Scion FR-S — A common man's Porsche

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

During time spent behind the wheel of the new Scion FR-S sports car it occurred to us that this delightful little road carver could live with a Porsche badge as an entry-level version of the Cayman. Call it Cayman light.

At the risk of being taken to the woodshed by Porsche fans, the lightweight FR-S — which is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder Subaru-derived boxer engine — is the kind of smile-inducing product that the Germans might build if their proclivity suddenly turned to products selling for under 30 grand, that is if Porsche were to build a sports car for the common man.




In addition to its go-fast attitude, its road-holding attributes are astounding. And it looks darn good, too, its profile forcing onlookers to take a second admiring glance at a stoplight or in a parking lot.

But what got us really thinking Porsche — besides the excellent seats (the front ones - the dog didn’t even like the miserly back ones) — is the gauge cluster. Sitting front and center is a large tachometer with a rectangular digital speedometer embedded in the right corner very similar to the functional Porsche layout. Locate the ignition switch to the left of the steering wheel and you might think, well, perhaps Porsche?

The FR-S is half of a joint venture with Subaru. The two Japanese companies together developed the sports car and both vehicles (the Subaru version is called the BRZ) are built at a Subaru plant in Japan.

The idea was to create a stiff, lightweight, affordable sports car with an extremely low center of gravity with handling traits that belie its relatively low price. Scion says the car was inspired by the 1983-87 Corolla coupes known in Toyota circles as the AE86, the last of the rear-driven small Toyotas.

Toyota headed up the styling and assisted with powertrain hardware while Subaru provided the four-cylinder boxer engine, which has been heavily modified, and did much of the engineering and development work.

The 2-0-liter boxer 4-cylinder engine powering the FR-S makes 200 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque. That's a modest output in today's 4-cylinder turbocharged world, but acceleration is on the fast side of just OK because of the car's low curb weight of 2,800 pounds and its seemingly flat torque curve.

Transmission choices are a slick-shifting six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters. Driving enthusiasts of course will choose the manual and the first customers will be mostly shift-for-yourself buyers. But as sales reach the mainstream, probably more automatics will be sold.

Perhaps that's sacrilege to the road racers of America, but in the real world of every day driving the automatic is the more practical consideration especially with a manual shift feature that won't change gears unless the driver tells it to even when it hits the rev limiter.

Row expertly through the gears and a 6.5-second 0-to-60 time is possible. Figure probably on average with the six-speed automatic about 7 seconds.

But this car is so much more than straight-ahead performance. It's the balanced handling that wins the day. We drove a road course near Las Vegas to experience the FR-S's handling prowess — enhanced by a 53/47 front/rear weight balance — and even in totally inept hands, the car was a hoot to drive quick and hard. And it was just as much fun on out favorite stretch of rural law-enforcement-deprived back road curves. It was, indeed, a morning of grins and giggles.

Even with all this fun behind the wheel you will probably ask, what about gas mileage. It's an obvious question is this age of unpredictable and ever-higher prices. The answer is a good one — 25 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, combined 28 mpg.

The FR-S is offered in a single trim level beginning at $24,930 with a manual transmission, $26,030 with the automatic. For that price the buyer gets air conditioning, cruise control, a 160-watt Pioneer sound system, a full complement of safety equipment, and two years or 25,000 miles worth of free servicing. There are a lot of factory and dealer add-on accessories available that can take the price into the $30,000 range but it's not necessary to get a total FR-S experience.

Our test car with manual transmission and some accessories carried a bottom line of $26,085. Our automatic with only $67 in extras came to $26,097.

The FR-S brings head-turning styling, enough performance to keep it interesting in normal driving, and a handling dimension for weekend entertainment.

Essentials
Base price: $24,930; as driven, $26,097
Engine: 2.0-liter flat 4
Horsepower: 200 @ 7,000 rpm
Torque: 151 pound-feet @ 6,600 rpm
Drive: rear wheel
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Seating: 2/2
Wheelbase: 101.2 inches
Length: 166.9 inches
Curb weight: 2,800 pounds
Turning circle: 35.4 feet
Luggage capacity: 6.9 cubic feet
Fuel capacity: 13.2 gallons (premium)
EPA rating: 30 highway, 22 city (manual)
0-60: 6.6 seconds (Edmunds)
Also consider: Mazda Miata, Ford Mustang V-6, Hyundai Veloster turbo

The Good
• True sports car handling
• Head-turning styling
• Spacious living area for two people

The Bad
• Back seat only good for storage

The Ugly
• Modest acceleration