I'm back! Sport-tech worth it?

[Midnightsky]

Originally Posted by mr.whiskers

Folding down rear seats takes seconds, why would this be an annoyance?

I don't understand it either. I put a 5ft ladder plus tools in my brz on weekends to do side work. Is it as easy as my previous Mazda 3 hatchback? No, but I wanted a sports car more than I wanted convenience. Different strokes for different folks. I think the most important thing when shopping for a vehicle is to know 100% what you are trying to get from the vehicle. No matter what, you WILL be making some type of compromise, either in size, power, convenience, or pricing.

[andys_garage]

Originally Posted by mr.whiskers

Folding down rear seats takes seconds, why would this be an annoyance?

I will say the pull tabs are annoying to reach

[soundman98]

easier for me to buy a pickup truck than fold the seat down. oh wait...

[CincyJohn]

Originally Posted by mr.whiskers

Folding down rear seats takes seconds, why would this be an annoyance?

Because it annoys me to do it. More importantly the real annoyance is putting the seat back up, which requires me to climb in the back seat and, for some reason never seems to want to latch correctly.

[CincyJohn]

Originally Posted by Midnightsky

I put a 5ft ladder plus tools in my brz on weekends to do side work. Is it as easy as my previous Mazda 3 hatchback? No

Thanks for literally describing an annoyance.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by CincyJohn

Because it annoys me to do it. More importantly the real annoyance is putting the seat back up, which requires me to climb in the back seat and, for some reason never seems to want to latch correctly.

my front seats are always leaned back 'just' further than the seat needs to fold up/down.

so i always end up needing to adjust both seats, running around to both sides, and then repeat to fold back up.

and then i spend the next 10 trips in the car trying to get the drivers seat where it was before...

[Midnightsky]

Originally Posted by CincyJohn

Thanks for literally describing an annoyance.

lol compromises, #thatslifedealwithit

[22 BRZ]

Originally Posted by soundman98

and then i spend the next 10 trips in the car trying to get the drivers seat where it was before...

Whenever I put the back seat down, I put the drivers seat all the way forward, just so I don't have to adjust the seat back! Although now that I think about it, that only makes it easier for me because my standard seating position is literally as far back as the seat slides... Plus I had to remove the rear seat bottoms in order to be able to get the seat far enough back for all 6'4" of me... Were we talking about annoyances and compromises lol?

Back on topic, I didn't go for the sport-tech simply because on paper the base model had everything I wanted, and I'd rather spend the price difference myself on what I want. HOWEVER, I don't like that I don't have the blind spot monitoring. Other than that, heated seats would have been nice, but I never felt like they were "missing" (and in a colder climate). Used to own a Ford Explorer with part leather/alcantara seats, and I always found that those needed the heaters due to how cold they felt (similar to the leather in our WRX, which are heated). Cloth seats like the BRZ, not so much. But, your experience may vary, perhaps I'm a bit of a sucker for punishment when it comes to the cold...

Originally Posted by mr.whiskers

Heated seats are nice for sure, but while they are a requirement on leather seats I feel like on cloth seats you don't even need them that much. Again comparing to my previous Infiniti it had leather and I would die in the winter without heated seats. This winter I drove my BRZ, and it was a very cold winter, but I didn't really feel uncomfortable sitting in just jeans in a car that was parked all day at like -25C.

This is why I should read the full thread before posting... Basically, this +1 (and I can vouch for how bad this winter was for us here).

[greengs]

Heated seats and seat material itself was the big selling point on the higher trim for me.

[andys_garage]

I forgot to mention that at least on the Toyota, rear cross traffic alert and blind spot alerts are only available on the premium trim, things I regard as essential on a street car in this day and age.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by CincyJohn

Because it annoys me to do it. More importantly the real annoyance is putting the seat back up, which requires me to climb in the back seat and, for some reason never seems to want to latch correctly.

Wait
Wait
Wait

The seats go back up?
Mine have been down for two years.

[CincyJohn]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Wait
Wait
Wait

The seats go back up?
Mine have been down for two years.

Well, that actually would have been the best follow-up to my post - why do you put them back up? And it would have been a good one, too, since I have yet to have someone in the backseat of the Gen2 and only had someone in the backseat (my son) 2-3 times in the over year and a half I owned my Gen1. Compare that to the 1-2 times a week I need to take my golf clubs in and out of my car, especially in the summer.

I don't really have a good answer either other than it feels like driving with the glove box open or the armrest open (if it doesn't have to be open for a drink) - it doesn't feel as "neat" as I would like. Yes - I know how lame that sounds...

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by CincyJohn

Well, that actually would have been the best follow-up to my post - why do you put them back up? And it would have been a good one, too, since I have yet to have someone in the backseat of the Gen2 and only had someone in the backseat (my son) 2-3 times in the over year and a half I owned my Gen1. Compare that to the 1-2 times a week I need to take my golf clubs in and out of my car, especially in the summer.

I don't really have a good answer either other than it feels like driving with the glove box open or the armrest open (if it doesn't have to be open for a drink) - it doesn't feel as "neat" as I would like. Yes - I know how lame that sounds...

A back seat is a must have for me since I would rather have one and not need it than need it and not have one.

When I bought the FRS back in 14 both my grandsons were little guys (11 and 8) and the rear seat was used all the time since both would rather ride with me than grandma's SUV. Now 8 years later they are both very large (over 6 ft) and there is not a hope in hell one could ride back there for more than a few minutes. In the two years with the 2020 I have never had a passenger back there. In fact in the 35,000 miles I have driven it I probably have had somebody in the passenger seat for may a total of an hour.



All in all I just need the seats down more often than up so they just stay down all the time now. Oh and the Hakone has a really pretty trunk mat back there so it doesn't feel weird like and open glovebox would.

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

When I bought the FRS back in 14 both my grandsons were little guys (11 and 8) and the rear seat was used all the time since both would rather ride with me than grandma's SUV.

Since you've owned both generations, what is your thoughts on the back seat room? I've heard lots of people talking about carrying smaller children in the back seats of the gen 1. Is there less room in the gen 2?

Looking at my gen 2, I'm not sure how I would have put my kids in there beyond age 4~5. I'm not a tall person, but the gap between the front and back seat is minimal. As an empty-nester, carrying kids is no longer an issue and the seats work as a nice parcel shelf. Pretty sure no human will ever sit there while I own the car.