Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ Review

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.