IMHO the limited seats are not all they are cracked-up to be. Also I think Scion owners are getting a kick-ass value even more after seeing what they get.

As a car enthusiast I enjoyed seeing all the new cars, however there was only 1 car that I keep thinking about...


Apologize if this is long-winded, just really enthusiastic about this car!

Long winded is fine, and I pretty much thought the same. BRZ buyer here for sure now after sitting in both.

[Sport-Tech]

^ Thanks bimmerboy for your comments. Re the interior: when ordering the FR-S, I just dropped in an extra $270 (dealer cost) for the upgraded LCD HU, that got rid of 70% of the ugly. Yes the auto climate layout is considerably more attractive but the extra cost for the limited (plus getting that ricey spoiler), personally speaking, is not worth it. Up here the limited will likely be 7-8k over my FR-S BoS price. And that is assuming dealers don't add a market adjustment, which might happen due to the low availability.

[M-17]

Originally Posted by Scion FR-S

^ Thanks bimmerboy for your comments. Re the interior: when ordering the FR-S, I just dropped in an extra $270 (dealer cost) for the upgraded LCD HU, that got rid of 70% of the ugly. Yes the auto climate layout is considerably more attractive but the extra cost for the limited (plus getting that ricey spoiler), personally speaking, is not worth it. Up here the limited will likely be 7-8k over my FR-S BoS price. And that is assuming dealers don't add a market adjustment, which might happen due to the low availability.

That's interesting, but I disagree. The limited is worth throwing the extra doe for it imo. The HID's, leather seats, spoiler, the front end (I know I know some may think its wack), and the interior layout is a knockout compared to the scion. I don't know how you think the spoiler looks "ricey" but that's you opinion and respect that. In my perspective the quality inside these cars definitely differ from each other and I'm not trying to be bias but the BRZ's interior takes the cake. And since I haven't had the chance to get into a Premium BRZ, I assume it can't be too far off from where the scion leaves off from. And having been in the FRS, its an easy decisions for me to say the least that the Limited BRZ is worth getting.

[Dark]

I personally like the limited interior and add ons. I think that I will get Limited if STI version is not released next year.

[Verge]

Thx for the review. I might opt for a later frs if they make a release series. Can already see the trd kit coming with it <3

[Sport-Tech]

M 17, guess we just differ. HIDs, alcantra/leather (which is already wrinkling in the show cars), nav, auto climate - most ppl would not find that worth an extra $7k. Could do it all aftermarket for far far less.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by Scion FR-S

M 17, guess we just differ. HIDs, alcantra/leather (which is already wrinkling in the show cars), nav, auto climate - most ppl would not find that worth an extra $7k. Could do it all aftermarket for far far less.

Here's that's $2K over the Premium, totally worth it.

[dori.]

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...9&postcount=38

that's my impressions from another thread (covers both cars tho, not just BRZ)

[M-17]

Originally Posted by Scion FR-S

M 17, guess we just differ. HIDs, alcantra/leather (which is already wrinkling in the show cars), nav, auto climate - most ppl would not find that worth an extra $7k. Could do it all aftermarket for far far less.

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

Here's that's $2K over the Premium, totally worth it.

^ What he said.

And from what I've seen at the NY show which had so many people going through it and for me going to the show on the last day I thought the seats held up just fine. But I'll provide photos later to show this.
And yeah if your case since you're up in canada I see why you would want to go the cheaper direction and don't blame ya. But I still stand firmly in my opinion that the Limited is the best for its money.

[Sport-Tech]

There are photos up already showing wrinkles in the leather bolsters - don't have the link though.

[Subie]

FYI, Toyota cloth doesn't wear that great either. I have cloth seats in my 2011 tC which appear very similar to the seats used in the new FR-S/BRZ. I don't know if the materials and stitching are identical, but they are close enough that I think my experience is worth mentioning.

My driver's seat started showing a small amount of wear on the edge of the bolster from ingress/egress after only a couple thousand miles. If you consider the fact that hundreds of people are getting in and out of these cars at the auto show then you will see that it's akin to putting a lot of days/miles on the car.

I don't think minor wrinkling in the bolster is anything to worry about.

[Sport-Tech]

^ That's a bit surprising. Seats on my 13 year old Tiburon look and feel the same as the day the car was bought!

[M-17]

Here's a glimpse of the pics I took at the NYIAS.

The rest will be posted in the BRZ Picture Gallery.