By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(March 10, 2016) The stage was set, though — at first — it appeared to be a bit lopsided. The Scion FR-S was delivered during a warm, dry week. Two weeks later, the Mazda MX-5 Miata arrived just after a storm that dumped nearly 10 inches of snow. Not exactly the best weather in which to sample a long-awaited convertible riding on summer tires.

Based solely on the weather, the FR-S should walk this comparison. It is a closed coupe with superior weather protection, while the Mazda is a sun and fun car with a proven sporting pedigree meant for carving up favorite roads in dry weather. As it turned out, the weather-driven outcome was by no means a foregone conclusion.

The FR-S

Since my first drive of this car, I have been able to do more digging on the origins of the FR-S. As suspected, Lotus was involved in setting out the basics of the FR-S’s layout. Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda wanted to build a front-engine/rear-drive car that handled like the Lotus Elise, and was given the basic recipe necessary to make that happen. The rest was done by Toyota.

This explains the car’s Lotus-like reactions, the way it’s linear steering communicates with the driver, and its finesse on smooth roads. It also explains how this degenerates to pitching and bouncing, crashing and thumping over high amplitude road irregularities found on the roads most people drive every day. That’s when it subjects driver and passenger to what, unfortunately, often passes for a “sporty” ride these days.

It’s a dichotomy that is endemic to the FR-S. This is a Toyota powered by a Subaru engine, which means it has the low hood line and center of gravity you expect from a horizontally four-cylinder motor, but also the dearth of low-end torque and a singularly resonant engine note. Of the two demerits, the lack of torque is the most important, especially as the 200 hp boxer engine produces 151 lb.-ft. of torque at a relatively stratospheric 6,400 rpm. This leaves the FR-S feeling a bit winded as it pulls away from a stop or as it digs out of a slow-speed corner.

The six-speed transmission has well-judged gearing, but suffers from a notchiness you’d expect in a Mustang or Camaro, not in a Japanese car. Ditto the clutch, which — though better than in its first incarnation — still releases a bit too high for my tastes. Perhaps this does make it more difficult for novices to stall the FR-S, but it also makes it tougher for manual transmission veterans to drive the car smoothly.

The dichotomy that flows through the FR-S continues inside. Toyota specified both a digital speedometer within the white-faced tachometer and a speedometer with a dark mesh graphic. This redundancy serves no purpose as it is rare that you use anything other than the digital speed readout. It would have been more in keeping with the FR-S’s enthusiast DNA to replace the analog speedometer with a combined ammeter/oil pressure gauge, or replace it with a bank of warning lights and make the tach larger.

Where the Scion shines is in its all-year practicality. Its hardtop keeps things warm in the winter and shaded in the summer, and visibility to the sides and rear is excellent. Though there are two tiny rear seats, it takes little time or effort to fold them down to create a decent loading area that extends through to the regularly shaped trunk. Plus, there is no chance that a thief is going to slash the roof in order to gain access to the interior and its contents. It’s a practical sports car.

The Miata

This has been the most anticipated Miata in quite some time. Mazda engineers slaved over this car to make it more structurally rigid, lighter, more powerful, more fuel efficient, quicker and increase its comfort and convenience. And, despite sharing the car with Fiat for its 124, the Japanese automaker’s version looks more Italian than its partner’s design. This is a beautiful car with full forms and exquisite detailing, but it is unmistakably a Japanese design.

Like all Miatas, the cabin is tight, with headroom being the one commodity in shortest supply for tall drivers. Another is over-the-shoulder visibility, which is lacking with the top in place. You have to be careful when reversing from a driveway or parking spot as cars coming at you from the side are hard to see, if not completely invisible. This, of course, isn’t a problem with the top stowed, a feat that takes little more than a press and tug on the central latch, folding the top into its well, and then locking it in place with a gentle push down. In keeping with the Miata’s minimalist sports car ethos, the top does not need a separate cover.

Less in keeping with this ethos is the Mazda Connect infotainment system. Or rather the controller for said system. Located just to the left and behind the oh-so-slick six-speed manual’s gear lever, this large chrome-rimmed button lets you scroll through and select items displayed on the infotainment scree. As much as I’d like to complain that Mazda has sold out with this addition, the infotainment system fits well into the interior, provides needed information and applications, and is a given in today’s device-driven world.

What is most exasperating, however, is the way in which you can change stations and settings simply by resting your arm in this area. In a perfect world, your right hand would be holding the wheel when it wasn’t calling up shifts, but this isn’t perfect world. I reset items so frequently, I had run out of the swear words necessary to vent my frustration. There needs to be a simple, easy lockout to prevent this from happening, otherwise you can expect your sanity to be challenged on a regular basis.

And while this one area falls short, there are many other that do not. For example, the fit, finish and materials used in the interior are exemplary. The clutch, already a modern example of how to do it right, has only gotten better. It grabs and engages with near-psychic fluidity, and makes using the light, slick six-speed manual transmission a joy. The engine, which produces 155 hp at 6,000 rpm, and 148 lb.-ft. at 4,800, revs lustily and begs you to use it to its maximum.

And beg it does. You have to talk yourself down from making every start a fast one, and every shift a redline-only occurrence. The Brembo front calipers and rotors (part of the $3,400 Brembo/BBS wheel package), haul the Miata down smartly, and impart excellent feel through the brake pedal.

Also, the Bilstein dampers let the Miata ride dips and rises with an almost perfect sine wave response. Unfortunately the bushings, etc. cause this placid ride to degenerate over high-amplitude road irregularities, much like the Scion.

Practicality also suffers in the Miata. The trunk is surprisingly deep and regularly shaped, but there are no back seats to fold down to increase cargo room. As stated before, the top hides vehicles sitting just off the car’s flanks or traveling perpendicular to your line of travel. This makes backing out of parking spots or driveways an adventure, and reinforces the need to properly set and use the large outside mirrors. Should you need to stow small items in the cabin or carry drinks from a lunch run, you’d better be flexible.

The tiny glove compartment and removable cupholders are located between the seats, just below the latch that unlocks the stowed top. And that top can be slashed to give access to the interior should a thief want your car or anything in it.

Conclusion

So, which is the best sports car? The FR-S wins in terms of all-year practicality and convenience.  It’s cupholders and glovebox are readily accessible, it has more storage space, and visibility is better than the Miata with its top up. You don’t have to make any excuses to run it as your everyday car. The Miata, on the other hand, is more than 400 pounds lighter, has nearly the same torque output but at a lower rpm, is the gold standard for clutch and gear lever feel, and is better looking. Except, perhaps, for stop-and-go traffic, every trip is a mini 24 Hours of Le Mans.

If Toyota, when it closes down Scion and brings the FR-S in-house, were to retune the 200 hp boxer motor for a lower torque peak, improve the gearbox feel, rethink the ride, update the instrument cluster, add a tasteful pop of color to the interior, and offer integrated upgrades like the Miata’s Brembo and BBS package, it could tip the balance in its favor.

Until that happens, the Miata — faults and all — is the hands-down winner.

The Virtual Driver