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UPDATE: I've now test Driven the FR-S, see last paragraph for write-up***
I drive by a Scion dealership everyday on my way home from work and today they finally had some FR-S's on the lot so I stopped in to check them out. They had two whites and a red. White looked great, but was hoping to see a black one.
First impression: Car is small and compact, looks nice and tossable.
Sits very low and overall seems smaller than our Z, though not by much. Lines look great in person, the front is sharp and looks aggressive but the rear really needs a lip spoiler (which TRD offers). Wheels are nice, but not great.
Sitting in the car:
Seats feel excellent! Hug tight and are comfortable, however the model I sat in didn't have the leather/alcantara inserts and the cloth felt VERY cheap. Didn't feel quite as "cockpity" as our car does, but looks nicely laid out. Love the look of the gauges and tach, nice and large. The cabin is nicely laid out and very simple. While it feels quite a bit cheaper than our car, it's not bad at all and serves its purpose - to keep the driver focused on driving. Dash is made of decent plastics that are not too hard. Shifter feels good and the throws are fairly short (very similar to our Z but with a much less mechanical feel). Clutch is very easy and light feeling, was expecting it to be a bit more sporty.
Got to fire up the car and rev it a bit. Revs quickly and drops back down faster than our car. Exhaust note was poor, but has potential with some aftermarket goodies.
Trunk is very small and possibly less practical than our car believe it or not due to the small opening and overall space. Also the back seats are super tiny (smaller than a mustang) and likely not practical, didn't even attempt to get in them and i'm 5'10".
I hope to return to drive one of these because I know it will be a blast. If you are in the market for a $25k car, this thing is going to be hard to beat.
If I were to buy one I'd need to get new wheels ($2K+) and would option for the leather interior ($2k) which puts me at $29-30k, that's when you start to realize the Z is really a great deal for what you are getting. Granted I have a 40th that has leather, even the base Z feels much more upscale on the inside than this car.
Would I trade my car for this? No. It's great but would really feel like a step backwards. I'm sure the driving experience is excellent, but so is our Z and it has a LOT more grunt. While I love my Z in the corners, I also love how it pulls like a train when I need it to. My F.I. exhaust surely adds to that sensation as it's monsterous. Plus the Z simply can't be beat in the looks department. I love our car's curves!
Final Point: If I had some extra cash lying around, this thing would be a fantastic 2nd car but since I can only have one the Z stays.
Engine bay had a surprising amount of extra room, especially when you consider what the underside of a Subby hood normally looks like. Those things are crammed in there (at least in the Sti).
Took a picture of it next to this Prius to show the low roofline (good 7 - 8" difference)
