My First Encounter w/ an FR-S

[nickthaskater]

Absolutely stunning little (and I mean little) car. There's nothing short of a Z06 that I'd rather have for the money on sale today. Happily, the one on the lot is exactly how I would have mine as well.

A neat detail I noticed looking in person that I never caught in photos is how the character line from the "snout" (where the Scion badge is) extends up over the roof and ties into the top of the trunk. It's actually quite an attractive touch once you notice it.

It feels like Christmas Eve waiting for tomorrow to go have a proper test drive

Edit:
I finally got to drive one today; a white auto w/ premium audio. Unfortunately, the dealer was selling them as quickly as they were coming in (there is currently a 3-month waiting list), and the only demo they had was the auto (the asphalt one in the pics below was a customer car). Anyways, I wasn't about to pass up the chance, especially considering the auto is getting good reviews.

Before I even got into the car, the saleslady (whom was looking quite nervous) asked me quite pointedly, "Are you going to drive like a dink? I don't want to fear for my life again...". Apparently the majority of people testing the car have been trying to do burnouts, drifts, and generally just driving like assh*les. I assured her I just wanted to see how it drove and off we went...

First things I noted were the seats, which were fantastic and some of the best I've sat in from an OEM standpoint, and the headroom, which there was enough of for me and a helmet (I'm 6'2" with an upper body bias; 32" inseam). I went and checked out some MX5s afterwards to compare the seats and they aren't even in the same ballpark; the FR-S takes the cake.

I drove the entire route in "manual" mode, and the transmission lives up to the positive reports; it's hard to believe it's a traditional torque converter as the shifts are extremely quick and very smooth. There was negligible delay between pulling the paddle and the transmission responding with a buttery change up, or a nicely rev-matched downshift (the car sounds fantastic on downshifts). If my left leg ever fell off, I would have no qualms with taking the auto, it truly is a great piece.

Taking the car into an industrial park with some snaking roadways, I got a chance to finally test out the highly touted steering, and it delivered in spades. There is absolutely no "slop" in the wheel; the car reacts to the slightest touch, but without feeling nervous or difficult to keep on-centre. The weight is perfect, and the feel is above average. It succeeds wonderfully in making even low speed driving feel exciting, and eggs you on to just keep driving.

Finally, the power. I took it up an overpass, and to my surprise and relief, I didn't die, and I even overtook another car. Really though, there is more than enough giddy up on tap to put a smile on most anyone's face, and when combined with the dynamics of the rest of the car, I couldn't care less how quickly or slowly I was travelling; rather, I was just enjoying the drive. The outright fun the car manages to deliver in virtually every driving scenario is second to none.

I met my hero and only fell more in love; I can only recommend you do the same.

Pics for clicks:


Scion FR-S - Front quarter by nickthaskater, on Flickr


Scion FR-S - Side profile by nickthaskater, on Flickr


Scion FR-S - Rear quarter by nickthaskater, on Flickr


Scion FR-S - Front by nickthaskater, on Flickr


Scion FR-S - Rear by nickthaskater, on Flickr


Scion FR-S - Interior by nickthaskater, on Flickr


Scion FR-S - "86" badge by nickthaskater, on Flickr

[mellbergVWfan]

Strangely enough the first and only one I've seen was that same configuration. Looking forward to seeing modded ones start popping up.

[c0mmon]

[Avus]

For a car of this price, I think this car has a very high quality paint which is really rare. Take a similar picture of a similar color BMW, you will see orange peel everywhere.

[elementpb]

For a car of this price, I think this car has a very high quality paint which is really rare. Take a similar picture of a similar color BMW, you will see orange peel everywhere.

Might be certain colors, but the orange ones at the local dealer have a fair bit of orange peel... OHH.. Maybe that's the effect they were going for?

[rpmk4]

ive seen one in the wild, same color. looked great. these cars are a set of wheels away from looking pretty awesome

[Internal Combustion]

Where is the 86 badge?

Great looking car. I can't wait in 5-8 years to pick one up for peanuts and put a LS7 in it. It'll be the new RX-7. (Hey, you inspired it with your Z06 talk)

[nickthaskater]

Where is the 86 badge?

Great looking car. I can't wait in 5-8 years to pick one up for peanuts and put a LS7 in it. It'll be the new RX-7. (Hey, you inspired it with your Z06 talk)

Badge is on the front quarter where you'd expect to find an M3-esque vent. The various brands and trims have different treatments for this area (it's just an insert so far as I can tell).

[10-25]

Everyone LOVES stroking this car off.

[Mazda 3s]

Everyone LOVES stroking this car off.

And VW fans are just pissed that they don't have a cheap, small, lightweight, RWD vehicle to fap to on a continual basis.

The BlueSport will forever haunt your memories...

[AKADriver]

Where is the 86 badge?

On the front fenders near the A-pillar. The BRZ has a little fake grille there.

I wouldn't expect awesome paint. They're built in Subaru's Gunma factory. The paint palette is straight from the current-gen WRX, except for the dark blue which is from the Legacy, and I think the Hot Lava orange actually is a Toyota color (Scion sold "Release Series" versions of the xB and xD in a color also called Hot Lava).

[Mosbius Designs]

I saw my first one in the wild this past weekend as well (not counting the auto-x I went to last month). They really look great out in the crowd.

[patrickvr6]

ive seen one in the wild, same color. looked great. these cars are a set of wheels away from looking pretty awesome

Start a new thread. We should all start new threads when we spot one. That will be so exciting.

[dieselraver]

nice car. that shifter is straight out of my 2010 outback

[nickthaskater]

Start a new thread. We should all start new threads when we spot one. That will be so exciting.

Your wit is astounding. Please click every FR-S thread you can and share it with your adoring public.

[TheDarkEnergist]

Everyone LOVES stroking this car off.

This is the first cool car Toyota/Scion has made since the Second Gen MR2 died off in 1994.

[Gates311]

Great color for this car. Like already stated, a set of wheels and suspension and this car is On it. Looking to get one as a new project soon!

[Mosbius Designs]

Great color for this car. Like already stated, a set of wheels and suspension and this car is On it. Looking to get one as a new project soon!

Good deal.

[Ross1013]

This is a car I could buy w/o a test drive.

[PineappleMonkey]

This is the first cool car Toyota/Scion has made since the Supra died off in 1998.

FTFY.

[ToucheTurtle]

Snarf my snarf.

[Mazda 3s]

Snarf my snarf.

Surf my girth

[rpmk4]

Start a new thread. We should all start new threads when we spot one. That will be so exciting.

fo shizzle. i'm not including pics though

Great color for this car. Like already stated, a set of wheels and suspension and this car is On it. Looking to get one as a new project soon!

can't wait to see what you come up with!

[Aonarch]

[tragik]

Awesome little car. I saw a white one from far away and it reminded me of a little z370...might've been a subbie version tho.

This is a car I could buy w/o a test drive.

I don't know about that...

[dcmix5]

Everyone LOVES stroking this car off.

...and everyone else likes to hate on it.

To the OP...what did you think of the seats?

[helement2003]

Might be certain colors, but the orange ones at the local dealer have a fair bit of orange peel... OHH.. Maybe that's the effect they were going for?

I shot a red one at C&C...granted I used a very shallow depth of field, but if you look directly under the badge it doesn't seem like there is much/any orange peel.

[rlsib16]

saw my first one this weekend real quick at a bicycle demo. BRZ though. was a bit bigger than i expected but i think the small size was just in my mind. liked the interior and the trunk was decent size. seats looked nice. a FR-S drove by on my way home from the demo and wasnt a huge fan of the front bumper compared to the BRZ.

[burtonxbordr94]

For a car of this price, I think this car has a very high quality paint which is really rare. Take a similar picture of a similar color BMW, you will see orange peel everywhere.

hopefully I don't sound like too much of an idiot, but, what is orange peel?

[helement2003]

hopefully I don't sound like too much of an idiot, but, what is orange peel?

When you look at paint on a car and it doesn't look smooth as glass...

A few examples of peel:




It can happen on any car.

[burtonxbordr94]

When you look at paint on a car and it doesn't look smooth as glass...

A few examples of peel:




It can happen on any car.

Ahh okay, makes sense. Thank you!

[Khyron]

It does have orange peel, just like everything else it seems. Looked at the ultramarine and grey outside. Certainly better than a lot of other options though and the metallic hides it.

[jepva]

I wouldn't expect awesome paint. They're built in Subaru's Gunma factory.

Yea, I wonder if these will suffer from the typical Subaru thin paint / chipping issues..

[TheDarkEnergist]

FTFY.

I always forget about the Supra...But you're correct. Nothing this exciting has come out of Toyota since the late 90's.

[kevin FaKiN spLits]

I have a feeling that front and rear bumper are going to end up on the BRZ as part of the STI scam. Toyota just axed the trd development for this car. Don't expect anything oem+ for this car. It's all gonna be aftermarket warranty voiding parts.