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New Models
DRIVEN: Scion FR-S Sparkles On Track
Toyota and Subaru combined forces to create an affordable rear-drive sports coupe with satisfying handling and finesse.
The FR-S and its sibling, Subaru BR-Z, were designed by Toyota and engineered by Subaru. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
The Scion FR-S (aka Subaru BRZ) proves that you don’t have to be the fastest car on the track to come out the winner.
The hotly anticipated prodigy of a Toyota/Subaru partnership, the new rear-wheel-drive coupe with the boxer engine is nothing less than a game changer, reacquainting us with how fun and agile an affordable car can be, and returning us to a place in the auto-enthusiast firmament where we haven’t been for a long time.
With all the high-tech, high-performance, high-priced sports machines out there, most of which would turn our pockets inside out at the showroom, it’s simply awesome that two respected and respectable Japanese automakers could team up to create such a desirable little craft that almost anyone could afford.
Designed by Toyota and engineered by Subaru, the new coupe could turn the most-jaded car cynics into fanboys. It brings us back to Mazda Miatas, and even further back to MGBs, Datsun 510s, Toyota Celicas, even the early Mustangs and Camaros, everyman cars that brought the unmitigated joy of driving down to street level.
The rear-drive layout naturally goes a long way toward enhancing its enthusiast draw. Scion calls it “the most-anticipated car of the year” and an “authentic sports car,” both claims that are hard to dispute.
No, it won’t set any acceleration records, but it makes up with lively response what it might lack in horsepower. The Subaru-sourced 2-liter horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine generates 200 horsepower, though you have to rev the bejabbers out of it to get the full thrust. Still, the car’s lightness and playful willingness are right on the mark.
The grin-inducing handling and balance of the FR-S were sampled recently by yet another group of auto journalists, including me, on a tight road course at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nev., near Las Vegas. This was such a great venue for testing the Scion, where handling finesse is emphasized over sheer power. Sure, a little more pull would have been appreciated, though not crucial.
During one of many easily controlled four-wheel drifts on the track, it occurred to me that I hadn’t had so much fun with a “normal” modern car since who knows how long. Sure, I’ve had great times recently in such awesome cars as the Nissan GT-R, Porsche Cayman R and Ford Shelby GT500, but those are very special performance machines with very special price tags, more or less inaccessible to us working stiffs.
The Scion FR-S (sold as a Toyota in most places outside the U.S.) and its near-twin Subaru BRZ are base-priced at around $25,000 for a fully equipped sports coupe with a six-speed manual transmission, or about $1,000 more if you want the paddle-shifting six-speed automatic with its slick rev-matching dowhifts.
Part of the coupe’s agility is attributable to its very-low center of gravity. The boxer engine is already a low-profile entity, and Toyota has managed to set it quite low and far back in the front end. In Subarus, which have all-wheel drive, the engine has to be set up higher above the front-drive mechanism. Weight bias for the FR-S/BRZ is nearly ideal, with 53 percent of the mass over the front wheels
FR-S comes equipped with traction control and electronic stability control to keep you out of trouble on rainy nights or if you push it too hard into a curve, but the car’s neutral handling mandated that everything be turned off on the track so one could enjoy the joys of drifting.
The brakes stayed remarkably firm and responsive even after several hours of journalist abuse. The electric-powered steering is crisp, and the suspension reacted well to a few abrupt descents on the track.
The hotly anticipated prodigy of a Toyota/Subaru partnership, the new rear-wheel-drive coupe with the boxer engine is nothing less than a game changer, reacquainting us with how fun and agile an affordable car can be, and returning us to a place in the auto-enthusiast firmament where we haven’t been for a long time.
With all the high-tech, high-performance, high-priced sports machines out there, most of which would turn our pockets inside out at the showroom, it’s simply awesome that two respected and respectable Japanese automakers could team up to create such a desirable little craft that almost anyone could afford.
Designed by Toyota and engineered by Subaru, the new coupe could turn the most-jaded car cynics into fanboys. It brings us back to Mazda Miatas, and even further back to MGBs, Datsun 510s, Toyota Celicas, even the early Mustangs and Camaros, everyman cars that brought the unmitigated joy of driving down to street level.
The rear-drive layout naturally goes a long way toward enhancing its enthusiast draw. Scion calls it “the most-anticipated car of the year” and an “authentic sports car,” both claims that are hard to dispute.
No, it won’t set any acceleration records, but it makes up with lively response what it might lack in horsepower. The Subaru-sourced 2-liter horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine generates 200 horsepower, though you have to rev the bejabbers out of it to get the full thrust. Still, the car’s lightness and playful willingness are right on the mark.
The grin-inducing handling and balance of the FR-S were sampled recently by yet another group of auto journalists, including me, on a tight road course at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nev., near Las Vegas. This was such a great venue for testing the Scion, where handling finesse is emphasized over sheer power. Sure, a little more pull would have been appreciated, though not crucial.
During one of many easily controlled four-wheel drifts on the track, it occurred to me that I hadn’t had so much fun with a “normal” modern car since who knows how long. Sure, I’ve had great times recently in such awesome cars as the Nissan GT-R, Porsche Cayman R and Ford Shelby GT500, but those are very special performance machines with very special price tags, more or less inaccessible to us working stiffs.
The Scion FR-S (sold as a Toyota in most places outside the U.S.) and its near-twin Subaru BRZ are base-priced at around $25,000 for a fully equipped sports coupe with a six-speed manual transmission, or about $1,000 more if you want the paddle-shifting six-speed automatic with its slick rev-matching dowhifts.
Part of the coupe’s agility is attributable to its very-low center of gravity. The boxer engine is already a low-profile entity, and Toyota has managed to set it quite low and far back in the front end. In Subarus, which have all-wheel drive, the engine has to be set up higher above the front-drive mechanism. Weight bias for the FR-S/BRZ is nearly ideal, with 53 percent of the mass over the front wheels
FR-S comes equipped with traction control and electronic stability control to keep you out of trouble on rainy nights or if you push it too hard into a curve, but the car’s neutral handling mandated that everything be turned off on the track so one could enjoy the joys of drifting.
The brakes stayed remarkably firm and responsive even after several hours of journalist abuse. The electric-powered steering is crisp, and the suspension reacted well to a few abrupt descents on the track.
The Lyonheart K
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