The Scion FR-S

If I may start this posting with an apology: I'm sorry for posting an awful lot about Toyotas. However, the FR-S from Scion is worthy of a post, and it will be the last Toyota car for a while, I promise. And technically, it's half Subaru anyway. Being that it's at least half Subaru, you can't truly call it a comeback for Toyota. Sure it's being sold at Toyota dealerships, but if they wanted to build a sports car again, you would've thought that they could have done it without the help of a competitor. However, after the better part of a decade, Toyota can now (sort of) offer a sports car! In the United States, at least for right now, Scion will be the company pedaling the car to you.

So, the big question: What is it like to drive?

Well, it's complicated because I don't want to say that it's "Just fantastic, end of story." That would be too obvious. So, I'll say it's a fantastic start. It's Toyota's first rear wheel drive sports car since the last Supra rolled off the line in 2002. With it's Subaru derived engine and transmission, the noise it makes is wonderful, and the clutch is feather light, which makes it a wonderful car to drive. The steering is precise, and it grips the road like nothing else in it's price bracket. And for a car with bucket seats, it's not uncomfortable either, at least in the front. The back seats are sort of a joke, and as one dealer suggested "[they] are only there for insurance purposes, and meant to be removed." Which would then make the Mazda RX-8 more practical if you could still buy a new one, but you can't.

The interior is not overly complicated, there's a pretty reasonable traction control system with an off button. There's a clock, and there's some cup holders that they obviously forgot about until the very last minute.

For $25,000 you could do worse. And that, I think, is the whole point of this car. It's relatively cheap. But is it really that cheap? Scion also offers the TC, a car that has been with us for a while now, and while it's not as visually striking to look at as the FR-S, it's only got 20 less horsepowers. And it's also $6,000 cheaper. They both have bucket seats, the same exact powered accessories, a 6 speed transmission, and the TC can even come with a sunroof. Something that the FR-S can't have! The main difference being, of course, that the TC is front wheel drive, and the FR-S is not. But in the real world, if all you want is a sporty Toyota, the smart person would have the TC because you could actually fit people into the back.

The TC is more economical, has the same suspension set up, has a bigger engine, and if you think that those 20 extra horsepowers will do anything: 0-60 times are only .3 of a second apart. Which means if you get off to a bad start, you've lost the race.

Overall then, the FR-S is a beautiful car, and you'd love to own one. But to be honest, it's a bit like an iPhone 4: you know in the back of your mind that Apple will release the 4S soon, so it's only going to be the cool thing for a little while. Which is a shame, because I really wanted Toyota to make an interesting car again; Something timeless, but this isn't it.