The four Scion vehicles are affordable (three of them start in the mid- to high teens) and range from the IQ, a quirky minicar that vies with the Smart Car to be crowned king of the urban parking crevices, and the FR-S, a small sports coupe capable of putting a large smile on your face.
The new-for-2013 FR-S is the product of a Toyota/Subaru joint venture. Its Subaru counterpart, the BR-Z (are you growing weary of these cattle brands yet?) is largely identical mechanically and aesthetically, although there is some styling differentiation up front.
Despite its reasonable price (it starts at $24,200 with the manual gearbox and $25,300 with the automatic), the FR-S is a true sporting machine, a real funster. It's blessed with excellent driving dynamics, thanks in part to its suspension design and the fore-to-aft weight balance afforded by its rear-drive layout.
As a consequence, the FR-S proved a lot of fun to throw around on a back road. The car stayed flat in ambitious corners, exhibiting little body lean, and turned in promptly for those spirited changes in course. The steering is, indeed, another plus. Most electric power steering systems are pretty numb, but this one passes along a decent amount of road feel. It's also very precise, and requires just the right amount of steering effort.
Braking also earns a 4.0 grade-point average. The brake discs are vented, and pretty large for a car with this little body fat - it weighs only a tad over 2,700 pounds. This means the curtain comes down on cruising very quickly if it has to. These binders also please with a firm pedal that's readily modulated.
Motivation is courtesy of a 2-liter four whose diminutive lungs exhale 200 horsepower, thanks, in large part, to the munificence of direct fuel injection. While the FR-S is no stoplight serial killer, its 200 horses and low body weight make for reasonably brisk motoring. The tester, equipped with a six-speed automatic gearbox and a Torsen limited-slip differential, got from 0 to 60 in about 6.5 seconds. That's fast enough to be fun.
The FS-R's engine is unusual in that it is horizontally opposed. That means the cylinders lie on their sides, half of them on each side of the crankshaft. This "boxer" design makes for a structurally sound engine, and lowers its center of gravity. That, in turn, lowers the vehicle's center of gravity and enhances handling.
Given its sporting impulses, the FR-S fielded quite acceptable EPA mileage ratings of 25 city and 34 highway.
My only gripe with this engine, and, indeed, the car, was the way it sounded off. Most fours get buzzy when you floor them, but this one was downright noisy. It was fine in normal driving, however.
The FR-S turned out to be the most fun I've had in a Toyota product in a while. I also found the styling interesting. I liked the rather predatory grille opening and the treatments around the wheel openings. This FR-S sheet metal is sporty business, but it aptly pulls up short of boy racer.
No comments:
Post a Comment