Considering swapping my '13 Si sedan for FR-S in Dallas, advice?

[madsedan]

Anyone here have experience with both cars?
I love the FR-S and honestly I probably should have bought one when I bought the Si sedan but I needed a car for work, I drive allot between Dallas and Texarkana/Shreveport on the highway every week. I thought I really needed a 4 door for the job but so rarely use the back seat I see now I can get away without it.

Any long distance commuters have input on putting allot of highway miles on an FR-S?

How's the Bluetooth work in these cars for calls and texting while driving?

[Alaskan]

Texting while driving, no. Bluetooth for calls works fine.

I don't put a lot of miles on my car daily, but I can average 25-32 mpg depending on how I feel like driving per tank of gas. It's about 70% city, and 30% highway.

The rear wheel drive is awesome. I've had mine since November of 2012 and I haven't had a single mechanical issue outside of normal maintenance and I have been modding it. It's been extremely reliable. I'm about to supercharge mine so I am hoping I do not introduce any problems, but I am not going overboard with the numbers, so I should be fine.

My biggest beef with Honda lately is their reliability has gone down. They aren't built like they used to be. They are still really good cars. It's just that the competition out there is now on par or better than what they are producing.

The Si has no torque dip though. That was one pain point with this car that you'll feel around 3k rpm. Without tuning and an aftermarket header, you will continue to feel it.

Overall, the FR-S is a more fun car. I have a buddy who has a '12 Civic Si wishing he would have gotten a BRZ. The RWD aspect is probably the best part to look forward to.

[madsedan]

Yeah, I drove an FR-S and '13 Si back to back when shopping last Spring and the Si definitely felt like it had more power (stock for stock). But, I have had many rear wheel drive cars over the years, a couple of S2000's and numberous 944 turbos and E36 M3's, and once you know your limits in the chassis a rear wheel drive car will be more fun to peddle around.

I know I sound like a parrot but, man, does it need about another 30-40 hp. Might mess with the somewhat neutral handling of the car a bit as throttle steer will increase but it would feel more like a nicely set-up S2000.

OK, so Bluetooth doesn't handle text, only calls and music. The highway mpg are comparable to what I'm getting out of the Civic, low 30's on the highway.

How are the seats and driving position comfort after an hour behind the wheel? I have done many extended trips in M3's, Porsche's, and several 3-4 hour drives in my S2k with no issues. Is the FR-S going to be comfortable?

[pushrod]

Originally Posted by madsedan

Any long distance commuters have input on putting allot of highway miles on an FR-S?

Outstanding commuter car, other than being loud. Drive with the rear seats up.

[Alaskan]

Originally Posted by madsedan

Yeah, I drove an FR-S and '13 Si back to back when shopping last Spring and the Si definitely felt like it had more power (stock for stock). But, I have had many rear wheel drive cars over the years, a couple of S2000's and numberous 944 turbos and E36 M3's, and once you know your limits in the chassis a rear wheel drive car will be more fun to peddle around.

I know I sound like a parrot but, man, does it need about another 30-40 hp. Might mess with the somewhat neutral handling of the car a bit as throttle steer will increase but it would feel more like a nicely set-up S2000.

OK, so Bluetooth doesn't handle text, only calls and music. The highway mpg are comparable to what I'm getting out of the Civic, low 30's on the highway.

How are the seats and driving position comfort after an hour behind the wheel? I have done many extended trips in M3's, Porsche's, and several 3-4 hour drives in my S2k with no issues. Is the FR-S going to be comfortable?

The seats are really comfortable. I could drive in this thing across the country and be fine with it.

One reason I am supercharging mine is to bump it up to a good power level without ruining the characteristics of it. 300 is a pretty respectable number without going overboard and needing to replace too many things.

[Aaronimoe]

I came from an 07 FG2...

the brz is definitley a bit slower but it makes up for it with its awesome handling and sleek looks. also navigation and RWD were definite plusses.

they're both great cars. If you havent yet, you need to test drive an ft86 though.

[86-tundra]

You could easily swap the stereo for one more blue tooth compatible (even carplay if you have an iphone)

[G-Man]

not sure how the FRS deals with it but the BRZ has a neat text while driving "preset responses" kind of one touch respond built into the radio.

[tennisfreak]

I cant speak for Android or iOS but my Windows phone handles texting hands free via Bluetooth perfectly.

If I get a text Cortana (Windows "siri") will tell me and ask if I want her to read it.
If I say yes then she reads its and asks if I want to reply.
If I say yes then she prompts for my reply.
When I'm done she dictates my reply to me and asks if it is correct or if I want to add to it.
When I'm ready I tell her to send it and she does.

Coolest shit ever. Kinda freaked me out because it never did that with my Galaxy S4 and then when I bought my windows phone while driving Cortana started talking to me out of the blue.

She does all kinds of other cool shit too like making calls or doing voice turn by turn navigation, read traffic updates, etc...

[cmdboy_347]

Gas is good. A lot of wind noise at 70...

[MmmHamSandwich]

Came from an 07 FG2. You're probably gonna miss your Civic's torque.

Yeah, I can barely believe I said that but it's likely true. My FR-S felt less peppy as compared to my K20 Si with a header. Stock for stock though the FR-S does have a tad more mid range but the K20 made power in a more pleasant manner.

Still, you've got the K24 which probably pulls significantly harder than the K20 down lower.

I'd be skeptical about jumping ship to an FR-S. You're paying substantially more. Yeah it is RWD, but think long and hard about how much you want it as these cars are pretty comparable in performance otherwise.

My Si has a great car and I had a blast. I miss the engine noise of that K20, dear god it was glorious. The shitty clutch cylinders that made 2nd gear grind, I don't miss so much... If not for the shifting issues, I may have decided to just stick with it.

Test drive the FR-S. If you fall in love with it maybe consider biting the bullet. Make sure you wind it out though so you know exactly what kind of powerband you're getting yourself into. Personally the car frustrates me quite a bit. This engine's powerband just sucks. It has a lot of good attributes otherwise so if Mazda doesn't announce a coupe version of the upcoming Miata, and I'm pretty confident they won't, I'll probably just supercharge it one of these days.

[kchar]

Be sure to test drive around some twisties if you can!

[Poodles]

The stock powerband in the twins is a mixed bag. Normal day to day driving, it pulled pretty hard so long as it's over 1500RPM and you shift at 4K or below. Once you're moving and you downshift to get yourself in the power band, it will move pretty damn well. The issue is first gear and getting through the torque dip...


I was used to boosted cars with non-linear power bands so it's not an issue to me, but it is an issue I will eventually fix...

[madsedan]

Thanks for the very honest replies, I was hoping it wouldn't be a bunch of fanboys but you guys were very objective and I appreciate it.

Tennisfreak, I also use a windows phone and my Civic handles text replies exactly the same way so that's great to hear.

I will go test drive a used '13 one more time, I haven't driven them since buying my civic, and see how I feel. But regardless of how much I like it I will not "put myself out" and make a stupid financial decision to get it, if I can buy and keep my payment where I want and make out well on a trade I'll do it.

There are several people in the metro area selling their '13 FR-S with similar mileage for what I owe on mine or a little less, cars are valued about the same. I have a guy with a white '13 that's interested in a straight swap, if I can work the logistics and not have to pay tax I may just do that, will see.

If I get either a BRZ or FR-S I will be active on here and will be doing upgrades and my own maintenance to the car. I have a pretty extensive background with European and Japanese sports cars since the late 80's and have been doing product test/reviews of aftermarket parts for cars for about 11 years.

I'll report back if I pull the trigger.