FRS First Drive Fort Mill SC

[gmfossett]

I recently was invited to the First Drive in Ft Mill SC. I am a 2011 TC2 owner, stock. Ive been following the FRS for almost 2 years and have been up to date every step of the way, very very excited to actually see one and drive one. I jump from my car as fast as I can to see up close an FRS. I was surprised that there were less than 20 people there, including staff and my group was 3 of them. Saturday the 28th was a cool day, cloudy but dry. To my surprise, the FRS is small, very small! Id compare its size to a Miata or Honda 2000.



The engine was as we have seen a zillion times, mounted low and towards the rear, plenty of over room for extras. A sound resonator is attached which amplifies engine sound inside the car. This is needed because this is a very quiet engine, even with this extra.

The paint seemed to be very good quality and the overall lines are just as we have seen in all the latest. I was told that the optional suspension and tires were placed on these cars for the tour, nothing more. I asked about a possible turbo and was told that SCION has no plans but has considered a super charged version at some point. All autos were what we were given to drive. Told the mileage is 25/34 in an auto and slightly less in the stick. Of the four colors there, I was surprised, the Hot Lava looked the best, this may be due to the special graphics on these particular cars

Im trying to upload pics and videos but I keep getting a security error, will try later but honestly they are just as we have seen. The interior of the car is a huge dissapointment. Simply said, its cheap, reused from the TC and very small. The front passengers have just enough room but none to spare, Im 5 7, not tall but I fit ok, more room in my TC. The back seat is a complete joke. They call it a true 2 plus 2 but when we tried to fit an 8 yeaer old in the back it couldnt be done. If a passenger is in the front seat there is zero inches in the rear foot area. The front seat litterally back up snug against the rea seat and doesnt allow for feet or legs at all, not tight or snug,,,just plain not at all. The dash is clear but if your driving like I do you will only use it when cruising. The radio and all other controls were just like a base TC, all user friendly but dated for sure. The door knobs do more to allow a roll cage to install without much effort. The seats are a different color but the same as my TC. This is a huge plus though, the seats are very nice and give much support.

Getting in and out of the car can be very tricky, you are really sitting about 8 inches from the road, its a small door and small area to get to at a very low height. Once buckeled in and everything adjusted I felt comfortabel to drive, but cramped still. The wheel is small, 14 inches which is great. I personally like my TC wheeel design better, it is small as well but shaped for tight turning. The car cranks easy, of course its brand new and its almost silent when sitting. We were allowed 2 laps around a pretty tough track with slow and pin curves. We were told we could go fast but not get crazy. The car has good acceloration however it was hard to open it up too much on this track. Id say its a little faster than my TC,,,kinda a maybe though. The car handles very nice. One thing I noticed was nobody knocked a cone over,,,not one. I think this is because the FRS will go wherever you point it at almost any speed. The car will slide with the slightest trottle and will recover easily, mainly because its so damn short, not much to recover. The limited weight is easily seen by the ride while cornering and stopping. I didnt notice hardly any understear or overstear. The best feature of this car is the handling. That being said the TC2 handles very nicely too but with slightly more roll. My TC does not have the upgraded suspension and my guess would be they were be almost identical if it did, excep the rear wheel drive difference. When giving trottle the FRS can be heard, not very loud but the dual exaust and boxer engine sound awesome. Breaking is super fast and controlled. My second lap I was able to open it up. I am a retired LEO and have driven many tracks before, mostly in Crown vics and Camoaros. I have immense fun driving the FRS, it really carved corners, slowed with ease and always had some pedal left. The size of the car makes you feel like your going faster than you are and its very fun. After my drive I watched others drive, you could visually see that the FRS has zero roll, slides smoothly and has somewhat ok acceleration. Its not close to being fast though. The auto trans is very simular to my TC. It has smart breaking and downshifts based on how much brake you are giving, its always in the right gear at the right time. Its the only auto I would ever buy and it explain the reviews Ive read where the auto drivers said they had faster times. Its a very smart trans.

Summary

Well, again, another spec car that had everyone pumped with looks, then changed the looks for production. Its close, closer than most do but its not the awesome car I was waiting on,,,looks wise. I think Scion dropped the ball on the interior, its not as functional as I would have liked, they should x out the back seat and save the weight. The car is def not an everyday driving machine. The interior cheap plastic is dated and doesnt inspire the advanced tech behind this car. The engine is great but under powered. I wouldnt spend 25 grand for this engine then need to spend anoth 5 or more to get the power I want and this car needs to perform as it looks. They hit hadling on the head, this cars balance is unreal and hadling is great but so are many other cars with much more power and a much nicer and more comfortable interior. Im sadly disssapointed, I was trying in the first 86 to get the chance and buy one before everyone else. Im happy I didnt. I dont think I will buy an FRS at all, at least not until they make some changes, upgraded interior, more power etc. Im sure Ill get responses about aftermarket etc. with that being said, you can buy aftermarket for virtually every other car out there and still enjoy sitting in it. They did announce that shipments to dealers are scheduled for June. Thats funny even still because most dealers dont even know this car exist yet but Im sure they will frak out when the truck drops them off.

[tripjammer]

Your the first one that really hates the interior. But is the interior better than the tC interior? I know they went cheap on the AC controls and the seats vs the BRZ, but other than that the interiors are the same between the BRZ and the FR-S. There is a lot more hard plastic in the tC vs the fRS\BRZ.

A good review non-the-less

[Subie]

There is no way the interior is like a tC2 interior. The tC2 interior uses the same plastics as the new Yaris; that is to say that it's a complete piece of shit. With soft-touch plastics in key places the FR-S interior has to be at least a step above.

[gmfossett]

I cant comment on any year but the 11 and 12 TCs. They are both identical. The interior in the FRS is cheap hard plastic, no foamy cushy stuff. I wouldnt want that anyhow. My comparison is this, my TC2 is cheap hard plastic as well, but even though its black, its not that shiney cheap looking black, the FRS s I saw yesterday was cheap shiney black plastic, the carpets and seats were very nice, so is a TC2, the seats appear to be the same seats. The stereo was a Pioneer and was also cheap hard shiney plastic, at least mine, stock was an Alpine, with many color options. The FRS is set up identical to a TC2 on the inside, AC controls in the center, 3 big round dials, radio above them and center AC vent at top, vent right, vent left, turn signal, cruise and wipers, same old levers they have been using for 20 years in toyota products. The door panels in the FRS are the same design as my TC2, same knob, window uo down,,,then above near the glass, cloth, on the FRS, black cloth with fine needle red trim, its looks pretty good though. The gauges are very simular but the tach is largest and in the center with a digital readout for mph on it,,,the mph is the only digital anything in it. I think the BRZ will prob have a nicer interior. I have a pic I can email but I cant seem to upload,,,my email is gmfossett479@hotmail.com,,,email me and Id be happy to email the pics I have. The back seat however is a complete joke, Im 5 7 and I have the drivers seat all the way back to be comfortable and when you do that,,the drivers seat smashes against the rear seat,,,zero clearence!!!,,,The cargo area in the back is nice when the back seats are folded down but is considerable smaller than what you get in a TC and much shorter,,,when I say the FRS is small, it doesnt due justice to how small it really is,,if you can picture putting a back seat in a miata

[gmfossett]

[gmfossett]

[gmfossett]

If you look at the above 2 pictires, same camera same angle almost, you can see that the interiors are almsot the same, except the TC2, bottom pic its much larger

[luxmn]

calling the FRS small and backseat is a joke is like saying the RangeRover is a wasteful 4 seater. Different car with different intention, the FRS is all about the driver, if you didn't feel comfortable seating in the car while driving then that's a problem, if you're worrying about the backseats then buy a sport sedan.

you said it urself, the good note of engine, tight turn, no body roll, AND you had fun. for a 25k car im not sure what else you can demand. IMHO the TC is a "sporty car" but nowhere near a sport car, I wont even bother comparing it to the FRS.

[SUB-FT86]

I have sat in both cars and the FR-S has more soft touch areas than a TC2. But the looks of the FRS interior makes it look as cheap as a TC2

[gmfossett]

I knew the forum would be full of a bunch of kill the messangers, I wanted to buy this car,,,wanted to like it ,,,,but before you go throwing too many stones, have you sat in one, have you driven an FRS, on a track, well I have and Im also a TC owner so I compare the 2 because there are many simular things about them, SCION reused many of the same design features from the TC2. With that being said, they are no way the same class of cars, the TC2 is not fast, nor is the FRS, the TC2 is front wheel, compared to rear wheel, my opinion is that in order to be a good sport cart you must have rear wheel. I didnt design the FRS, if I did I wouldnt have put a back seat in it. The reason why I comment so much on it is that its a design flaw, they dont have a grill in the back because u cant grill food in a car, well you cant use the back seat either, no matter how small your front passenger is the back seat wont work, even for a eight year old, we tried, sports cars are awesome without back seats, I love 2 seaters myself but they are marketing it as a true 2 plus 2 which it is not. I do compare the handling to the TC2 because they share some of the same talents, no doubt the FRS does it better, especially the ones I drove because they have the upgraded suspensions. The main reason I make a comparision to the TC is because myself and a hand full of people have driven a FRS but almost everone has been in a TC maybe not a TC2 and there is a huge difference in those 2 as well. The FRS is awesome in its own right, it will make a really good track car when modified, Im sure Scion and Subie will win many races in those 2. But unless your buying this car to race, spend 25 upfront, maybe another 10 to 15 to get it where you want so you can run for fun then in my opinion its a dissapointment. Its very small and thats saying something coming from someone comfortable in a TC, its not very comfortable to drive, you can get comfortable for the 2 min lap around the track but this car would suck for everyday driving, at least for me. I want to test drive one from the dealer, see what its like on the highway. Its one of the best handling cars Ive ever driven and Im 47 and get a new car every year or two and have for almost 30 years. I like the handling part, but thats all, my opinion is they let us down on everything else. Look at my two pics above,,the same exact layout, the same LED cheap clock, the same handles, ring around the auto shifter, the same AC look, radio mount, wipers etc. This car was supposed to be hot of the press,,the latest and greatest and it simply is not all the way around. It handles nice but is not full of power,

[gmfossett]

I agree with Sub ft86, it makes it look cheap

[terrypm]

Gmfossett, thanks for the review, even though some may have wished it would have been better.
After coming out of a Miata for 4 years a small backseat is better than no backseat. I would also believe insurance costs should be better for a 4 passenger car vs a 2 passenger.

[luxmn]

Originally Posted by gmfossett

I knew the forum would be full of a bunch of kill the messangers, I wanted to buy this car,,,wanted to like it ,,,,but before you go throwing too many stones, have you sat in one, have you driven an FRS, on a track, well I have and Im also a TC owner so I compare the 2 because there are many simular things about them, SCION reused many of the same design features from the TC2. With that being said, they are no way the same class of cars, the TC2 is not fast, nor is the FRS, the TC2 is front wheel, compared to rear wheel, my opinion is that in order to be a good sport cart you must have rear wheel. I didnt design the FRS, if I did I wouldnt have put a back seat in it. The reason why I comment so much on it is that its a design flaw, they dont have a grill in the back because u cant grill food in a car, well you cant use the back seat either, no matter how small your front passenger is the back seat wont work, even for a eight year old, we tried, sports cars are awesome without back seats, I love 2 seaters myself but they are marketing it as a true 2 plus 2 which it is not. I do compare the handling to the TC2 because they share some of the same talents, no doubt the FRS does it better, especially the ones I drove because they have the upgraded suspensions. The main reason I make a comparision to the TC is because myself and a hand full of people have driven a FRS but almost everone has been in a TC maybe not a TC2 and there is a huge difference in those 2 as well. The FRS is awesome in its own right, it will make a really good track car when modified, Im sure Scion and Subie will win many races in those 2. But unless your buying this car to race, spend 25 upfront, maybe another 10 to 15 to get it where you want so you can run for fun then in my opinion its a dissapointment. Its very small and thats saying something coming from someone comfortable in a TC, its not very comfortable to drive, you can get comfortable for the 2 min lap around the track but this car would suck for everyday driving, at least for me. I want to test drive one from the dealer, see what its like on the highway. Its one of the best handling cars Ive ever driven and Im 47 and get a new car every year or two and have for almost 30 years. I like the handling part, but thats all, my opinion is they let us down on everything else. Look at my two pics above,,the same exact layout, the same LED cheap clock, the same handles, ring around the auto shifter, the same AC look, radio mount, wipers etc. This car was supposed to be hot of the press,,the latest and greatest and it simply is not all the way around. It handles nice but is not full of power,

first 86 winner here, i sat and drove it before you did, i didn't say it because it would make me sounds like a douche but since you asked.

again no offense, i (and many others) will buy it for the handling alone because adding HP later on is easier than lowering center gravity. if you can't justify it, buy some other car and share us the photos i've seen plenty of interesting choices around.

[QC-FRS]

Tks for the review... I'm hoping to get a frs as the second car. The +2 usage will be rare and for kids. I hope my kids have shorter legs . But i cant have a 2 seater cuz rare is still more than not possible at all

Also on a side note. I agree that plastic are not looking great but lets not forget that the price tag is acceptable... I prefer an acceptable price and some plastic and fun driving .. But i agree that ots a personnal choice.