SCION FR- S A SPORTY JOY
Triumph of feel over velocity
What makes a sports car?
“In the old days, you’d simply remove everything,” says Andreas Preuninger, manager of Porsche’s motorsports and high- performance car program, speaking to me at the launch of the Cayman GT4. “But now, the performance of the technology outweighs the weight penalty.”
Let me suggest that these days a sports car is more about the experience than the high score.
Here’s one champion of feel over outright velocity — the Scion FR- S.
It’s the kind of car you don’t see much anymore: 2+ 2 seating, low curb weight, modest power, rearwheel- drive.
On a misty, miserable day, with the clouds drifting down and runnels of water making channels in the verge, I stirred up this little car’s flat- four engine and headed for a lonely mountain. What’s a sports car these days? Don’t worry about it — Scion’s got you covered.
We’ve had the FR- S/ BRZ twins for three years now, and the overall public response has cooled somewhat. Sales are down a little bit, though still triple that of the current Mazda MX- 5.
It still looks fresh, very Japanese in styling and well- proportioned. Fog lights and a spoiler are the only exterior options available, with 17inch alloys as standard.
The genesis of this car is a partnership between Toyota and Subaru, but there’s far more of the latter to be found in the FR- S’s interior and under its skin. The best you could say of the inside is that it’s spartan and no- nonsense; a less charitable way to describe it would be cheap.
However, the important stuff is good — the steering wheel and shifter feel substantial, the seats have excellent grip and comfort for a driver of average height, and last year Scion added in a little extra padding on the transmission tunnel to protect your knee during ontrack hijinks.
The infotainment is better than some Subaru offerings, but still has an aftermarket feel and ho- hum graphics. Neither is the stereo of particularly high quality — a grand tourer the Scion is not. The chunky HVAC controls were nice, there’s a well- placed shelf with a USB connector for your smartphone, and the red- stitching and carbon- fibrelook interior trim doesn’t look overdone.
From a practical standpoint, the FR- S could serve as a daily driver both for a singleton, or as a supplement if there’s a crossover in the family. It’s theoretically possible to put a rear- facing car seat in the back — I’ve done so — but not unless your shotgun- riding spouse has been hit with a shrink- ray. Booster seats will work, and the thick C- pillar looks like it provides solid protection.
The trunk is small, at 196 litres, but the rear seats fold properly flat. There’s space for extra tires, or just for a run back from Ikea with your new Burpenblörpen bookcase.
If all- weather capability is a worry, what with rear- wheel- drive, then please note that I’ve driven the previous- generation on snow with decent snow- tires, and it proved perfectly tractable. Actually, far better than that — it was the ideal powdered- doughnut machine.
There’s your left- brain stuff covered, now onto the more visceral reasons for owning a sports car: the mountain, the gravel- strewn turn, the crest and the apex and the rush to redline.
The FR- S’s direct- injection 2.0L spools up to its 7,400 rpm peak with a clattery snarl, shift to third ( excellent shifter feel) and up the hill we charge.
The engine, like the chassis, is a Subaru development, with a Toyota- derived direct- injection system strapped on like one of those facehuggers from the Alien movies. To be frank, it’s not the most lovable of engines. Peak power is a not-too-bad 200 horsepower, but it comes at a lofty 7,000 rpm; what’s more, there’s no sense of rush toward the redline, that VTEC kick you got in something like a Honda S2000.
Torque is quite low at 151 poundfeet from 6,000 to 6,400 rpm, and falls off as the revs climb. This makes the FR- S a bit feeble off the line around town, but when the tach-needle’s twitching on a lonely road, it certainly feels plenty quick. I do half wish it had a 1.6L turbo out of something like the Juke or Fiesta ST.
However, the chassis is very well composed and if you have to work at keeping the power on the boil, keeping speed up through the corners is no such chore. The FR- S’s suspension is retuned this year, slightly softened for better grip and less tail- happiness. It’s still sharper than the BR- Z, but now allows plenty of easy grip in the wet, even with the modest performance of the standard Michelin Primacy tires.
The FR- S isn’t quite as good a drive as the new MX- 5 is, nor does it have the giant- killing capacities of something like the 5.0L Mustang, nor is it oodles more fun than the more practical choice of a WRX or GTI. It is, however, still capable of putting a smile on your face, and keeping it there despite the chilling damp outside.
What makes a sports car? Joy. You’ll find plenty of it here.