[khanak]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

It won't be long before we get to see such cars in India. Ours is a rapidly growing market and everybody wants a slice of the pie. Sure, sports-cars are not practical and don't make sense given the sorry state of our roads and the low-quality fuel. But things should improve in the next five-ten years.

Who would have thought 10 years ago that there would be hatchbacks priced at 8 lakhs and that they would out-sell sedans and SUVs?

Hyundai also has a sports-car in their portfolio and it would be perfect competition to the 86. It's called the Veloster.

The Veloster is FAR from a sports car. It comes with a Verna engine over here. The Veloster Turbo has slightly more power but is still nothing to get that excited about. Again its the Genesis that goes against the BRZ and not the Veloster.

Well the BRZ isn't that practical abroad either but thats not the point is it?

Also I don't see this coming to India anytime soon except maybe if we're lucky and Toyota decides to launch it as a halo car. I don't think there is that big a market for something like this. I hope I'm wrong though.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by khanak

The Veloster is FAR from a sports car. It comes with a Verna engine over here. The Veloster Turbo has slightly more power but is still nothing to get that excited about. Again its the Genesis that goes against the BRZ and not the Veloster.

Why not? Wiki classifies it as a sports-car / compact. And as far as I know, the Verna isn't powered by a turbocharged 2.0 mill delivering 200 horsepower. Of course, you do get lesser engine options.

Originally Posted by khanak

Well the BRZ isn't that practical abroad either but thats not the point is it?

Practical in the sense that it gives you very little performance - power for buck. For 15 lakhs lesser, a nicely tuned Skoda vRS can make it hot under the collar.

Originally Posted by khanak

Also I don't see this coming to India anytime soon except maybe if we're lucky and Toyota decides to launch it as a halo car. I don't think there is that big a market for something like this. I hope I'm wrong though.

I agree. I hope it comes to India. There may not be a market for it, but when other manufacturers are at least trying, I don't see why Toyota and even Hyundai can't bring these cars down to the country.

[khanak]

The Veloster doesn't come with a 2 litre engine. The Veloster turbo which just came out has a turbo charged 1.6 litre engine from the Verna. The regular Veloster has the same engine that the Verna has. IMO the Veloster looks great and I'm sure its a great car for people who aren't that concerned with performance but I think calling it a 'sports car' is far from the truth. Besides, the Veloster is FWD unlike the Genesis and the BRZ which are both RWD.

IMO this isn't the car to buy if you want to get the maximum HP for your buck. I'm sure there are better options elsewhere.

The BRZ's focus isn't on outright power, it's on handling and feel. From the reports I've been reading, everyone seems to agree that they've got that part down perfect.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by khanak

The Veloster doesn't come with a 2 litre engine...

..everyone seems to agree that they've got that part down perfect.

My bad!

I'd call anything with a turbo and 2 doors a sports-car. But again, if one is pedantic, the Veloster is in theory a hatchback. Something like the VW Scirocco. And maybe the Alfa Brera.

Also, I don't think there is much difference between a FWD and RWD when the power going to the wheels isn't more than 250. There are FWD cars that can be just as or even better sorted than some RWD cars. There are a few FWD sports cars out there.

But once the power is in excess of 300, you need the rear wheels to harness it properly.

The 86 as I see it is the perfect tuner car for the track and drift themed. It's a good base for tuners given that it's RWD. The Veloster's potential is limited though, to an extent.

[khanak]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

My bad!

I'd call anything with a turbo and 2 doors a sports-car. But again, if one is pedantic, the Veloster is in theory a hatchback. Something like the VW Scirocco. And maybe the Alfa Brera.

Also, I don't think there is much difference between a FWD and RWD when the power going to the wheels isn't more than 250. There are FWD cars that can be just as or even better sorted than some RWD cars. There are a few FWD sports cars out there.

But once the power is in excess of 300, you need the rear wheels to harness it properly.

The 86 as I see it is the perfect tuner car for the track and drift themed. It's a good base for tuners given that it's RWD. The Veloster's potential is limited though, to an extent.

The Veloster doesn't have 2 doors. It has 3 not including the rear hatch. I'm not sure why we're going on and on about the Veloster when it clearly isn't a BRZ rival.

[suhaas307]

There is only little you can talk about the 86. A lot has been discussed and pictures too have been shared. I assumed it wouldn't hurt to talk about cars that it would probably be pitted against.

Sure, the Veloster in theory isn't direct competition. But it wouldn't stop many people from discussing it, given the similar price and power figures.

This is just a discussion.

[R32_GTR]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

My bad!

Also, I don't think there is much difference between a FWD and RWD when the power going to the wheels isn't more than 250. There are FWD cars that can be just as or even better sorted than some RWD cars. There are a few FWD sports cars out there.


The 86 as I see it is the perfect tuner car for the track and drift themed. It's a good base for tuners given that it's RWD. The Veloster's potential is limited though, to an extent.

Power is an extremely relative term.. There are quite a few little RWD cars with lot less that 250 that make phenomenal road and track cars.. take the lotus elise for instance; or an SW20 MR2..

Toyota seems to have got it right with FT-86 in terms of the "product", to whom they market it to and the pricing is what they seem to be struggling with.

There is the purist that will swear by the original simplicity of the Trueno 86 and expect more from the stock FT 86.. and then there is the modern day ricer club who will use it as a base to reach some obscene outputs.

If they've kept it simple again and not lose the plot- this thing will sell like hot cakes..

I seriously doubt this coming to India - But "Hope" is such a beautiful thing..

[torquing_points]

2013 Subaru BRZ Prototype First Drive - Motor Trend

This looks like its just the car we need in India to 'fun-drive'. Dont need more power, given the state of the roads. This little thing looks like it going be loads of fun to drive in Mumbai or Delhi. (Of course, lets ignore practicalities like ground clearance for a second)

This is the kind of driving experience we don't have here in India. I have been waiting for the Mazda3 to come to India all this while - I think that will give us a 'lite' version of this driving pleasure.

[vb-saan]

Yesterday afternoon, while waiting to cross the road in front of my apartment, a white 86 zoomed in, and suddenly slowed down to take a right turn to the petrol station across the road. It was indeed one of the sweetest sounding Japanese cars I ever heard – not too loud, but loads of character. Awesome indeed!
Quite a change from some of the artificial sounding Japanese sports cars (say Nissan 370Z).

Even my 4 year old daughter commented – "I like that Toyota"

[chevelle]

I have posted my impression of Scion FR-S A.K.A Toyota FT-86 in a NA based buying car thread. I am posting it here so more readers can take advantage of it.

First Impressions on Scion FR-S

This is the first RWD baby of Toyota and Subaru partnership. This is one of the highly sought after and highly rated coupe in market.

This has a 4-cylinder Boxer Engine developing 200 ps and 151 lb-ft of torque. Since most dealers are getting limited number of FR-S and BRZ most of models are marked up by a couple of grand at least. FR-S comes in just one variant while BR-Z has two. The FR-S i drove was an automatic with upgraded wheels and tires. This was running P225/45/R18 or something while the stock is punny P215/45R17 - the same as the Prius.

Here is my impression

- Exterior is a love or hate. I liked the design but it did remind me at times of Scion TC.
- The interior is neatly laid out with easily accessible controls. But, the quality is not good for a $30k car. Wish it had good dashboard plastics.
- The rear seats are a joke. When i positioned driver seat, there was no room at back for even a person to sit. I would immediately get rid of those seats and save some weight.
- The seat itself is very good. It is shaped like Recaro's sport seats so it holds us in place when taking the car to its limits.
- The engine needs to be pushed in order to extract decent performance. It is slow initially due to lack of low end torque.
- When climbing a hill, i was using the paddle shifters, but in top gear it was a dead horse. It was as if the power was not there to pull it further. So had to downshift two gears in order to pull. This is not something i liked.
- When trying to overtake or accelerate the mid range was also not too good. I had to downshift two gears in order to provide decent acceleration.
- Engine was doing around 2500 rpm at 75 mph. So i expect decent FE on freeways.
- The handling was precise and very delightful. Pushing in corners was fun though the tires did squeal when pushing it a lot.
- The ride quality was decent. Didn't go through broken roads but on regular roads and concrete freeways it was good.
- The exhaust sound is good, but when revving higher than 3k rpm, one can also hear engine noise which is very loud and very bothersome.
- Another negative that bothered me a lot and was probably a deal breaker was the road noise that crept in the cabin even at 40-50 mph. It was so loud that it was hard to do a normal conversation. The sales guy also said that there is not much insulation provided. So i would have to spend additional on that.
- The pioneer sound system was good.
- The steering didn't have any controls. I would have liked if they had provided some as it eases the operation of controlling sound system.
- The visibility initially was a little less but gradually i got used to it so it was good enough.
- Scion has a 2 year/25k miles premium program which covers everything apart from the regular warranty. So oil changes, tire rotations are done free for 2 years.
- The asking price was $26500. They added tint, wheels and tires adding another $3500. So their asking was $30000. For less than this, Genesis coupe makes a compelling choice as one can have a 3.8 for this amount and then some more. It may not handle as good as FR-S but that can be solved by aftermarket suspension. But everything else is much better in GC. I guess even mustang and camaro are good choice instead of this as they are pretty rounded in most departments.

I felt it was overpriced for what it offers. So i decide to let it pass.

P.S: The above is my impression from a short drive(~10 miles) and is entirely my opinion.

P.S2: The image is taken off web. The one i drove was a black color FR-S.

[vb-saan]

Autocar UK chose the 86 as the Best Driver’s car in Britain. Quite an achievement for this little number, considering the competition.

Details here.

[suhaas307]

Chris Harris drives the FT-86 'round a track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=romf-G6CZ7g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUhLXvxlQR4

I've started to admire this guy's reviews.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Chris Harris drives the FT-86 'round a track.


I've started to admire this guy's reviews.

Thanks for the video links. Very interesting review indeed.

And one point which he mentioned was very relevant – ‘At times we forget that it’s not just the power, 0-100 figures or gadgets that make a car interesting…’

[vb-saan]

Jeremy Clarkson's review of the 86. This car indeed looks like something really special.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCKYC...ature=youtu.be

[deetjohn]

The awesome GT86 is Jeremy's Car of the Year. Link

The old man hasn't lost it all, has he?