buy whichever car you like and go from there. At the end of the day, it's your personal satisfaction that matters.

Personally, the brz and 370 are apples and oranges. If forced to select I would get the Z for being more muscular and grown up. Honestly, I would not mind owning a used brz just for short trips around the city. But for long and fun trips, I would use the Z.

As for backseats, let's not forget that the Porsche 911 has backseats since its inception. You just have to cut off your teenagers' legs to use them. 😜😜😜

The BRZ scores a lot of points in my book for showing car makers that there is a market for lightweight rwd cars again. The car itself isn't all that impressive, but it's a good starter sports car. The BRZ is either a hardtop Miata or rwd Civic Si. In a few years when you can pick up a decent one for under $15k, it would make an entertaining little daily driver. Good on gas, handles well, and you can drive the **** out of it without hitting "take me to jail" speeds. Sometimes it's fun to drive a slow car fast.

As others have mentioned, it's an apples to oranges comparison. Not saying one fruit is better than the other but they are totally different cars so pick one that fits your budget and tastes.

I assisted my son in buying an FRS 6 months ago. A 13 with under 4K miles for $22k otd, a good bargain for a 22 year old engineer. I've also had the opportunity to drive it a lot so here are my impressions.

The Z has the nicer interior overall but the FRS has better seats if you're slim like my son & I, larger than a 34" waist would probably suck.

The FRS cannot seat 4, no way in hell. I'm only 5' 7" and in normal driving position, no one can fit behind me, not even a kid. At best it's a 3 seater. You'd have to move the passenger seat all the way forward and then you can fit someone less than 5' 6" behind there and both people on that side will be cramp.

Speed, no comparison as we are comparing a 6 vs 4. Handling, depends on what you want. The Z is on rails and takes some speed to bust loose, while the FRS can be playful at lower speeds and is controllable so I can understand why people who autocross, enjoy this car.

Ride, the Z is the better ride as it 's firm yet very smooth on tiny road imperfections and not harsh on larger road imperfections at all. In the FRS, you feel everything all the time and it's not quiet either, this would get very tiresome after awhile for this old guy. However the Z likes to tramline vs the FRS.

The FRS is a great starter sports car, but in time it would get old for most, as the natural desire for more speed would take over. So the progression for most would be FRS to Z and no way having experienced both, would I ever go Z to FRS.

Here's one way of looking at it, in Continental Challenge/Grand Am; the Z is a GS class car, the FRS would be an ST class car. In GS, they run Porsche 911, M3, 370z, etc. In ST, they run civics, Miatas, Mazda3, etc.

The info above is a fact, not something I heard from a friend who knew someone who knew someone, etc.

As said by at least one of the members earlier, the two cars should not be compared.

If I ever get rid of my Z is to buy a Porsche 911 S, not a Honda Civic with 10 turbos running 100 lbs of boost

You need to show those haters love. The more they hate you, the more you love them. Hummmm, where's the heart icon.

Mmmm!!! I may be a bit of a fat bird in comparison but when you tickle my right peddle and get that raw power/torque from a big NA V6 with damn stiff legs you know it's built for the game, not a high revving skinny tyre burner!!

Stand side by side in the flesh and get a public vote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love Z

xxx

There are only 3 or maybe 4 areas the FRS/BRZ beats the Z.

1. Price
2. MPG
3. backseat (if you need that, though it seems pretty unuseable)
4. This one is a matter of opinion but from reviews I've seen, it's suppose dot be more "fun" This is partially because you have skinny sport prius tires that always break loose.

There is no way i comes anywhere close to beating the Z in any quantifiable performance category, though. So if you want to be faster, look better and have better track or drag times, the Z is superior. If you want to slide everywhere even at 35mph...the Toyobaru is for you.

I was at a traffic light with a blue BRZ next to me one day.. He was checking out my car and I was checking out his. The Z seemed more massive in every way; bigger tires/wheels, bigger curves, bigger hood, bigger exhaust and even seemed taller. I figured he would try something once the light turned green but as I accelerated normally he just whimpered along making sure not to pass me, guess the Z intimidated him.

I get odd ricer respect occasionally as well. There was a speeding weavy I don't remember what once. I saw him coming in my rearview, weaving and passing people. When he go to me, though, he wouldn't pass. It was almost like he thought if he tried I was going to hit the gas and blow him away. He eventually passed only when I came up behind a slow car. It's rare, but it happens once in a while.

Jealously !!!!!

Yes another brz / fr-s bashing thread I love it. One of my favorite things to do. First off I'll start by saying they are well balanced when you put proper tires on them. They are good looking as far as design. Now that that's out of the way. It has no ******* power at any rpm. The motors don't hold up to boost for **** they aren't reliable over long periods. The interior is cheap as hell. Then there is the identity crisis that I don't like. A mostly Toyota designed car with a Subaru boxer 4 and Toyota direct injection wtf. It is retarded and makes no sense.

I drove almost every sport and muscle car before I bought my Z including a BRZ limited. I could have lived with the interior and it handled really well. I didn't care for all the sliding around however. It badly needed a set of sticky tires. But I could never live with the power plant. Sure it was pretty fun to drive, but it was so slow... it would have gotten boring quick. I mean a Honda Civic makes 205 hp. It would be a whole different game if they made an STi version. That thing desperately needs a turbo... desperately.

he's right. the Z interior is pretty ugly, but so is the BRZ interior.

I have to disagree I love the z interior the only thing I don't like is the gauge cluster, it is overly complex looking too Much **** going on. Also the arm rests suck awkward location .

Agreed, i'm not a big fan of the 370z's gauge cluster either. I do not like the cover that encloses it. I would prefer a simple more traditional gauge setup something like in a 911 or BMW.

As for the rest of the interior, it is actually quite good, none of those big oversized knobs that you see in some older American cars/brz/frs.

But i admite that as awful as the BRZ/FRS interior is, they still have nicer gauge clusters as compared to the 370z. Just my opinion, your mileage may very.

Lol well I guess all I can say is at least it doesn't look like a pagani gauge cluster can't even comprehend wtf is going on.

Very strange indeed, too much going on for sure but i also like elements of the setup. I wonder what the engineers of the next Z are cooking up in the interior department :stirthepot:

Something wonderful. I'm sure its going to be raw carbon fiber and full grain sacred cow leather hand stitched with silk of the finest quality everywhere. Also it's going to have Kevlar recaro buckets and billet aluminum knobs and buttons oh my.

I can say this. I'd never own the FR-S but I did see a yellow 2015 TRD edition and I fell in love with it. I kept staring at it while my Fj was being worked on. Wouldn't walk to see price tag because I'd never pay 30k++ for a 4 cylinder. http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...c1d4c5f9d7.jpg

34k and no more power than a base one aside from exhaust perhaps. haha Toyota knows how to give people what they want.

I own a Toyota and I tend to love their trucks and the Fj because I'm a rock crawling/camping type of guy. But I'd never buy that car as I said, but 10k over the price for exhaust and body kit isn't much different then the Nismo. Let's be honest here.

Yeah I feel ya, and that's exactly why I didn't buy a nismo plus I don't think the nismo line in general looks good at all anyways.

I liked the Nismo better when they where numbered ! And not everyone could get one and it wasn't just another option on a sheet of paper !

I am a sucker for OEM body kits. Be it the TRD on the FR-S or the Nismo Z. I am sucker for them. To each their own thing, that's life.

The first two claims are simply not empirically supported...

Nissan 370Z vs Toyota GT-86 - FastestLaps.com

The last criticism has some merit; the next gen Z is allegedly going to be a bit lighter.

However, it's not especially held back by its weight, whereas the FR-S is definitely held back by its lack of torque... :stirthepot:

To each their own.

I can't remember which review it was that said this but it's something that I have found to be rather true.

The frs/brz is a solid 3/10ths car. You can really have fun with it at low speeds if you wanted to. Low speeds = low stakes if you mess up.

The Z is a good 7/10ths car. You simply can't have that much fun with it until you're near the limit and the car really comes alive in your hands. But this means higher speeds and more experience necessary to control it. This usually means driving it on the track if you're trying to stay legal, which I'm sure we all do :rolleyes:

Because FRS/BRZ owners are Autozone shitheads.

You guys just don't have the authority i have on the FRS/BRZ. I am an old man so when it comes to "new" things(like these cars), the only ones to trust are the "new" children. I have it on great authority that my Z is not only slower, it is less attractive, has no acceleration and is uncomfortable. Oh and of course more doors for more_____. Yeah you know the rest.
He is 20 years old has been driving for a whole 3 years and I know he has a new paint job. I could not argue my points as they were all invalid, because I am old. And he has a "NEW PAINT JOB."

I know I failed you all, I was :owned:

Seriously, I love my Z because it is a Z. Datsun is the car I grew up with. It is a classic now and it will live on for many years even if they stop making Zs.

Funny thing is I like this kid, he reminds me of me when I was younger. Not afraid to get dirty, hard worker and dumb as hell. HAHAHA. I hope he has the same appreciation for his BRZ when he is 45.

I've seen BRZ/FRS on track at both Laguna Seca and Sears Point. Never have I moved over for one or been passed by one, although I've passed plenty of them in the Z.

Because a honda accord v6 will smoke a F*cking Really Slow (fr-s) car so you Better Reconsider a Z (br-z)

see what i did there

It's a great little chassis. It's a shame it got neutered from the factory. One of those with 280 hp or so would be a great little track toy.

My car's better than your car. :P

Really?:confused: I think the Nismo is easily one of the best looking straight out of the factory cars in the past 40 years. I get compliments literally every time I drive it.

There's a reason Nismo owners generally keep their car looking stock while other 370s end up with lowering springs, body kits, wings, bigger/wider wheels, etc.

I actually do like the Nismo, I think the body and the wheels really make the car, but the interior is from the base model, which was the only reason I did not get it. However, the Nismo is always slower for some reason than the base model tested prior (I am talking track, acceleration, etc), Nissan always makes the Nismo slower, it's the most insane thing.

IMO it should have been a factory TT car, not just a base/sport with a cool body kit, exhaust and tune. I'll be the first to admit that it's overpriced for what you get... however in my case I was buying used and all bets were off so I went with it.:tup:

As far as it being slower, that's weird but I've seen that on some tests. Theoretically it's got a little extra power due to the tune, but probably not enough to make any realistic difference. Maybe being lower and stiffer makes it not hook up as well as the regular 370? Are there extra chassis bits that add weight?:confused:

:iagree:

It also depends on the power curve. I do not remember seeing comparison curves between the Nismo & say sport, but peak power means nothing, it's how the power comes on, where the usable power is & how it hits the ground if at all.

I think they are too..... dare I say it ricey, gody looking for lack of a better word. With the big *** wing and ugly rear bumper, their just not my cup of tea.. I'd rather have a clean lined standard car with little add ons lips ect... Please don't take offense I'm not talking **** about the nismo owners. I just personally don't care for them. Then on top you really just get a bodykit and slightly better exhaust, tune, nismo rays wheels which look a little better than the sport wheels not much. Not worth it IMHO. I'd rather put the 8-10k w/e it costs into other things.

Yes I did test drive a 2013 nismo and it felt substantially slower than the sport/touring that ended up buying. Those few extra rpms make quite a difference on the powerband.

The HP and tq peak at a higher rpm due to the higher redline than the base. So it tales longer to get into the power band.

I did consider the FR-S. But it didn't really present the value the Z did when you are looking for a sports car. It's a Celica... and a very pricey one at that. I like it for a lot of reasons, but just like the two celicas I owned, it's a sporty car not a sports car.

Another reason is that the 370z is a fine looking car, a car that looks like it will be a classic. It doesn't really seem trendy, it has a nice curve reminding me of a beefier 928s Porsche. Every time I park, I look back at least once at that sexy wide booty.