2013 Scion FR-S

Today I review one of the most highly anticipated cars of the year. I was lucky to have been given a proper drive in one of these to get a full sense of what it can do.

Introduction: The Scion FR-S also known as the Toyota GT-86, has a twin sister car called the Subaru BRZ. The reason being is that this is a joint project between Toyota and Subaru(which Toyota owns 16.7%). The project was initially proposed by now current Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda as a way for Toyota to rejuvenate its brand amongst younger drivers. While Toyota is successful selling cars to mainly middle aged to elderly drivers it has struggled significantly with younger drivers. Mr. Toyoda with a team of engineers led by Tatsuya Tada tasked them to build and make production ready an affordable sports car that emphasizes fun but is practical enough to use everyday. What Tada's team found was that in order to build the best car for this goal they needed the propulsion to be rear wheel drive and the best engine configuration was a flat engine. Since the flat engine was considered the best choice, Mr. Toyoda tasked Subaru to do much of the engineering of the car since Subaru specializes in building production flat engines.

Subaru was initially skeptical, and they knew that by having this car in their lineup they will no longer have AWD in every model they make. After Toyota convinced Subaru to engineer and build the car, Toyota was still able to contribute to engine design by adding their D4-S direct injection system. Toyota's marketing of the car showed they were very confident in the car's ability to sell after a hugely successful unveiling of their FT-86 concept. As the production car was nearly ready, Toyota invited as many auto journalists as it could to see if they could make any more improvements, asking specifically if there was anything they didn't like. The car was finally released to the general public to buy, first in Japan where it was so successful that all future orders were backlogged to next year to prevent any further delay in launching the cars in other markets.

Anyways, the introduction is long, but this car does have a special history. There is a lot of hype generated for this very car. Many car reviewers have claimed many things about this car and thus far the vast majority of them have been positive. Even though the car is available for sale here, finding one to test has been very difficult as even the demos have been sold rather easily. Thus I was lucky to have been given a chance at a Toyota dealer I know very well. For me this is also my most anticipated car to drive for quite some time. So I was really eager to see if it lives up to its hype.

Performance: The engine that was designed for this car is a 2.0L flat four engine, this design is also known as a boxer engine. The purpose for this engine over a traditional inline-four was quite simply how much lower this engine can be mounted, this lowers the center of gravity and as a result this reduces how much the car rolls in a corner. The power numbers for this engine are 200 hp and 151 lb.ft of torque, this doesn't sound like much but this car only weighs about 2700 lbs. You have a choice between a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic. For this test I only had access to the automatic, you're given paddle shifters to compensate for the lack of a manual. The acceleration time varies between manual and automatic as well, the manual is capable of 0-100 km/h in about 6.5 seconds, some managed 7 though. The automatic also seems to vary with 7.5-8.2 seconds. For driving on regular roads this car is more than quick enough, its got a lot of its torque early in the power band, but for full power you do need to hit the high end. The paddle shifters on the automatic are very good, very quick at shifting but for a car like this I highly recommend going with the manual unless you're unable to use your left leg. As an engine it may say 2.0L but it actually feels like a 2.5L, a word of caution though this engine does require premium fuel. The good news though is the fuel economy on this car is also surprisingly excellent, 30 mpg is possible with the manual.

My Score: 10/10 - It may not be outright powerful, but this engine is very good for what it sets out to do. Those who say its slow...they're lying.

Handling: This car comes with electric power steering and my first thoughts were "Uh, no its not going to be as good" but I was wrong. The steering tuning is so good that I couldn't tell it was an electric system over a hydraulic one. Even more brilliantly is the weight, not so heavy like a BMW but not too light to make it boring. This is one of the best steering system set ups I've ever come across. The actual handling is just superb. Given a limited slip differential your ability to take corners makes this car way easier to control a slide, and even if sliding isn't your thing the car has a lot of grip despite its stock tires being very regular tires. Body roll...seems non existent, honestly you can't feel it at all if there is any. Even the ride comfort is more than acceptable for a sports car of this type. With such comfortable seats and a surprising ride quality, its firm enough to handle well but not too firm that you get a headache over every little bump. This is one of the most communicative cars designed, in an era of cars which seems to have forgotten how to communicate to the driver. In such a light weight car like this, the rear wheel drive makes a huge difference in how balanced the car feels. This car doesn't boast a 50/50 weight distribution instead being apparently 55/45, don't let that fool you all this means is the car is easier to control in a slide.

My Score: 10/10 - I'd give it 11 or 12 but that's the limit of my scoring, absolutely zero flaws in how this car handles.

Interior: As an affordable sports car, luxuries are just not something you're going to find in these things. So instead of showering it with nice touches all over the place, Toyota seems to have focused on all the areas the driver will interact. The seats are amazingly comfortable and supportive. The driving position is one of the best I've encountered in a car. The steering wheel is very nicely done. The controls are in easy to reach places, not one button was placed in a weird difficult to reach area. The hand brake is in probably one of the best locations with the intention you're actually going to use it. Driving visibility is very good, the blind spots for instance are no larger than they are in an ordinary family car. The rear window is pretty large for a coupe. As for the downsides, most of the areas that aren't focused on the driver take the hit, the plastics are on the cheap side, the climate control knobs are very cheap, the trunk is small and the rear leg room is only suitable for people if everybody in the car is under 5'4. To compensate for the small trunk the rear seats fold flat and were purposely made to accommodate carrying all 4 tires or two big golf clubs. The build quality is the usual what you'd expect from Japan, very well done. This car is made in Subaru's Ota, Gunma factory in Japan.

My Score: 9/10 - Very driver focused to the degree you can ignore most of its faults. Although for most people this isn't a 2+2 coupe, rather a 2 seater with a roof and decent luggage space.

Styling: Many people think this car looks rather plain. I'm not one of them, yes its not as striking as the original concept's but for a modern car I think its well proportioned. Its aggressive at the front and its much the same story with the whole car. Much of the design was using previous Toyota sports cars as inspiration with the Toyota 2000GT as one of the big inspirations in the shape. While not the most beautiful cars, its still to me a very good looking one no matter where you look at it from.

My Score: 9/10 - For me, very good just not brilliant to match the way it drives, oh well.

Value for money: At $25,000 this car is affordable in the realm of sports cars, the realm of all cars this is slightly more expensive than most midsize cars. As far as RWD sports cars go this is a tad bit expensive than a regular V6 Mustang. If you wanted power, you know this isn't the car for you. If you wanted a lot of fun in a car but found the Mazda MX-5 either too expensive or too unpractical then this is the car for you. The amount of effort Toyota and Subaru focused on the driver with this car is beyond what every car in much of the segment does. The stats mean nothing for this car, all that matters is that smile on your face and this one definitely delivers that for very little. As I noted earlier if power was what you wanted, then this car will disappoint you but to be honest you were already better served with the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger and updated Hyundai Genesis coupe. Those of you like me who were waiting for that affordable, nimble, fun, RWD coupe then this is the very car you've been waiting for. The way I see it, cars like this you can enjoy even if you're making your way on the track slowly and because you can have so much fun driving so slow then it'll always be a blast even on busy streets. Powerful cars on the other hand are best when the roads are clear and there's a long enough straight to experience the power long enough. Do it in the wrong place and you either crash or make your local police department happy for filling their speeding quotas. Considering the equipment you get in this $25K package and how much fun this car is...each cent in that $25K is well worth the money. Don't get it into your head though that this is a competitor to a Porsche Cayman, its an excellent car but if Toyota/Subaru were allowed to increase the price there are improvements they would've made.

My Score: 10/10 - Almost nothing competes against it and its superb in every area that matters.

Overall: 48/50 - This is the best car I've driven. If you love driving, you'll love this car.