FRS First Impressions

[SVThis]

I picked up my new Whiteout FRS 6 speed on October 25th from Heart City Toyota Scion in Elkhart Indiana. This was a year almost to the day that I bought a Hyundai Veloster that I traded in for the FRS. I placed the order for the FRS on the first part of June so it was a fairly long wait. The Veloster was an OK car but not the type of car that stirred the soul by any stretch of the imagination. It was vastly under powered, the steering felt artificial, and I had problems with the rear brake calipers seizing up. To it's credit it had a nice interior, got good fuel economy, and had love it or hate it styling. In a nutshell it just wasn't my cup of tea based on previous cars I have owned.

To give you a little background, I consider myself an addicted car enthusiast having owned over 35 cars since getting my licence. I've owned some fairly milk toast cars along with several enthusiast type cars. I will mention a few of my favorites
65 Jaguar E type roadster
427 Cobra replica
Super Duty 455 Trans Am
Porsche 911 SC
Mazda RX7 first generation
VW GTI
Honda CRX SI
Camaro SS convertible
MG Midget
Mustang GT
Mazda MX5 NC

I've had the opportunity to attend Bob Bondurant's and Skip Barber's schools and have been active in autocross and HPDE since 1978.

I've only had a chance so far to get in about 100 shake down miles. The wife and I took our initial drive today on some twisty backroads in southern Michigan. The roads were a combination of smooth pavement and neglected asphalt. I feel the ride is firm but much smoother than I thought it would be. The FRS has a well dampened suspension with very controlled body roll. In comparison my MX5 felt like it was going to roll over at the extreme limits. The steering is accurate and has scalpel precision. This car has a feel to it very similar to my Porsche 911. The body structure has a solid feel as if it was carved from a single piece of billet. At 70 mph you can let go of the steering wheel and it tracks very straight without having to put in corrections constantly. The shifter has a short throw snick snick feel to it when again compared to the MX5 I much prefer.

I love the simplicity of the interior. The seats are fanstastic and offer good lateral support. They feel very similar to a Recaro Speed. I'm 6'2 and have plenty of room in the interior. I haven't tried sitting in the seat with a helmet on but feel this won't be a problem. The rear seats are useless but they are still nice to have and be able to throw odds and ends in the back. Visibility of the road is incredible with the low sloping hood and the fender arches giving the driver a good line of sight. The power of the car is better than expected. While it's not a rocketship, it's more than enough for most people. Sure I wouldn't mind 300 HP but then it wouldn't be a $25K car either.

I drove the car home from the dealer with all the protective cover still on it, instructing the dealer not to touch it after PDI had been performed. This is the first car where I've requested this. After washing properly, clay barring, and topping with Zaino, the finish is flawless.Very little orange peel in the paint. Beats having to spend 10 hours doing a paint correction due to the fact most dealerships have idiots washing cars.

It may be too early to tell but so far I'm completely satified with the car. For $25K I can't think of much that can beat it for driving fun. I plan on autocrossing in RTR next year, probably adding some lighter wheels, Star Specs, bigger front bar, and alignment to start out.

Below are some pics I took with a camera phone.

[Lonewolf]

That's quite an eclectic car history there...welcome!