Shopping cars today, test drove an fr-s..my thoughts and I'd like more opinions plz.

[maybebrz]

So for a few weeks now I've been very curious about the fr-s/brz for my first new car. I'm kind of set on a BRZ because it seems like it has nicer features inside and a much better looking blue. I'm in my early 30s, never owned a new car before, have no wife/kids and pretty much no responsibilities. Driving a 12+ year old Toyota Tacoma. I love that it's reliability but it's the bottom of the barrel in driving experience. Maybe that's a stretch; my car before it was an 83 Camaro Z28 and boy that thing was a boat.

I'm very into cars though and I like the idea of become better at driving although my experience is limited to basic stuff around the block/across town etc. I never realized how much there is to driving because all they teach you is basic stuff. I'd like to learn how to drive well as a hobby. While I'd like to learn how to drive stick, I need an automatic for my one and only car however.

We went to the Subaru dealer in town and all the BRZs were locked and not a soul in sight that came out willing to help us. My dad's the impatient type so we left and went to Toyota where we got a much better experience. The sales guy let me test drive the fr-s.

After driving the fr-s (it had a backup cam) I am not sure what I would miss by not getting the BRZ? The better AC controls/touch button start from the BRZ seemed meaningless at this point. The only problem is I don't like *any* of the fr-s colors.

So I'm not an experienced racing driver, like I said so I wasn't comfortable with doing anything "exciting in it" but we did a drive around a block. Whenever I was able to get on a straight road I accelerated quickly. I guess it didn't feel all that fast, though whenever I looked at the speedometer it seemed I was already above the speed limit before I knew it. As far as handling it definitely seemed like it would be a fun car to drive. The speedometer, by the way, felt foreign to me. Like it was harder to focus on a digital gauge compared to a traditional speedometer. How do you feel about it?

The backseat - I am not a very tall guy so if I were to somehow both be simultaneously be driving (or someone my height) and sitting in the backseat, I would say I wouldn't mind the backseat. It feels like the front seat is sitting on your feet almost but I wasn't really uncomfortable. Anyone taller than me might not like it though. But given it's a sports car and it could very well have been a 2 seater, it's kind of like a bonus.

One thing I didn't really like was how far back the cup holders were but I guess I could live with them.

I also looked at some other cars like the Camry/Tc/Civic/Camaro. As far as the Camaro goes which I've always lusted after..oh boy it kinda felt a little cheap inside, it felt like it was a boat and had huge blind spots. That's definitely out of the running. I haven't driven the Camry or Tc or Civic but they were much roomier inside with what seems like better interior features. I wonder if I'd be happier with one of them or not? I guess I just felt like inside was more luxurious. Considering this is a car I will have for a long time my decision got a lot harder. Given the price of all the cars, with the fr-s it just feels like I'm paying more for less. But again, totally inexperienced here with fun cars.

As far as the fr-s/brz how comfortable is the driver's seat for you? Long term? Long trips?

Anyway to sum up: I don't know even what KIND of car I want. I don't have the right experience to figure it out. I will say that just from a quick test drive I kind of have an itch to go back and do it more.

[juliog]

Test drive these if you have the chance:

Subaru WRX
VW GTI
Fiesta ST

[BigFatFlip]

First off, welcome! Second, that's on heluva a first post!

As you stated, it sounds like you don't really know what you want. The best thing is to test drive the rest of the cars you mentioned. If you are looking for affordable luxury, I would also consider some older european cars. I too came from an old tacoma, then a wrx wagon, and now a brz. I enjoyed the utility of my truck and my wagon but was ready for something different and focused, so I've decided to go with a sports car.

Driving-wise, I enjoyed my wrx, but the brz was night and day, way more enjoyable and definitely made me get out of my comfort zone and try more autox, track days, etc. You will definitely miss the space. Seats are comfortable, but on long drives, I find it needs some sort of lumbar support.

Also, why not consider buying a used brz? I bought mine new (first new car) and I've been let down by warranty so many times that I feel I should just have waited and bought used.

[swarb]

Don't expect to be helped. Go inside for help if you are serious. Brz's aren't an easy sell as the frs is the twin offered at a better price*(with less features).

-All 2016 twins have the backup camera.
-There are two speedos, one digital one analog, use either.
-There is a cup holder in the door panels.
-The twins are less of a budget economy car like the other cars you mentioned, but more of an economy sports car.

I would suggest you take the car on a extended test drive and drive it on the highway and some twisty roads and see if the noise/comfort/power/handling levels are acceptable for you. The brz and frs have slightly different spring rates.
Then test drive the cars juliog mentioned as those are less sporty but have more power and more interior room.
Take your time and drive as many cars as you can. The answer will usually come.

[ryoma]

although the BRZ is slightly more expensive, it has more accessories than the FRS. that's what pushed me to go for the BRZ over the FRS (heated seats, dual climate control, HID's, push to start). also the 2015+ models have slight differences than previous ones such as the shark fin antenna and a better looking key fob among other changes. the 2016 comes with a rear backup camera standard I believe, while the previous model years do not.

it would also help if you look at reviews for both cars on youtube and car review sites

[Speed2th]

FRS/BRZ is a very well composed sports car and it is not fast or powerful. That is the root of the original heritage of AE86 -an nimble RWD econo sports car. It is a very balanced car and easily to drive. Personally I think it is great because I dont have to worry about spin out on mountain roads and track, I felt i can keep try to push it to the limit. I think it is best for you to read up some critic review of each cars prior test drive them. so you can learn about what you like/dislike.

[maybebrz]

Originally Posted by BigFatFlip

First off, welcome! Second, that's on heluva a first post!

As you stated, it sounds like you don't really know what you want. The best thing is to test drive the rest of the cars you mentioned. If you are looking for affordable luxury, I would also consider some older european cars. I too came from an old tacoma, then a wrx wagon, and now a brz. I enjoyed the utility of my truck and my wagon but was ready for something different and focused, so I've decided to go with a sports car.

Driving-wise, I enjoyed my wrx, but the brz was night and day, way more enjoyable and definitely made me get out of my comfort zone and try more autox, track days, etc. You will definitely miss the space. Seats are comfortable, but on long drives, I find it needs some sort of lumbar support.

Also, why not consider buying a used brz? I bought mine new (first new car) and I've been let down by warranty so many times that I feel I should just have waited and bought used.

Yes I am considering used. Not sure if it's a good idea or not. Sometimes you end up paying more than you would have with a used car.

[Mim]

If taking an A/T Twin for a drive, don't forget to try pushing the Sport button in the centre console (beneath the gear leaver). It switches the trans to a more aggressive mode that holds gears longer and keeps you in a meatier part of the rev range.

I drive mine in that mode all the time and add to the fun by sometimes selecting gears on the fly via the paddle shifters. If you're puttering around in 3rd you can tap the left paddle, down shift to 2nd and give it a squirt. Assuming you are in a safe and responsible place to do so. If fast enough it will even drop two gears (with a fast double tap). Its all computer controlled so safe. It will shift up if you bury your foot and redline a gear for instance and drop a gear if about to stall. It will lock you out and beep if it believes the gear selection is not safe.

It really is otherwise pretty gutless if not in either sport or full manual mode. The paddles make it more involving to drive and a lot more fun in general, but takes time to get used to.

As for the BRZ and its options. You will miss the extra luxury in the long run if you intend to keep the car for a while.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by maybebrz

Yes I am considering used. Not sure if it's a good idea or not. Sometimes you end up paying more than you would have with a used car.

You've got good taste even if you're not a car person like everyone here on the forum, if I might recommend as others said in the price range:
Subaru WRX
VW GTI
Fiesta ST
Mustang Ecoboost
FR-S
Miata (stretching it here not as practical as the others)

Also I had a similar experience with a dealership here in PA Subaru VS Scion, Subaru dealership brushed me off immediately and he just didn't come back with keys for a test drive, extremely off putting also I heard bad things about colonial Subaru maybe because they though some dumb 20 something year old couldn't afford anything. Scion dealer, the entire sales team was way less stuck up and immediately assisted me and just through me the keys for a test drive, dropped a down payment and they did the paperwork in less than 2 hours. Also unlike other places they legitimately were interested in the cars

[Fastbrew]

Go try Fiesta the ST.

[DarkSunrise]

A couple of thoughts in response to your post:

- Power - This car makes just 200 hp and only at 7000 RPM. That means if you're not downshifting into the 5000-7400 RPM band, it will feel slower than you expect. This is unlike turbo cars which make a LOT more torque at lower RPM (i.e., not necessary to downshift to make good power). If you test drive OEM turbo cars like the Fiesta ST, Focus ST, GTI and Mustang Eco, this will be abundantly clear. This isn't to say the FR-S is not adequately quick, it just requires someone who is willing to downshift and enjoys exploring the upper end of the tachometer. If you dislike needing to downshift and winding the engine out, you may want to pass on the Twins.

- Speedometer - You get used to the digital speedometer very quickly. I actually like it a lot more than analog speedometers now.

- BRZ vs. FR-S - If you want a BRZ and prefer the colors, definitely go with a BRZ. Get the car you want from the start rather than paying $25-30k for something you're not sure about.

- Seat comfort - I'm fine driving my FR-S for 4-5 hrs straight, but my back does get a bit sore. I wish there was a lumbar adjust option, but it's not a deal-breaker for me. My other car is a GTI (with lumbar adjustable seats) and it's much more comfortable for long trips for me. On the plus side, for sporty driving the FR-S/BRZ seats are some of the best factory seats out there.

- Value - Keep in mind with the Twins, what you're paying for is a dedicated lightweight platform (i.e., not a platform shared hatch like the Golf/GTI, Fiesta/ST, Focus/ST, etc.) For some people it's worth paying a premium for a lightweight RWD chassis. For others, they don't mind an econohatch platform. No right or wrong answer here, just need to figure out what it's worth to you personally.

[chaoskaze]

Brz/Frs is pretty noisy compare to most modern cars. It is designed to let you feel the car & what's around. ...>_> maybe that's just a fancy way to say it's made cheaply but don't forget it's made cheaply "on purpose".

Twins is about drive feel above anything else. Some people like it, some don't.

You should try GTI, everything else is in between.

Ps: if you just drive around town most of the time, don't get the twin. 😁 That's what they are most terrible @.

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[Shedd22]

Ive taken 8 hour trips in the BRZ and haven't had any issues with the seats. I actually think they're some of the most comfortable seats I've sat in. Granted I'm only 24 years old so when my back starts to get bad I'm sure I'll change my mind.

[spicyricecake]

I love my seats. Once you get used to these, the economy seats will feel so shitty because you wobble everywhere when you take a turn.