Sporty but sensible
Scion FR-S may not have the extras, but it’s a pleasure to drive
THE SCION FR-S is an insanely sensible sports car. At $28,000, it’s the perfect fit for the fiscally challenged. Light, low, sleek and full of attitude, it’s a joyous ride for indie thrill seekers. I remember when the FR-S and its sister ship the Subaru BRZ launched at the Detroit auto show in 2011. The two companies worked together to build a sports car to be savoured. They wanted to return to the roots of the affordable, Japanese, rear-wheel-drive sports car of the 1970s. Subaru engineered the chassis and powertrain, Toyota’s Scion division handled the design. There wasn’t much fanfare then, but since their debut under the bright lights of the Motor City, they’ve been slamming fans with their road burning performance.
I test drove the 2013 FR-S six-speed manual. The base price is $26,300; taxes, fees and shipping brought the total to $27,928.
There were no options, but I wanted for nothing. The FR-S has body hugging seats, a meaty wheel, unobstructed visibility and 200 horsepower to play with.
This may sound ho-hum in this age of 500 horsepower. But 200 h.p. in a car that weighs just 1,251 kilograms reaches the bliss mark on the all-important power-toweight scale. It’s a real world rocket, fast enough for fun but not for jail time.
Toyota likes to call the FR-S an authentic rear-wheel-drive sports car. I agree. It takes just a few kilometres of driving to find the happiness zone. It’s not influenced by gadgets, luxury leather, mood lighting or monogrammed doorsills. It’s found in pure driving pleasure — by steering that slices a path wherever it’s pointed, by hungry throttle response, tortilla flat cornering and biting brakes. There is nothing mushy about the FR-S, yet the ride, lively and taut, is surprising compliant on ratty roads.
The six-speed manual is bracing to use. It operates on a tiny bit of real estate, the throws are short and precise, and the gear engagement is succinct. You can slam it or finesse it depending on the mood. Redline is at 7400 RPM’s; flirt with it and a warning light burns a hole in your brain. It is as much fun to drive at 40 km/h (providing there are some curves) as it is at 120, a sure sign of a good sports car.
One of Subaru’s major contributions to this partnership is its signature boxer engine. The design of the horizontally opposed engine allows it to be mounted>>
>> lower in the car, lowering the centre of gravity and gluing the FR-S to the road. With that beautifully weighted steering, cornering is sublime as the Scion embeds itself to the pavement.
The downside of the four-cylinder boxer engine is its charmless sound. When the FR-S is winding up to full launch, it sounds like you are in the engine room of a ferry. And the FR-S is a high-revving little filly; in sixth gear at highway speed, it’s still spinning at a 3,000 rpm. But some folks like the sound of the boxer whaling away.
The cabin of the FR-S follows the back-tobasics brand philosophy. The centre console has a simply designed Pioneer audio system stacked over the climate controls — not flashy but easy to operate. There are a few modest storage bins, nicely styled instrument gauges and, best of all, fine-tuned cloth seats. The side bolsters keep you in place and in an excellent driving position. The seat controls are manual, you can go up and down, forward and back, and it works as perfectly as any expensive car I’ve driven with 13-way power adjustment.
Though the seat is mounted low, the doorsills are well placed so that you don’t feel like you’re hunkered down in a bobsled.
The FR-S certainly has a female friendly driving set up. On the road, the ergonomics and visibility are agreeable. Even as I stared into the wheelwell of transport trucks from the low-slung FR-S, I felt confident about the driving dynamics.
There are back seats — or shall we say indents where seats are indicated, but really the space is for bags and coats only. They do fold down to increase trunk space.
Nothing is amiss with the exterior package either. The graceful coupe styling doesn’t have a single dorky line. Low, wide and muscular, the recipe never fails.
The FR-S stands for Front engine, Rear-wheel drive, Sport. It also stands for a pure sports car experience at a reasonable price. It’s not overly sophisticated, not encumbered with numbing technology, unburdened by a bloated price tag.
I call it Fun, Real, and Simple.