Did anybody else NOT test drive their FR-S/BRZ before purchase?

[Anaxilus]

I've had a 10 series on order since April. Finally went to a dealer to get more in depth experience w/ the FRS. Made some notes and just copy/pasted here. I think there was an impressions thread somewhere at one time, mods can move it if they want. But here's what I came away with:

1-Interior has grown on me for sure, I really like the seat position, ergonomics and placement of everything. The paddles need to be extended in length which the aftermarket is making as we speak for more aggressive driving. Gauges are great and so is legibility. Could use another gauge like oil temp and maybe EGT rather than a second speedo. Brake pedal placement is decent for left foor braking but not as comfortable for long distance driving like the Subaru or other British cars like Jaguar. I don't know what it is about Jags and Brits, but they get left foot braking position better than anyone. So I'll have to likely add aftermarket aluminum pedals for better placement/comfort. Rear fold down mechanism broke on the left side of one FRS but worked on the second one. Not confidence inspiring. Currently has more cargo room than any of my cars because the Legacy seats do not fold down. 12"-15"H x 27"W x 69"L With the passenger seat down if you want to haul planks from Home Depot or shelves from IKEA. More L if you angle for a hypotenuse insertion. Letting the ambiance settle around you, it feels more spacious but also larger than the exterior size would lead one to believe. Ingress/egress easier than my MR-S. More seat adjustablity but steering wheel could use another inch or two of extension. Good enough, no clearance issues w/ legs like the MR-S. Blind spot is pretty disconcerting behind the C-pillar. None of my Broadway mirrors w/ likely help it. Will need to attach those blindspot domes on the side views for serious driving.

2-Exterior brings size package back to normalcy for a true sports car. Something that Civic, Fiesta, GTI, etc have all lost going in the opposite direction by getting FAT! Ground clearance around 6.5" w/ wheel gap around 2.5" from fender to OEM wheel. So a simple 1" drop w/ a Swift spring kit should be more than workable for daily driving. Don't forget to adjust for roll-center if you do this. Paint and orange peel seems better than normal Toyota/Scion standards. Though some have remarked the Subie paint has been less durable than their Toyota cars, not sure about that. I think it's a looker. Been looking at aftermarket tails as I don't care muchfor the OE lights, unfortunately the OE lights have an aero accent for a venturi, many aftermarket ones delete this. I'd hate to loose that as I'm sure Toyota would not have wasted a single penny putting it there if it did nothing. Keep in mind the aerodynamics w/ any mods to this car. The OE exhaust works as an integrated diffuser so changing to a different one will incur an aerodynamic penalty in back pressure and downforce which is not what you want considering the F/R FRS (3.0/4.5) spring rates compared to the BRZ (3.8/4.5).

3-Drive is fun and precise. It is a bigger type of sportscar than I'm used to in both weight and dimension. Handling responsiveness is good, ride is supple enough for comfort over long distances in a sports car. Extreme turns will take your hands away from the paddles so those should be upgraded. Surprisingly more stable a drive than I was expecting, not as tail happy as I thought. You can step it out but it's much more neutral and stable than I'm used to w/ the MR-S. I pushed about 7.5/10 due to my unfamiliarity w/ the Prius tires on this chassis. I know them on my friends Prius and can get them to squeel easier w/ hybrid sport torque and plenty of front end plow. Auto was okay, reading suggested upshifts would be slow and downshifts spot on. I felt the opposite. Upshifts were comparable to the MR-S SMT but downshifts lagged by comparison by what felt like second but was likely only half that since driving at a certain rate has that effect on perceived time. Also had no control over first gear. It let me play from 2nd-6th but once in second the car determined first gear on its own. Not sure if the ECU needs to do some learning, the SMT did. All this was with VSC off. Used full auto to only a couple figure eights in the parking lot and take her out. Again, blindspot was an issue in traffic. With the MR-S, I see just about everything at speed. With the top down, I have God's omniscience at full speed. That allows me to move very very fast in a safe manner w/ total awareness. I don't think I'll ever be able to have that level of confidence in the FRS. For driving through traffic, the MR-S is a scalpel, the FR-S is a paring knife. While that sounds bad, I've gotten a bit bored of my Legacy being a broadsword, and is just not suited to my natural driving style. Power was also not as bad as I was expecting. I was expecting a dog w/ no low end grunt due to the torque dip between 3-4k. It was perfectly fine, enough for speed and enough to not get in serious trouble. You step on the gas and it goes. I guess some people are just used to big ole V8s or boost rather than 100hp econoboxes. Compared to a typical Japanese engine that used to get 34MPPG, the FA20 gets moving well enough.

So my FRS is coming, have to think about a few things. I enjoyed it a lot, but did not love it compared to what I'm used to. I think I could come to enjoy it more once we get to know each other better. I guess it could be that I have to accept that I'm looking for a best compromise vehicle for DD rather than a fine tuned instrument.

Let me know your thoughts and experiences and how they compare.

[errrk]

Never even considered the twins until I saw a few in person and just started growing on me.

A couple of weeks later of research and lurking around the forums convinced me this was going to be my next car.

Bought out of state from Heuberger in Colorado, and sat and drove in one for the first time ever when mine was delivered to my front door in California.

It's my first sports car and pretty much blew all my expectations out of the water. Never had so much fun in a car before.

[FRStance]

I test drove an A/T and really didnt like it. Bought a 6-speed expecting to like it way more. I was right!!

[hmong337]

The test drive is what won it for me!

I went out with the salesman (cool guy!) in a black 6spd. He took me to an empty parking lot to hoon around in it. He knew I wasn't just another young guy with little experience as I pulled up in my MR2 turbo.

I was SOLD once we got back! I had to get an FRS no matter what.

[ndsleep612]

I first test drove the FR-S back during Thanksgiving when they had the annual car show in SF. Toyota had the 6spd manual version along with the auto tranny for test drives.

Last week I bought mine unseen. The dealership I bought it from had the model I wanted sitting at the docks. One phone call and I picked up the car after work 2 days later. It was a good but unreal experience.

[tinma]

I test drove mine but I was only allowed to drive around the block... It was more of a tease lol.. Needless to say, I am picking up my brz tomorrow

[OrbitalEllipses]

Got mine sight unseen without a test drive of either the FR-S or BRZ. Delivery from out of state too.

[Accurate Race Shop]

Originally Posted by tinma

I test drove mine but I was only allowed to drive around the block... It was more of a tease lol.. Needless to say, I am picking up my brz tomorrow

I test drove both in June of last year. The dealer I went to had a brz limited that they were going to let everyone test drive then make it a company car or let an employee buy it for next to nothing. I ended up liking the fr-s better so that's the one I got and the one I test drove was for sale unlike subaru were you got to test it but had to order one and wait. I still give them props for allowing customers to drive it when so many others were not allowing test drives.

Sent from my Q10

[Amir Ghadiri]

I didn't drive mine. I'd never even seen the firestorm color in person. The dealer didn't have one. I bought it then waited a few hours for it to be delivered from another dealer. No regrets

[sittinSideways]

First car I looked at was a 6spd Asphalt FRS. I told them I was interested, but they said no test drive. I told them I wouldn't buy without a test drive and they still said no. So I went 200 miles south and found a dealer that let me test drive an FRS, which is now my current car. Lesson to dealers...

[m.wood0213]

dealership did not allow me to test drive my BRZ until the money was in order and by the time that happened it was 6pm and didnt get a chance.

[WolfsFang]

I got my car May 31, 2012, my test drive was driving it off the lot in my name.

[finch1750]

I was going to wait originally, but then I read Moto's review on c4ag . If that man believed it was great then I wasn't worried (kinda). I sold my sti as soon as I got my FRS reserved back in March 2012 so obviously I hadnt even seen on in person yet. I got a bit anxious right after that being as the sti had always been my dream car. Moto's review kept me confident I would not be disappointed. Picked up my FRS 5/31/12 and test drove it home via my favorite backroad.

[gzpermadi]

I only sit in it at the dealer and love it.
Didn't had time to arrange timing for test drive.

I was particularly looking for a new-sporty car in $25K range.
In here only 86 manual, Clio RS, Focus ST and Golf GTI in that range while Alfa Giulietta, GenCoupe, Mustang/Camaro V6 are actually in between 30K-35K range.

I know they are all good cars and I am sure I would enjoy them all if I had one (driven the Clio/GTI other model year) but I chose 86 since it looks better compared to the others.