Motortrend's Best Driver's Car 2012 preview: BRZ takes on Aventador, GTR, ZL1, GT500, 911s, MP4!

[Khyron]

http://wot.motortrend.com/best-drive...wn-246127.html

I cannot wait until the 11 car drag race - the BRZ is going to smoke them all!

[AKADriver]

I'm the biggest fanboy of the frisbee around here, but come on, guys. It really does not make sense to compare a batch of 400+hp cars ranging from $50k on up to a $25k sport compact for driving fun. It just doesn't. Stop the hype machine, I want to get off.

[tragik]

....Seems legit.

[sforsancho]

I'm the biggest fanboy of the frisbee around here, but come on, guys. It really does not make sense to compare a batch of 400+hp cars ranging from $50k on up to a $25k sport compact for driving fun. It just doesn't. Stop the hype machine, I want to get off.

They used to bring the Miata. The 'driver's car' competition is just a bunch of meaningless magazine metrics, but at least they hire Randy Pobst and show relatively unedited video

[a2a4raddo]

I'm the biggest fanboy of the frisbee around here, but come on, guys. It really does not make sense to compare a batch of 400+hp cars ranging from $50k on up to a $25k sport compact for driving fun. It just doesn't. Stop the hype machine, I want to get off.

Why not? The euro publication "EVO" does tests like this all the time. They have picked FWD cars as the winner before. Higher price tag and more HP doesnt automatically make a car more fun to drive.

[AKADriver]

It doesn't. Lord knows a Lexus LS460 is not going to light anyone's hair on fire. However, it does mean that the cars are going to be operating on totally different planes of speed and refinement.

[Khyron]

But think of the drag race! Every car there is <12 - it's going to be worse than the Top Gear "race car vs garbage truck" sort of races especially if they do a 1/2 mile. I love my FRS but I'm still going to laugh my ass off.

[PoorHouse]

I like these David vs. Goliath tests.

See how a $25-$30k car does against the big boys.

[Slipstream]

I'm the biggest fanboy of the frisbee around here, but come on, guys. It really does not make sense to compare a batch of 400+hp cars ranging from $50k on up to a $25k sport compact for driving fun. It just doesn't. Stop the hype machine, I want to get off.

Came into this thread expecting a parody, leaving disappointed.

[MVJ1975]

Yeah, I love my FR-S, but really? This is taking it a bit too far.

[choochoo]

151 torks made it up Rahal Straight?

[Crimping Is Easy]

Why not? The euro publication "EVO" does tests like this all the time. They have picked FWD cars as the winner before. Higher price tag and more HP doesnt automatically make a car more fun to drive.

[Armed Escort]

As soon as she said "Nuremburg Ring" I tuned out.

[NoXenons]

The 911 will win. Book it

[C4 A6]

Why not? The euro publication "EVO" does tests like this all the time. They have picked FWD cars as the winner before. Higher price tag and more HP doesnt automatically make a car more fun to drive.

Because this is MotorTrend.

[Khyron]

The 911 will win. Book it

And miss a chance to kick the 911 for moving to "numb" electric steering? It will come 2nd. Probably c63 will be first, BRZ 3rd or 4th, the Aventador/GTR/MP5 post top numbers but will be bashed for too many "computers doing the work". I'd expect Camaro last just for terrible driving position. Mustang who knows - it's the drag race version not the Boss.

[thisisdog]

If the 911 doesnt win then i will only further my views about Motortrend.

After all, they are a collection of bachelors arts degree possessors, one of them with a masters degree in English (Jessi Lang who is an English teacher... ) and absolutely no merit or relation to cars and motorsport. Aka they have no credibility in my eyes, no passion, no excitement, its just a job for them after their scholarly endeavors. Worst of all not a single one of them can drive. So let that old Australian man throw on some skinny jeans and tell you that the Cam-Arrr-Ohh is a better car than the gt500. Or better yet, let the hipster with the plaid shirt and Ray-ban frame eyeglasses decide for you that CTS V wagon is superior to the Mercedes e63 AMG estate.

[PineappleMonkey]

As soon as she said "Nuremburg Ring" I tuned out.

LOOOL, serious. Btw, testing at Laguna? Everyone knows the best driver's car at Laguna is the Z06.

[dcmix5]

Randy Pobst has the best job in the whirled.

[choochoo]

LOOOL, serious. Btw, testing at Laguna? Everyone knows the best driver's car at Laguna is the Z06.

them be fightin' words

[DamienR8]

If the 911 doesnt win then i will only further my views about Motortrend.

After all, they are a collection of bachelors arts degree possessors, one of them with a masters degree in English (Jessi Lang who is an English teacher... ) and absolutely no merit or relation to cars and motorsport. Aka they have no credibility in my eyes, no passion, no excitement, its just a job for them after their scholarly endeavors. Worst of all not a single one of them can drive. So let that old Australian man throw on some skinny jeans and tell you that the Cam-Arrr-Ohh is a better car than the gt500. Or better yet, let the hipster with the plaid shirt and Ray-ban frame eyeglasses decide for you that CTS V wagon is superior to the Mercedes e63 AMG estate.

Wow dude relax. Wanna get some ice cream or something? My treat.

[chuque]

Wide box noted

[VWPDX]

I

After all, they are a collection of bachelors arts degree possessors, one of them with a masters degree in English (Jessi Lang who is an English teacher... ) .

Stupid college educations.

[x1000rpms]

This has gotten out of hand. People need to realize that horsepower and capability to accelerate actually IS part of a car being a drivers car. Someone that enjoys driving - also enjoys accelerating.

One thing this test will point out.. that these "journalists" probably won't say anything about. Driving these cars back to back is going make the BRZ feel EVEN SLOWER than it already is.

The slowest 0-60 is going to be the BRZ with a rough 7 seconder (that will be reported incorrectly as 6.2) then everything else is going to come in under 5 seconds (legitimately).

If the BRZ doesn't come in at least bottom half after hanging with an MP4, 911, GTR, and aventador then these guys aren't doing their jobs. I know plenty of people that I would call drivers and none of them would ever even look at the BRZ if these other characters were around. You can define a driver's car as a car that allows everyone to push the car to the edge of it's capability evenly - however a cardboard box allows everyone to push it to the very edge of it's capability.. so.. that's not a great definition.


Then.. you have to ask yourself why is it that we have a BRZ... and then.. no miata, cayman s, or boxster... (other less powerful "drivers cars") It is the only car that is representative of it's "class." then again.. it's the only car that has ever been made that is so poorly powered when compared to it's contemporaries - so.. it's hard to find car's in its "class."

then why do we have the aventador with it's wild ass price tag and crazy horse power.. but no mention of a more likely drivers car - the 458 italia?

it's clear the wanted to use the gt500 and zl1 so they could pit them against each other.. and i look forward to ignoring their results.. but neither belongs in this comparo as both cars have as much balance as box wine.

Why is there a jaguar in this comparo at all? When is the last time anyone used the words "drivers car" and jaguar in the same sentence? I like how they don't even show the car.. it's just that last car in the line up that makes it a larger number. just filling space.


what an F'ing abomination of an article in the making.


mfw the BRZ wins because of the hype machine. I have to wonder how much money toyota and subaru is throwing at these publishers at this point.

[Fritz27]

Your obsession and hatred of the BRZ is a little bit unhealthy.

[Crimping Is Easy]

This has gotten out of hand. People need to realize that horsepower and capability to accelerate actually IS part of a car being a drivers car. Someone that enjoys driving - also enjoys accelerating.

One thing this test will point out.. that these "journalists" probably won't say anything about. Driving these cars back to back is going make the BRZ feel EVEN SLOWER than it already is.

The slowest 0-60 is going to be the BRZ with a rough 7 seconder (that will be reported incorrectly as 6.2) then everything else is going to come in under 5 seconds (legitimately).

If the BRZ doesn't come in at least bottom half after hanging with an MP4, 911, GTR, and aventador then these guys aren't doing their jobs. I know plenty of people that I would call drivers and none of them would ever even look at the BRZ if these other characters were around. You can define a driver's car as a car that allows everyone to push the car to the edge of it's capability evenly - however a cardboard box allows everyone to push it to the very edge of it's capability.. so.. that's not a great definition.


Then.. you have to ask yourself why is it that we have a BRZ... and then.. no miata, cayman s, or boxster... (other less powerful "drivers cars") It is the only car that is representative of it's "class." then again.. it's the only car that has ever been made that so poorly powered when compared to it's contemporaries.

then why do we have the aventador with it's wild ass price tag and crazy horse power.. but no mention of a more likely drivers car - the 458 italia?

it's clear the wanted to use the gt500 and zl1 so they could pit them against each other.. and i look forward to ignoring their results.. but neither belongs in this comparo as both cars have as much balance as box wine.

Why is there a jaguar in this comparo at all? When is the last time anyone used the words "drivers car" and jaguar in the same sentence? I like how they don't even show the car.. it's just that last car in the line up that makes it a larger number. just filling space.


what an F'ing abomination of an article in the making.

"Someone that enjoys driving...also enjoys accelerating."

That may be true for SOME people, but certainly not for everybody. I, for one, really could care less about straight line speed. Look at some of the best driver's cars ever made, the Lotus Elan for example. Hardly a powerhouse, but it's so engaging and so fun to drive, you don't care. Like I said, you can't say that all drivers want to drive powerful cars - that's simply not true. You can push a car like the BR-Z to its limits on the street, but you can only fully experience a car like an Aventador on a race track.

[Crimping Is Easy]

Your obsession and hatred of the BRZ is a little bit unhealthy.

I think those types of attitudes are going to grow as the positive press of this car increases. People like to be different just for the sake of being different

[x1000rpms]

"Someone that enjoys driving...also enjoys accelerating."

That may be true for SOME people, but certainly not for everybody. I, for one, really could care less about straight line speed. Look at some of the best driver's cars ever made, the Lotus Elan for example. Hardly a powerhouse, but it's so engaging and so fun to drive, you don't care. Like I said, you can't say that all drivers want to drive powerful cars - that's simply not true. You can push a car like the BR-Z to its limits on the street, but you can only fully experience a car like an Aventador on a race track.

an aventador will perform just as well on the street.. and the ride will be just as engaging on the street as a twin driven safely.

now... if you are talking about the fact that the twins will slide all over the place at much lower speeds than an aventador - then I think you need to realize that what you think is safe on the street.. should probably be taken to the track.. and if we are going to go have fun on a track - i wouldn't show up with a car that won't even break 100 mph on the back straight.

if we are going to drive fast on the street.. then the sticky aventador is actually safer to drive fast.. than the slow car driven fast.

[Khyron]

This has gotten out of hand. People need to realize that horsepower and capability to accelerate actually IS part of a car being a drivers car. Someone that enjoys driving - also enjoys accelerating.

One thing this test will point out.. that these "journalists" probably won't say anything about. Driving these cars back to back is going make the BRZ feel EVEN SLOWER than it already is.

The slowest 0-60 is going to be the BRZ with a rough 7 seconder (that will be reported incorrectly as 6.2) then everything else is going to come in under 5 seconds (legitimately).

If the BRZ doesn't come in at least bottom half after hanging with an MP4, 911, GTR, and aventador then these guys aren't doing their jobs. I know plenty of people that I would call drivers and none of them would ever even look at the BRZ if these other characters were around. You can define a driver's car as a car that allows everyone to push the car to the edge of it's capability evenly - however a cardboard box allows everyone to push it to the very edge of it's capability.. so.. that's not a great definition.


Then.. you have to ask yourself why is it that we have a BRZ... and then.. no miata, cayman s, or boxster... (other less powerful "drivers cars") It is the only car that is representative of it's "class." then again.. it's the only car that has ever been made that is so poorly powered when compared to it's contemporaries - so.. it's hard to find car's in its "class."

then why do we have the aventador with it's wild ass price tag and crazy horse power.. but no mention of a more likely drivers car - the 458 italia?

it's clear the wanted to use the gt500 and zl1 so they could pit them against each other.. and i look forward to ignoring their results.. but neither belongs in this comparo as both cars have as much balance as box wine.

Why is there a jaguar in this comparo at all? When is the last time anyone used the words "drivers car" and jaguar in the same sentence? I like how they don't even show the car.. it's just that last car in the line up that makes it a larger number. just filling space.


what an F'ing abomination of an article in the making.


mfw the BRZ wins because of the hype machine. I have to wonder how much money toyota and subaru is throwing at these publishers at this point.

Apparently they asked for a 458 but Ferrari said no. And did you fail to read the part where it's NEW for 2012? Ie, Miata, S2000, EvoX etc do not apply?

And cost MATTERS. Is a 911 better than a BRZ? Sure - how much? Is it 20% better for a 400% price increase? Is it twice as good? That's what these fish-out-of-water comparisons are for, hence the Frisbee winning the Top Gear wacko comparison.

[Crimping Is Easy]

an aventador will perform just as well on the street.. and the ride will be just as engaging on the street as a twin driven safely.

now... if you are talking about the fact that the twins will slide all over the place at much lower speeds than an aventador - then I think you need to realize that what you think is safe on the street.. should probably be taken to the track.. and if we are going to go have fun on a track - i wouldn't show up with a car that won't even break 100 mph on the back straight.

Whatever. Some people are just so entrenched in their opinions, that most likely aren't even based on personal experience by the way, that nothing anybody says or does can convince them otherwise. Most car people get this car, some don't. Such is life.

[Fritz27]

an aventador will perform just as well on the street.. and the ride will be just as engaging on the street as a twin driven safely.

now... if you are talking about the fact that the twins will slide all over the place at much lower speeds than an aventador - then I think you need to realize that what you think is safe on the street.. should probably be taken to the track.. and if we are going to go have fun on a track - i wouldn't show up with a car that won't even break 100 mph on the back straight.

if we are going to drive fast on the street.. then the sticky aventador is actually safer to drive fast.. than the slow car driven fast.

I'm sorry a BRZ killed your dad and raped your mom.

[Crimping Is Easy]

I'm sorry a BRZ killed your dad and raped your mom.

Sig worthy.

[x1000rpms]

I'm sorry a BRZ killed your dad and raped your mom.

Actually my parents died in a car accident that involved a 1991 ford taurus and an 18 wheeler. The 91 taurus would have outhandled the BRZ, and the 18 wheeler would have done a better quarter mile.

I don't know why you guys think I hate the BRZ. It's a great car for poor people - or would be if it didn't cost more than a 5.0 mustang and represent 15k worth of depreciation over 4 years.

[thisisdog]

Wanna get some ice cream or something? My treat.

yeah sure

Stupid college educations.

The point is that the college education is their only qualification and its completely unrelated to the subject. You cant teach motorsport, you cant teach passion, and you cant teach credibility and accomplishment. None of these people are enthusiasts or gear heads. None of them have achived anything in the field to be able to voice their opinions and have them contain an ounce of worth. But hey, lets get a Daytona 500 driver to drive all the cars and tell us what we should think so then we can tell you what you should think.

Doesn't matter though, i will never consider anything or anyone from Motortrend. Their entire existence has always been a facade to me.

[Khyron]

I don't know why you guys think I hate the BRZ. It's a great car for poor people - or would be if it didn't cost more than a 5.0 mustang and represent 15k worth of depreciation over 4 years.

Go watch the newer Chris Harris video - he's basically talking to YOU at several points (I swear it's like he reads CL). The one with the GT86,Cayman,370Z not the racetrack. Oh and the frs/brz demographic is far from poor.