I totally bought the wrong car

[CarzCarzCarz]

Nicely written post IrishTG, thank you for taking the time to do so. I was in a similar situation as you. Test drove the ST, thought it was ok but not all that great. I remembered driving an FR-S when they first came out and I wasn't blown away, but was also on a crappy small salesman route. Finally got to drive a BRZ without much direction from the salesman, and made such a difference to be able to ring it out and feel it move like the car was made for.
Bikes killed my car obsession for a while, after experiencing how the ease of acceleration and freedom on a bike, cars were slow and boring in comparison. Funny how similar our vehicle stories are, as I had a Honda XR400r, and still have my curvy SV650, both some of my favorite bikes.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Atticus808

you're wrung about your car

FIFY

[perryair]

do what makes you happy. if you care about driving experience more than anything else it really is the car for you.

BUT! and a big one at that - i will say that if i had to lug my toddler in it instead of my dd civic i'm not too sure that this would have been my choice in cars. given that you say that your wife has a car that can do most of those types of trips perhaps this isn't much of an issue, but my brz is pretty useless for anything except putting big smiles on my face when driving around with at max one more person and maaaaybe their things.

[thill]

Great post...

I owned a BRZ Limited and needed 4 doors and a bigger backseat and really, really wanted to love the Focust ST. Just didn't for almost the same points you made. I just never connected to the car and I was not that impressed with the power. I test drove three different ST's really wanting to make it work. I ended up getting a 15 WRX but I can tell you the BRZ is a more fun car. I am considering adding either another FR-S/BRZ, Miata, or Elise as a fun weekend car.

[soulreapersteve]

YES! Another person who "gets it"!!

Hope you can get into a Twin sooner than later.

btw, was totally expecting a "sold the BRZ, bought a [insert more power car here] thread.

[iJeff]

I hear the Fiesta ST is the better driver's car than the Focus ST and is more similar to the twins. Have you tried that, OP?

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[IrishTG]

Originally Posted by iJeff

I hear the Fiesta ST is the better driver's car than the Focus ST and is more similar to the twins. Have you tried that, OP?

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I actually thought about it before buying the FoST, but there wasn't a single dealer in my area that had one so I never even got to drive one. Something tells me if I had, I probably would have bought one of them instead. At this point, I don't think I'd go that way because I enjoyed the BRZ too much.

When I finished my test drives of the FoST I liked it, but I didn't go home and think about driving it again constantly before I actually signed the papers. With the BRZ, I can't stop thinking about the next time I'll get to drive one and how I can get my paws on one quicker. It just clicked with me in a way that nothing else has, car-wise, in a long time. I suppose it's possible the FiST could give me the same feeling, but I think it would be a long shot.

[iJeff]

Originally Posted by IrishTG

I actually thought about it before buying the FoST, but there wasn't a single dealer in my area that had one so I never even got to drive one. Something tells me if I had, I probably would have bought one of them instead. At this point, I don't think I'd go that way because I enjoyed the BRZ too much.

When I finished my test drives of the FoST I liked it, but I didn't go home and think about driving it again constantly before I actually signed the papers. With the BRZ, I can't stop thinking about the next time I'll get to drive one and how I can get my paws on one quicker. It just clicked with me in a way that nothing else has, car-wise, in a long time. I suppose it's possible the FiST could give me the same feeling, but I think it would be a long shot.

Not that I don't think the FRS/BRZ is the best option but I think it may be worth test driving one as I hear it's the closest to the twins in terms of fun. If I could turn back the clock a few months, I probably would have went and test drove everything.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by iJeff

Not that I don't think the FRS/BRZ is the best option but I think it may be worth test driving one as I hear it's the closest to the twins in terms of fun. If I could turn back the clock a few months, I probably would have went and test drove everything.

I pretty much did test drive everything "sporty" from the Focus to a 14 Porsche Boxster and for price vs. value as a high annual mileage DD too hold me and my laptop the FRS won out.
Now if I didn't rack up so many miles then that Boxster....

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by iJeff

Not that I don't think the FRS/BRZ is the best option but I think it may be worth test driving one as I hear it's the closest to the twins in terms of fun. If I could turn back the clock a few months, I probably would have went and test drove everything.

I didn't drive a FiST or FoST (The FoST was barely out and the FiST wasn't out when I was shopping and by the time it did come out I already had an FR-S) but I did drive an Abarth and I've driven a Mini Cooper S. Both get left out of the equation of hot hatches far too often, I assume because of reliability concerns.

In any case the Abarth is still bar none is still the most fun I've ever had on public roads on just a 10 minute shitty dealership route test drive and I totally understand why hot hatches are finally getting the love they deserve. I've also spent some time in a Mini upgraded for track/autox and wow can you get that little sucker to rotate, at almost 100 lbs lighter than an 86 and with 50 more ft-lbs of torque (and the power is EVERYWHERE) and about $1k cheaper out the door with a much nicer interior and better fuel economy it gives the 86 a run for it's money.

tl;dr I've driven 2 great hot hatches

The dynamics of an economy car where "c.g. height" was never uttered in a meeting with management will always be there and every time I ask "is it good enough?" and in the back of my mind I always hear a little voice say "no". I will probably own one of the current crop of hatches some day, I'm thinking that there may come a point when the FR-S is a little too aggressive to drive to work every day several years from now (or it leaves my life for some reason), by then I could probably pick up an Abarth for <$10k or FiST for a little more, cruise to work with decent fuel economy and occasional weekend fun when the RWD car is off for a break or I don't feel like playing Tetris to pack it.

[JS + BRZ]

Nice summary.

[iJeff]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

I didn't drive a FiST or FoST (The FoST was barely out and the FiST wasn't out when I was shopping and by the time it did come out I already had an FR-S) but I did drive an Abarth and I've driven a Mini Cooper S. Both get left out of the equation of hot hatches far too often, I assume because of reliability concerns.

In any case the Abarth is still bar none is still the most fun I've ever had on public roads on just a 10 minute shitty dealership route test drive and I totally understand why hot hatches are finally getting the love they deserve. I've also spent some time in a Mini upgraded for track/autox and wow can you get that little sucker to rotate, at almost 100 lbs lighter than an 86 and with 50 more ft-lbs of torque (and the power is EVERYWHERE) and about $1k cheaper out the door with a much nicer interior and better fuel economy it gives the 86 a run for it's money.

tl;dr I've driven 2 great hot hatches

The dynamics of an economy car where "c.g. height" was never uttered in a meeting with management will always be there and every time I ask "is it good enough?" and in the back of my mind I always hear a little voice say "no". I will probably own one of the current crop of hatches some day, I'm thinking that there may come a point when the FR-S is a little too aggressive to drive to work every day several years from now (or it leaves my life for some reason), by then I could probably pick up an Abarth for <$10k or FiST for a little more, cruise to work with decent fuel economy and occasional weekend fun when the RWD car is off for a break or I don't feel like playing Tetris to pack it.

This is what I mean. I've never considered an Abarth because I find them aesthetically unappealing. But now I wish I had tried one.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by iJeff

This is what I mean. I've never considered an Abarth because I find them aesthetically unappealing. But now I wish I had tried one.

Oh definitely.

I have publicly dismissed modern Toyota, stating that I would never have thought to buy one built in my lifetime.

I drove an IS300 last weekend and it is seriously on the table as a contender for my gf's next car (to replace a '93 Camry), handling surprised the hell out of me (which I just checked wiki and same lead as the AE86 so I shouldn't be surprised) and the 2JZ is certainly as sweet as all the fans say even in NA form and the POS I drove had a broken gas pedal (with a very noticeable 60 ft-lbs of extra torque over the FA20 and a big fatty power curve), although that does support my claim as the engine was designed in the '80s...

But back to the Abarth, I always liked the styling and the idea of the car on paper, the Top Gear review from waay back in 2009 had me sold, come 2012 when it was sitting on dealer lots and I had cash in my pocket I could easily be on their forums right now if it wasn't for some serious support from family members helping me find an 86. Here's a link to the review, we have pretty much the SS version he bangs on about almost unchanged from back then.

And I would never buy a new Mini, but for less money it outclasses the 86 in just about every arena except handling, parts cost, aftermarket availability, and projected reliability.

[industrial]

Originally Posted by BWilky

I am getting more excited about buying a twin each time I read posts like this. I was recently watching some videos on Magnus Walker and this car is very much like the old 911's as he describes it as flat foot driving. The twins seem to best for driving all out but at comfortable speeds and maintaining speed through corners.

As long as you don't mind losing stop light races to mid size cars (camary or accord) this car should be great for most spirited driving needs.

I get really tired of hearing this. Even if you had a WRX or Focus ST, driving an Accord V6 makes it a drivers game. These cars are just smoking fast these days. 0-60 in 5.5 and the quarter mile in 14 flat for a family car is amazing. It's a testament to how far family sedans have come, not a knock on the ST, WRX or even...the BRZ.


People that fixate on straight line speed are missing the point. Or you could always just bolt on FI to the amazing FA20 engine and have it all. The twins are about $10,000 away from being the worldbeater everyone wants it to be. Small potatoes in the grand scheme of things.