My Review ~ MX-5 | RX-8 R3 | FR-S

[Texas BRZ]

First and foremost, I would like to thank each one of you for taking the time and energy to read this post / thread.

I've been patiently waiting to post this review ever since I was fortunate enough to land myself in a FR-S over a month ago... And I only wanted to post this after I would have tracked my FR-S, and understood it after having driven it like it was intended... Now that day has come. I've completed the first of my two-day HPDE event with my FR-S today.

• 2013 FR-S, 6 speed manual
• 2011 MX-5 Miata, Touring, Bilstein suspension package, 6 speed manual
• 2010 RX-8 R3, 6 speed manual

Is there a clear winner between these 3 cars which I have personally owned in my past? Simply put, no. Each of these sports cars has its own loyal following, and all of those individuals are believers for each of these cars for a reason, and there's no question about that.

The RX-8 (Previous '04 Model Year) was the first car I've ever owned. And there's a good reason why I chose to come back to an updated '10 R3 version. It is the only reason for me being sucked into the world of sports cars, and driving them as passionately as I do.

The MX-5 Miata was a car that I had begun looking up to after getting a feel and understanding for the track life. It was a car that I wanted to have without any compromise, and I wanted to have because of its single-purpose sports car / roadster edge & personality. I have no regrets in having the opportunity to own such a car, and tracking it on a monthly basis for almost a solid year.

And now the newly released FR-S. I feel it's a much-needed sports car for today's world. Having racked up over 3k miles on it currently, I feel I've managed to understand it better in many aspects.
____________

As we all can understand, it's always a challenge to choose which car is better, and which car rises above all. Therefore, I can only select the one which feels most appropriate for my needs and wants personally. And yes, I admit that each car has its very own strengths over the other. At the end, it's best to give credit where it's due, and to be unbiased while doing so within my brief explanations.

Steering FEEL, Suspension FEEL, Driving FEEL:

I'd have to give the nod to the R3. Not a clear winner, but it is a champ in this category. It is not significantly better in this area than the MX-5 or FR-S, but it is nevertheless. Yet I have to keep in mind that the R3 was much improved compared to the base Sport RX-8 trim level... And when comparing a normal Sport RX-8 to an FR-S, the FR-S wins. I've driven the Sport version, and it was simply unacceptable compared to the feel of an R3. Maybe it's not fair to compare the R3 with the FR-S because the R3 has the performance goodies added to it in a pricier package, such as: The Recaro seats and the Bilstein suspension, etc. The R3 really feels alive with the overall experience of driving... I'm sure some select others are better, but out of the three, the R3 gets my pick for the FEEL factor it provides to the driver. I'd give 2nd place to the MX-5 for purely the steering feel, but in suspension and driving feel, I'd say it's evenly matched between itself and the FR-S.

Seats:

I'd say it's a tie between the R3 and the FR-S... The R3 has better support and bolstering in its Recaro seats, but for long drives and daily use, they can show their single-purpose nature (although I was perfectly fine with them, regardless). In high-performance driving, it's hard to beat the Recaros. Though the Recaros in the R3 show excessive wear & tear on the bolsters after some use, which may not be very appealing about them. The seats in the FR-S have the best compromise for a daily-driven sports car, and they are of high-quality cloth which have not shown any sign of use... That's my simple reason for the tie. And Last place goes to the MX-5. The seats in the MX-5 were terrible in support, bolstering, and quality, in my opinion.

Handling:

1st place would go to the R3. It's hard to explain but the R3's handling was simply magical, from my personal experience. I'm sure much of the credit goes to the rotary for giving it that balanced and lightweight feel... It's hard to explain in words, but the FR-S and MX-5 are very, very good... But the R3 was simply... Magical. And perhaps it would be a tie between the MX-5 and the FR-S if it weren't for the little excessive body-roll in the MX-5 through hard cornering, which tends to get messy, in my opinion... Therefore I'd bump the FR-S to a 2nd place.

Engine:

1st place would be handed to the FR-S. 2nd place to the MX-5. 3rd to the R3. The MX-5 has the more 'racey' engine... It's more responsive also. Initially, I preferred the MX-5's engine over the one in my FR-S... But I'm starting to feel that the engine in the FR-S is meatier, more torquey... Especially in the lower RPM's. I feel that the FR-S puts down the power the best... Or maybe that's just from the seat of my pants. I simply feel that the FR-S has the strongest engine of the three cars. The R3's rotary made me work too much to gain the power it had to offer... That would still be fine, but I just feel that the rotary engine makes the car work abnormally hard.

Brakes:

1st place would go to the MX-5... Little brake fade on stock brakes, and fluid did not boil with several HPDE events... I was extremely happy with the MX-5 in regards to braking, and I know it's not recommended, but I stuck with stock pads and fluid for as long as I tracked the MX-5, without any issues. 2nd place goes to the R3... Same qualities of the MX-5, but since the RX-8 is about 500 lbs heavier, the pads went out a bit quicker. 3rd place to the FR-S... After only one event, I'm already considering changing to racing pads and fluid for my future events. It's Monday, my brake pedal is not as responsive as before, and no signs of getting better. Definitely not a pleasing feeling, but I will try to aid this before my next HPDE event this month.

Heel-and-toe:

I'd give the nod to the MX-5. I miss the ease and precision which that car provided me with in doing so. 2nd place would go to the FR-S. A little challenging in this car, and I have to roll my foot to blip the throttle to catch it good. In the MX-5, I was better able to rotate my foot, and plus the throttle in it was more responsive. I can't comment on the R3 since I did not start pushing myself to learn heel-and-toe in that car, unfortunately.

Shifter / Shifting feel:

Honestly, I feel most comfortable in giving a three-way tie in this category. The R3 had the most slick / smooth shifting feel. The MX-5 probably had the more short / precise feel. The FR-S took some time to feel comfortable, and after some more time with it... It is solid like the others... Not perfect, but solid. No complaints for any of the cars here.

Fuel / Efficiency:

1st place for the FR-S. 2nd place to the MX-5. 3rd to the R3. FR-S is slightly better than the MX-5. R3 was unacceptable... Even worse than the 4.0 liter V8 in my previous e90 M3... Because of how hard I had to push the engine in order to get much out of it.

Build quality:

1st place to FR-S. Tie for the R3 and the MX-5, although the MX-5 uses cheaper materials compared to either vehicle (at least in my Touring version). All three cars are made in Japan, therefore the quality is top-notch, without much complaints at all... Yet I feel the FR-S is a more solid build... All the way from the thicker / richer feeling steering wheel, to the stronger / quality feel from the boxer engine.

Versatility:

1st for the R3, 2nd for the FR-S, 3rd for the MX-5. I have two small children, and neither of these cars is meant to be the ultimate family car... But I need a sports car to daily drive, and that was part of the reason for moving away from the MX-5 and racking up only 6k miles on it in one entire year. I've already reached 3k miles in over a month in my FR-S, so I'm getting good overall use out of it. The main thing I missed when owning the MX-5 was not being able to take my small kids wherever I went... And that is where the MX-5's single-purpose nature got in the way of my lifestyle, no matter how dearly I admired the MX-5. Up until the FR-S, the MX-5 was the best sports car I had ever owned.

My overall unbiased winner = FR-S

It's not perfect... But it has the engine, it's lightweight, it can be versatile, it's efficient, it has the handling, it's affordable... Simply put, it represents what a sports car should be in our world's current time and economy which we are all a part of. It's a sports car hero for me... If it deserves to be called that.

Thank you in advance for all the comments. If I have forgotten to add & correct on any additional points, I will proceed to edit.

Texas FR-S

[DeanStevenson]

Fantastic writeup! Your honest assessments enumerated across 3 solid competitors allows me to trust your final conclusion.

Thanks for taking the time to post this.

[hippari]

I know they're not RWD, but how would your old Evo and M3 stand amongst the crowd?

I'm sure you didn't include them because of how close they are to the 2ton point, but I'm curious anyway.

[BRAWL]

I love the RX-8 to death in almost everyway, but have to agree with you that the 86 is superior overall. For me, it is the fuel economy and engine that let down the RX-8 in the end. Also, my mate used to work for Mazda and warned me against them due to a few mechanical issues that older ones were coming in with

[Nick Graves]

Great write-up!

Seems well reasoned & dispassionate.

Only driven older iterations of the Mazdas, but they were excellent cars - Wankel gripes notwithstanding.

I agree the Hachiroku IS a modern-day hero!

[scorcherjf]

Thanks for this review, great write-up. Nice to see an unbiased review (with on-track time as well) between some of the greatest "driver's" cars.

[rsa]

Do you have any thoughts on the RX-8 (both the R3 and your old Sport) vs. the FR-S for freeway slogging?

Thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts down for us.

Stewart

[Texas BRZ]

Updated with comparison on brakes and build quality.

Replying to all responses now...

[Texas BRZ]

Originally Posted by DeanStevenson

Fantastic writeup! Your honest assessments enumerated across 3 solid competitors allows me to trust your final conclusion.

Thanks for taking the time to post this.

Thank you, sir. Your appreciation and respect means very much.

I've been planning this review out for a while now... And I'm very fortunate to have owned some of the closest competitors to the FR-S / BRZ.

Originally Posted by hippari

I know they're not RWD, but how would your old Evo and M3 stand amongst the crowd?

I'm sure you didn't include them because of how close they are to the 2ton point, but I'm curious anyway.

The Evo lacked the 'purity' of a RWD sports car, in my honest opinion. It was probably one of the more exciting cars I have owned, but that was only so because I modified it... The Evo and its turbocharged engine were always much more tempting to be modified, but that's when my clutch and transmission started to falter, which became a never ending game that I no longer wanted to play in financially. Other than that, the Evo was a raw driving experience with steering feel that matched the R3. It was an intensely fun experience, yet it was a car which did not teach me as much about driving, compared to a low-power RWD car... I was immature back when I owned the Evo, therefore I never bothered to track or understand its potential... So I can't really knock it for what it brought to the table.

Ah, the e9x M3... No disrespect to my fellow M3 owners, but it was a car which I was least attached to during my ownership. I had my priorities mixed up, and I lost my way to the purity and essence of a sports car. The steering feel was the worst of all my cars (though still not bad), the suspension communicated the least amount of information to the driver, and the car itself did the same also. The high-revving 4.0 liter V8 was what caught my attention to the car though... The response from that engine was pure race car. Though in reality, the e9x M3 was a luxury car FIRST, and a car meant for driving SECOND. That's why it never came close to my heart when driving for the joy of driving. It's truly a great all-around performance car which is at the top if its game, but a car for the individual who appreciates it for what it truly is and for its qualities.

Originally Posted by LazyZed

I love the RX-8 to death in almost everyway, but have to agree with you that the 86 is superior overall. For me, it is the fuel economy and engine that let down the RX-8 in the end. Also, my mate used to work for Mazda and warned me against them due to a few mechanical issues that older ones were coming in with

I agree, as well... Thank you for your support on my own thoughts.

Originally Posted by Nick Graves

Great write-up!

Seems well reasoned & dispassionate.

Only driven older iterations of the Mazdas, but they were excellent cars - Wankel gripes notwithstanding.

I agree the Hachiroku IS a modern-day hero!

Thank you for you appreciation and praise for my review.

Three of my last cars were Mazda's, and they were all worth owning.

Hope other manufacturers can follow the Hachiroku's example.

Originally Posted by scorcherjf

Thanks for this review, great write-up. Nice to see an unbiased review (with on-track time as well) between some of the greatest "driver's" cars.

Thank you for your appreciation.

Originally Posted by rsa

Do you have any thoughts on the RX-8 (both the R3 and your old Sport) vs. the FR-S for freeway slogging?

Thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts down for us.

Stewart

Hi, Stewart... Thank you for your input.

If by freeway slogging, you mean long-distance driving... Then I would say both the RX-8 (R3) and the FR-S are very stable and planted. Of course, both of the cars are not absolutely the most comfortable, but I would say that the RX-8 has a bit more space (in the back seating area). Driving wise, it's a toss-up, except the fuel economy is an advantage for the FR-S. I just got back from a 10 hour round trip journey in the FR-S (HPDE event in Houston), and I don't have much to complain about except for the limited space for my family (wife / 4 year old / 1 year old)... But I wanted a small sports car like this anyway. I was happy and pleased with freeway slogging in both cars. Just to note, it took about 5 hours to get to my destination in the FR-S, and still had 1/4 tank of fuel left.

Please feel free to correct me if I've misunderstood you and provided the incorrect info...

[_F-R-S_]

Thanks for taking the time to do this write up.. well apprciated!

[Zaggeron]

Nice write-up. I've been a fan of all three cars. I'm pretty sure had the RX-8 gotten better than SUV levels of MPG I would have traded my DD for one a while ago instead of waiting for the twins. But I'm glad I waited and I'm glad to hear it fares well in comparison to the RX-8.

[WingsofWar]

iv had plenty of seat time in the rx8...great car, it performs much better than the FRS in nearly every category,

but if i had the keys and choice to drive away with a BRZ or rx8 id still pick the BRZ without hesitation. The BRZ was a much more rewarding car to drive from my time iv spent with the rx8. If it was against a FD rx7, FD would be better choice overall from the BRZ. Because it has that level of feeling and reward the BRZ has and more + good performance to back it up.

[rice_classic]

He's trolling. Don't feed the troll.

[scorcherjf]

I agree with most of your points but how much seat time did you have with the FR-S/BRZ? Any track comparisons? I know an RX-8 owner who also happens to be a car reviewer and he had pretty great things to say about the FR-S (and yes this was a track comparison). I guess the fact that he still has his RX-8 says something but I don't think it's THAT big of a difference.

Originally Posted by iShaveWithKatana

Riiiight, because any opinion not fawning over and praising every aspect of the FR-S, holding it above all others, is "trolling."

Carry on with those blinders.