Quote:
Originally Posted by AlphaSnacks
The writer is me. 
I have no qualms with being honest. Credibility is lost when you're not being yourself and are just part of the hype machine. It's unnerving. I've been a critic for many many years now and PR reps have attempted to swindle me in the past. Cars are something I've loved more than anything, but I've only started writing about them very recently.
Anyways, to answer your feedback question. That's one of those things I didn't understand about what critics have been raving about. This car doesn't have much of it. It's steering is electric for one, and very light on the FR-S. The tires are mush, which doesn't help at all. And the suspension, particularly the rear, is made to roll a bit...that's the very recipe of how to effectively separate a driver from the road.
Yes, the car does dart in and out of turns. Yes, the steering is fast and responsive. But communicative? Absolutely not. The BR-Z is better in the feedback regard, because it's steering is noticeably tighter than the FR-S as its suspension. But still, electric steering and low-grade tires will diminish feedback tremendously. If you haven't driven a car with electric steering, try it out for an extended period of time. You won't feel any bumps or dips transition to the steering wheel. In our Zs, if a road is poorly grooved, you can feel the wheel tugging left or right...in the Scion, the car will attempt to follow the grooves...but the steering wheel is dead center and you have no idea what's going on with the wheels. The feeling is more pronounced when it's wet, driving through a puddle won't disturb the steering wheel at all.
I believe I covered that in the review, but I hope it's clearer here. And yes, the review was meant to be a bit harsh. I'm a pretty harsh guy when it comes to cars. The review of the Z won't be so nice, even though I own one and I do love it. |
In this post you made it clearer. Thanks for your explanation and honesty. I personally felt the article was honest. But it's the type of article the "general population" feels is bias. What I like about this article as opposed to NEGATIVE Z articles, is you have pinpointed serious flaws in performance. As with the Z. It's mostly nitpicks in sounds, "wish it woulda had", etc. Z performance is hard to argue against. I know we had some issues with brake cooling, low quality brake fluid and underdeveloped pads, oil issues(mostly corrected),steering lock and the fuel starve issue. I'm not saying these aren't notable issues for discussion. It's just how they are represented when it comes to the z as opposed to status quo brands with more severe issues and they are downplayed in articles as something to deal with due to its performance value. BMW is the perfect example of this. The 07/08/09 3 series and 08/09 1 series were horrendously plagued with devastating issues. Yet, they were one of the best buyrecommendations by most reviewers for those years... :smh: The z outperforms the 135, stock for stock. Hmmm...
You brought it to the table though with the electronic steering case. I feel my Z tramline in rough grooves. And it's true what you say about electronic steering as a whole. NO Real Sports car should have elec-steer. As much as I like the FRS/BRZ looks, I always felt as the reviews were definitely over-hyped. Suggestive advertising doesn't work on me though.
I thought you were the writer but just being cautious. Great write-up.
