Finally got to see an FR-S in real life...almost drove it too...

[Rawhyde]

Hi everybody. This is my first post on FT86Club.

I was watching the Olympics last week and saw a commercial for the FR-S. I was stunned at what a good looking car it was, but I wasn't paying a lot of attention until they mentioned that it was rear wheel drive. I grabbed my iPad and started reading about it. The more I read, the more interested I became.

I went to a local Scion dealer and asked to see an FR-S. They tried to redirect me to a tC in the showroom. I politely told them I wasn't interested in it. They then told me they had a black FR-S that I could look at, but they already had a deposit on it and warned me that it wasn't prepped (all the shipping plastic was still intact). I told them I wanted to see it to get a feel for its size and proportions in the flesh.

As much as I like the shape in pictures, I like it better in real life. I got to check out the interior, the engine bay, and the trunk. I think it's a bit on the small side, but I think I can live with it. I was messing with the Bespoke radio (sounds fair), and the salesman told me he can't let me take it on the road, but if I wanted to, I could take it around the lot. Not really much of a test drive, but I was able to form a few impressions.

This was a big dealership with a big lot, so I was able to get it into second gear at a normal "driving through the subdivision" pace. Obviously, it's no rocketship, but it seemed to have a reasonable amount of pull in 2nd gear without winding it up. I was also amazed at how supple and smooth the ride was. I was expecting it to be much more firm. The steering effort was also quite a bit less than I was expecting it to have. It was enough of a teaser to keep me interested. Once they're fully in the supply chain, I want to go test drive one again.

When I got out of college and started working, I deccided that I wanted a nice car as a reward. I did a lot of research and then ordered a new 1995 B4C Camaro. I got it loaded up with every rare and unusual option I could find. Today, that car is still locked up in my shop with ~10K miles, and it's never seen the rain. It's a great car, lots of power, and still like brand new. I got a used '94 Impala SS for a daily driver. I drove it for almost 10 years. It was an amazing car for its size and bulk.

In 2005, I ordered up a MINI Cooper S with the John Cooper Works engine, brakes, and suspension along with all the bells & whistles BMW offered. It is far and away the most fun car I've ever driven. Describing the ride as harsh and the resposne as instantaneous are both enormous understatements. I drove it daily for 3 years and ran up a little over 90K miles up in the mountains of NW Georgia. In the MINI's third year, I got a new job with a 65 mile one way commute. I knew I had to get it off the road ASAP before I drove the wheels off it. I'll never get rid of my MINI.

I needed a reliable and inexpensive commuter car. I did a lot of research and when I learned that the 2006+ Honda Civic used a chain rather than a rubber band to turn the camshaft, I thought I had the problem solved. I bought a still new leftover 2007 poverty edition Civic with a 5 speed manual in refrigerator white in March 2008. I picked it up on a Tuesday, and on Saturday morning, I was installing Civic Si swaybars. I never intended to mod this car, but the (lack of) handling was so bad as to be dangerous. Three weeks later, I bought a set of Si springs & shocks from a guy who upgraded his new Si. $90 out of pocket and a couple hours work and I had a Si suspension under my commuter car. The suspension bits made a tremendous difference, but it's still not a very good handling car. I've never been happy with it. It's been reliable, but it earned it name of Soul Crushing POS. (Other than belts, tires, oil, & filters; the only work I had to do is replace the power lock mechanisms 3x on the driver's side and once on the passenger side.)

I'm looking at the BRZ Limited to replace the Honda. I want the limited slip, xenon headlights, foglights, heated seats, and climate control. I got used to all that stuff on my MINI and miss them on the Honda. I drive 30-35K miles per year. I do my own maintenance, mods, and repairs. I need a reliable and dependable car that gets resonably good gas mileage. I want something that's actually fun to drive.

If anybody can identify with my situation and shed some light on how it is to live with a FR-S/BRZ, please share some insights with me.

Thanks,

Rawhyde

[Kurenai]

I too had a soul-crushing POS (2005 Pontiac Vibe), but those memories are happily fading more and more every day with driving my FR-S. I have a ~18 mile commute each way, and even in traffic, its the little things that make it wonderful. Squealing the inside rear tire by giving it just a bit more gas than needed when making a right turn at a stop sign, Keeping it in as low of a gear as possible when on an on-ramp just to hear the engine roar.

The FR-S is the most fun car I've owned, and unlike the previous holder of that title (2001 MR2-Spyder) actually is practical.

[Pscylo]

NW GA....Dalton, Ft Oglethorpe, Ringgold area?

[MVJ1975]

Good move on avoiding the tC, mine was my "Soul Crushing POS", in appropriately boring dishwasher silver. The styling says "sporty" but underneath is a Euro Avensizzz chassis.

I now daily-drive my FR-S. I have a fairly short commute (15 minutes either way) but it's a great start to the day; plenty of turns, and relatively low speed. The car is perfectly practical as a commuter runabout. Obviously, it's not a family car and the backseats work mostly for children (my 8 year old is fine back there).

I found I hardly ever used the extra space in the tC. Yes, I could put three people in the back, but when did I ever have call to do it? Never. Not once. Similarly, I can count the number of times I put the seats down and filled the back area up on one hand.

[Pscylo]

My tC was rock solid with 6 cross country drives, and being loaded onto and off of an Amphibious Assault Ship to ride with me down through the Panama Canal before I traded it in for my FR-S.

[MVJ1975]

Originally Posted by Pscylo

My tC was rock solid with 6 cross country drives, and being loaded onto and off of an Amphibious Assault Ship to ride with me down through the Panama Canal before I traded it in for my FR-S.

Oh, it was fine from a reliability standpoint, got me from point A to B with little fanfare, but it wasn't a whole lot of fun to drive, and believe me, I tried to like it. It just didn't excel at anything. I still like the tC1s styling (but not the tC2s, bleh), but that's all. Once you get past that styling, there's a Camry/Avensis hybrid under there.

[Rawhyde]

Originally Posted by Pscylo

NW GA....Dalton, Ft Oglethorpe, Ringgold area?

Yes. I actually work in Dalton. There's no shortage of twisty, hilly roads to drive on. A good handling car is something I really appreciate living in this area. My daily commute has me crossing two small mountains (Taylor's Ridge & Dug Gap Mountain) every day with about 5 miles of twisty back road in between.

I like quick response, good turn in, flat cornering and smooth (predictable) power delivery. VTEC kickin' in while I'm in the middle of a curve ain't a pleasant thought...

I'd like to get rid of my (first, last, and only) Honda, get a Toyobaru, then start looking forward to my commute.

[Pscylo]

Just left FT O myself to move out to Phoenix...grew up in that whole area (Ft O, Ringgold, Dalton, Varnell, Tunnel Hill and Chatt.) Tons of fun driving around there....cant wait until winter for my road trip back there for a couple weeks.

[norm24]

oh, and just so you know... the FR-S has LSD as well...

And yeah, I'd probably be pissed if I'm the owner of that FR-S you drove around the lot (and played with the BeSpoke). You can be as gentle as you can "playing" with my car but that's still my car and I'd like to be the first to play with it... but that's just me...

[eriktherod]

Maybe it's just my bias or the forum you're on.. but I honestly can't think of a better car for your location/daily commute than the FRS/BRZ. If you like the creature comforts, go BRZ.

You mention good mileage, which the automatic version takes the cake on. However, I've noticed that your fun cars are all manual. I would agree that MOST automatics are far less fun than the manual version, but I do believe Toyota has done a wonderful job here of putting the impressive IS-F automatic and making it a FUN one that is still very sporty.

I'm assuming you test drove the manual?

[Justin.b]

I'm betting this guy was kinder to it than the dealer prep guys who are going to be moving the thing around.

-Justin

[Hawaiian]

Originally Posted by eriktherod

Maybe it's just my bias or the forum you're on.. but I honestly can't think of a better car for your location/daily commute than the FRS/BRZ. If you like the creature comforts, go BRZ.

You mention good mileage, which the automatic version takes the cake on. However, I've noticed that your fun cars are all manual. I would agree that MOST automatics are far less fun than the manual version, but I do believe Toyota has done a wonderful job here of putting the impressive IS-F automatic and making it a FUN one that is still very sporty.

I'm assuming you test drove the manual?

It's not the IS-F tranny, it's the IS250

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...8&postcount=40

As someone who puts in a 70 mile RT work commute, the car makes a great daily driver. I have a manual, but the auto will pay the extra cost off in 2 years of freeway driving. I love it as a DD, and I drive it everywhere.

[Rawhyde]

Originally Posted by eriktherod

Maybe it's just my bias or the forum you're on.. but I honestly can't think of a better car for your location/daily commute than the FRS/BRZ. If you like the creature comforts, go BRZ.

You mention good mileage, which the automatic version takes the cake on. However, I've noticed that your fun cars are all manual. I would agree that MOST automatics are far less fun than the manual version, but I do believe Toyota has done a wonderful job here of putting the impressive IS-F automatic and making it a FUN one that is still very sporty.

I'm assuming you test drove the manual?

It looks like a great match for my wants and needs. I just wanted to post up a little about my likes and dislikes to see if FRS/BRZ owners think it'd be a good match for me.

I did test drive the manual version. All of my other cars are manuals except the Impala SS. I prefer to shift my own gears. (I can't say I like rolling windows up and down...let an electric motor do that ). The longer life, fewer repairs, and greater enjoyment of the manual outweigh the mpg difference for me.

BTW, I was very gentle on the car I eased around the lot in. It needs to go to the cleanup bay to have the plastic removed, then across the street to the gas station. Besides, someone drove it onto a ship, off the ship, onto a truck, off a truck, etc. it had 5 miles on it. I drove it 250 yards. The car should last 250,000 miles.

[GNS]

Originally Posted by Rawhyde

Yes. I actually work in Dalton. There's no shortage of twisty, hilly roads to drive on. A good handling car is something I really appreciate living in this area. My daily commute has me crossing two small mountains (Taylor's Ridge & Dug Gap Mountain) every day with about 5 miles of twisty back road in between.

I like quick response, good turn in, flat cornering and smooth (predictable) power delivery. VTEC kickin' in while I'm in the middle of a curve ain't a pleasant thought...

I'd like to get rid of my (first, last, and only) Honda, get a Toyobaru, then start looking forward to my commute.

Then what are you waiting for? Honda hasn't been relevant in the fun department since they axed the S2K and....well....since the first couple years of the last gen Civic Si.

Edit: I did test drive an FR-S. And I have driven a MT 2008 Civic (family car), thus I can make an accurate comparison. The FR-S definitely feels more powerful (as expected) but its not going to throw you back in your seat. We already knew that.

Steering feel is very good, responsive and communicative with the right amount of feedback for turns at normal speeds and faster speeds. The small steering wheel with slightly fatter grip is real nice.

Shifter is awesome, one of the best I've ever used. Precise and smooth, very little vagueness/rubbery feel, and the throws are genuinely short. A lot of cars advertise a 'short throw shifter' but fail to deliver - this car is not one of them. Clutch is nice and smooth too, easy to find the take up point and just as easy to DD and drive hard.

Seating position is low to the ground, and there is a surprising amount of leg room despite the compact interior. Visibility is also good, I never felt like I couldn't see around me.

As for actually driving it (drove for a good half hour), it is as advertised. You will find it a SUBSTANTIAL improvement over your Civic. Especially for the clutch and shifter, far better in every way.