Small review my friend wrote about my car

[RedArmy]

He originally drove my car at the end of summer and I've been hounding him to give me his impressions. After 4+ months he finally delivered and while he isn't a professional writer/reviewer by any means, I still think it's an enjoyable short read.

Edit: Had to use a URL shortener since the filter was putting asterisks in the full URL name.

http://bit.ly/J6Rhr1

 

[Vetterin]

Nice but he should have also mentioned the $29,000 price tag for comparison sake.

 

[XavierMace]

I enjoyed the read, but I'll have to disagree about 200hp being enough. There's no question you can have a lot of fun with it's 200hp, it makes VERY good use of it. But it most definitely could use more. Even an extra 50hp to the wheels and losing the drops in the power curve would be huge. My IS300 feels quite a bit faster than the BRZ and is far easier to kick out in the corners even with quite a bit better tires.

I don't get the hate about the price tag (not trying to pick on you Vetterin) and I get it all the time. The BRZ Limited is REALLY nice inside IMO. The only thing I don't like is the silver plastic trim which looks exactly the same as the silver plastic trim on my Lexus (which was also a $30,000 car new). I've got keyless, heated leather/alcantara seats, dual climate zones, touch screen with Sat Nav, Bluetooth, and HD radio. It's a pretty nicely appointed car in my opinion. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a vehicle that you couldn't say at X price I think it SHOULD have feature Y.

 

[Kaido]

I enjoyed the read, but I'll have to disagree about 200hp being enough. There's no question you can have a lot of fun with it's 200hp, it makes VERY good use of it. But it most definitely could use more. Even an extra 50hp to the wheels and losing the drops in the power curve would be huge. My IS300 feels quite a bit faster than the BRZ and is far easier to kick out in the corners even with quite a bit better tires.

That's what everyone I've talked to has said - for $25k, 200HP is fine, but it really needs a turbopower or more horsepower because it just doesn't feel fast - but it makes up for it in the handling. Subaru absolutely killed me with their April Fool's joke, I was about ready to rob a bank

http://media.subaru.com/newsrelease...nfirms-awd-turbo-convertible-two-seater&mid=1

In any case, I really, really need a black one :wub: :thumbsup:

 

[JCH13]

With 50 more HP and a turbo you'd basically have a 2WD WRX. Then plenty of other people would complain about the lack of grip, the non-perfect weight distribution that would arise from the extra equipment, the worse fuel economy, more intrusive electronic nannies , etc.

If you want a lot of HP in a RWD car, try a mustang.

 

[Vetterin]

I don't get the hate about the price tag (not trying to pick on you Vetterin) and I get it all the time.

There is no hate in my statement. I just stated that since a review of ANY car should at least have the price mentioned. I wouldn't want to read a 3 or 4 page review of the Lexus IS F and not have any idea of how much it might cost me. just sayin...

 

[XavierMace]

There is no hate in my statement. I just stated that since a review of ANY car should at least have the price mentioned. I wouldn't want to read a 3 or 4 page review of the Lexus IS F and not have any idea of how much it might cost me. just sayin...

Fair enough, wasn't sure if you were, but people bring up the price (in a negative manner) almost every time the car is discussed.

 

[XavierMace]

With 50 more HP and a turbo you'd basically have a 2WD WRX. Then plenty of other people would complain about the lack of grip, the non-perfect weight distribution that would arise from the extra equipment, the worse fuel economy, more intrusive electronic nannies , etc.

If you want a lot of HP in a RWD car, try a mustang.

How much power does your Miata have?

 

[JCH13]

How much power does your Miata have?

Sssssshhhhh

Around 200whp ish and it weighs 2100-2200lbs.

Bear in mind that I have wider, more serious tires than an FRS/BRZ and its still pretty easy to get the back end loose. I also have basically no emissions or crash structure, no airbags, no sound deadening, get worse fuel economy, no AC, no power steering, no real stereo, and smaller wheels.

The fact that an FRS or BRZ has all of those things, plus a warranty, back seat, ABS, 6spd transmission, bigger brakes, and that new car smell for 600lbs more is a goddamn miracle. It's a thousand times more doable as a DD than my Miata will ever be.

 

[QueBert]

I was really wanting this car, Subaru though had way higher credit requirements than any other dealer I went to. I've never driven one, but I love the styling of the BRZ/FRS. Depending on what changes in the next few years I might jump on one when my credits up and I'm ready for a new ride. There's a car guy on Youtube that video tapes his chronicles of turbo charging his FRS. In the end he said it was way too much work, didn't add much and he wished he hadn't done it.

 

[XavierMace]

Sssssshhhhh

Around 200whp ish and it weighs 2100-2200lbs.

Yeah, but that's 40-ish whp and 600lbs. That's a 25% power increase over the BRZ and 25%-ish weight reduction. With the numbers we are talking about that's not a laughing matter.

All those downsides you list of the Miata are exactly why I bought my BRZ. Don't get me wrong, I love the car. I don't regret buying it at all. But at the end of the day, I think even another 50whp would make it substantially more peppy and you can get that without going forced induction.