When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I won't lie, for the last 3-4 years I drool every time I see one of these cars.
I often tell myself "dude you should stop messing with an old 944 and update your sled to one of these.
Why?
Personally I think they look a little better than the 944, especially from the back.
Also the spec sheet is impressive: twin cam 16 variable timing valves with 12:1 compression ratio. 205hp. Red line 7400. 6 speed manual. Park brake lever where it should be.
So Dad was visiting me and we decided to pay the dealership a visit. Sat down and told the salesperson, I need to drive one. This car had me at hello, but I need to experience the car driving.
That's me in the photo above. But that's not the car I drove. The car above had wheels & suspension and tires & some other goodies. Price is close to 40,000 Canadian.
Instantly when I opened the door I thought: the sill to b pillar panel looks like a 944. The door feels solid like a 944 when closing.
When I sat in the car... GEEZUS. This is exactly what I wanted. Great vision of road. The seats were manual (simple & lightweight) with wonderful cloth. Seats supported the back like my factory Recaros (felt it on my lats, which I like). And they are mounted low like in a race car. The steering wheel was just okay (ugly horn and it is vinyl covered).
Salesperson rolls up and says come back in 20-30 minutes. We drive off. I was having difficulty adjusting my driving position and getting used to the clutch friction point & shifter.
I feel silly saying that, but it's true... I'd need to figure out the strange sort of "booster" feature of the seat. My position was compromised & as a result the shifts were off target. We drove out of town as quickly as legally possible in order to drive some curves that I am used to driving in Wilson, the n/a 944. THIS would be the only true way I could compare.
they will do .9 Gs all day. side by side, the brz is huge. I like the additional wheelbase on sectioned pavement.
manual adjustment of the backrest is finite positions and I find them right in-between where I want it to be. I go back a click from 'getting to my destination' and up a click to hit 30 apexes in a row. Ideally, some fender washers under the front bolts would be ideal.
the year model 17s performance package models where softened with sachs and they added pretty brakes that track guys need. stopping in a '44 is 135' or so and a normal zed is 125ish. very similar in the real world when some silly rabbit plays chicken.
the gear box has taken 10k miles to get the syncros burnished in on 2nd gear. it is horrific when cold when the trans is new.
some fiddle with the clutch springs at the pedal and shift springs at the box. once you learn the on the floor action of the 944 vs up top on the brz, its ok.
I get claustrophobic with no sunroof....my first car without one besides the vega in the 70s
Last edited by thomasmryan; 08-13-2017 at 03:36 PM.
End of summer of '14 I had cash, I was in a mood, my wife and daughter were away for the day, and I decided I was going to do what my mom said to do when she dies; buy myself another sports car. I went into the Toyota dealer, it was a busy Saturday. I waited for at least 20 minutes for a salesman to come up to me. I told him I wanted to drive a Toyota Subaru. He told me it didn't exist, this is a Toyota dealer, no Subarus here. I again said the joint venture, and another salesman said I was talking about a Scion.
I told him I wanted a manual, he told me the two pedal car is a manual. I told him I wanted to drive a car with three pedals. He takes me outside and shows me a hideous orange car (if I came home with the car my wife would have thrown me out. She has standards. Low standards if she married me, but standards none the less). I told him I wanted another color. He said this is the only manual I asked how much off since it is the end of the model year. He tells me they don't negotiate on Scions.
I told him I wanted to drive it. He was surprised I wasn't buying it without testing it. Is this how they sell Camrys? Ten minutes later he comes out with the key. I get in the car, start on a gentle sweeper and tell him the tires are low. He says they are fine. I ask why the car is so sloppy side to side. He says it isn't (BTW, today my buddy who I own the 944S with bought a 968 this morning. I was in the passenger seat, he pulls out of the sellers driveway and I say the tires are low, and it may need motor mounts. We pull in and the seller apologizes for not topping off the tires, it sat for a while. I was wrong on the motor mounts, it was the way the tip engaged.).
You see where this is going.
We pull in, and the manager asks me what I thought of the car. I told him I owned a half dozen Porsches, currently track and instruct with PCA and the car wasn't set up because the tires were low, and that I didn't like that I felt as if the A pillar was in my face, he said what's an A pillar?
I told him I wanted money off since it was August. He said they wont negotiate. I mentioned that he is asking the same money as a used Cayman I saw with less than 10,000 miles on it, and if I'm buying a leftover I want $ off. I also asked him to find a blue or white one. He said this is what he has, take a white automatic. I asked him to call me when he gets one in a color I want with three pedals, and air in the tires so I can evaluate it properly. I gave him my card.
I'm still waiting for that call. I still have the cash. I wanted to like the car. I wanted to buy the car. Last year when I bought my 128i I thought about hitting a Subaru dealer. Maybe I'm used to the quality of the service we get at the local Volvo dealers.
Climbed into one of these Toyotas, looks cheap and feels cheap anywhere you look or feel.
Engine sounds...meh. I did not drive it but the owner said that its gutless unless you keep it near the redline.
Nevertheless I would like a blue or white Subaru, perhaps with a supercharger on it.
I won't lie, for the last 3-4 years I drool every time I see one of these cars.
I often tell myself "dude you should stop messing with an old 944 and update your sled to one of these.
Why?
Personally I think they look a little better than the 944, especially from the back.
Also the spec sheet is impressive: twin cam 16 variable timing valves with 12:1 compression ratio. 205hp. Red line 7400. 6 speed manual. Park brake lever where it should be.
I had a chance to drive one on the Press On Regardless Rally a couple of years ago. Fun little car. Handles well. Do not find it any better, in any way, than my S2. Similar power when you get high in the rev range (S2 has much more torque down low). Found a lot of cheap fiddly things with the car - the "piped-in" exhaust noise for one. Even without the cage, there is very little interior space. Materials are cheap and will likely deteriorate much quicker than those in our 30 year-old 944s. It was designed and built to be inexpensive, which it is. But, for the price, it is a decent little car.
We were winning the rally overall until we came to a large puddle in the road. We were first on the road and had to assume that course opening had passed through, and found the puddle navigable. Let's just say, the BRZ does not make a good boat.
We had to get pulled out of the small lake and then proceed to the end of the section. The rest of the road was awesome, but the water sloshing around my feet was rather annoying. We ended up second overall, but it was good fun.
One of the girls that boards a horse at our farm has one too. She has let me test drive it around our track, and I have taught her how to pitch-and-catch with rear drive. It is probably the closest thing to the 944 in present day offerings.
I don't think I would buy one unless it was really cheap. I can make 944s do the same things, only better.
Originally Posted by Tom R.
I waited for at least 20 minutes for a salesman to come up to me. I told him I wanted to drive a Toyota Subaru. He told me it didn't exist, this is a Toyota dealer, no Subarus here. I again said the joint venture, and another salesman said I was talking about a Scion.
I told him I wanted a manual, he told me the two pedal car is a manual. I told him I wanted to drive a car with three pedals. He takes me outside and shows me a hideous orange car. I told him I wanted another color. He said this is the only manual I asked how much off since it is the end of the model year. He tells me they don't negotiate on Scions.
I told him I wanted to drive it. He was surprised I wasn't buying it without testing it. Is this how they sell Camrys? Ten minutes later he comes out with the key. I get in the car, start on a gentle sweeper and tell him the tires are low. He says they are fine. I ask why the car is so sloppy side to side. He says it isn't.
We pull in, and the manager asks me what I thought of the car. I told him I owned a half dozen Porsches, currently track and instruct with PCA and the car wasn't set up because the tires were low, and that I didn't like that I felt as if the A pillar was in my face, he said what's an A pillar?
I told him I wanted money off since it was August. He said they wont negotiate. I mentioned that he is asking the same money as a used Cayman I saw with less than 10,000 miles on it, and if I'm buying a leftover I want $ off. I also asked him to find a blue or white one. He said this is what he has, take a white automatic. I asked him to call me when he gets one in a color I want with three pedals, and air in the tires so I can evaluate it properly. I gave him my card.
I'm still waiting for that call. I still have the cash. I wanted to like the car. I wanted to buy the car.
Holy crap! An informed customer is their worst enemy. They do so much business with clueless people looking for rolling appliances. Why would they waste their valuable time on someone with standards?
-It didn't feel as torquey as the 2.5 n/a 944 (88 model). The car was a bit gutless. What a disappointing engine. My old AFM 2.5 basically stock engine felt more powerful. This is my single reason why I wouldn't buy this car... because in a 20 minute drive of "wanting more" then obviously that negative space will grow & I will regret the purchase. Or spend lots & lots of money on it. I blame the smaller displacement of the 2.0litre.
-driver side rear quarter window blindspot. This window is not usable for shoulder checking. (Fortunately the mirrors are really good).
-Stock tires are 215.
-Tiny trunk space.
That is it for the bad list. I'd like to rent one of these cars for a track day and really spend time knowing it before judging it).
The Good:
-Insanely good looking.
-Extreme support for aftermarket stuff.
-Decent brakes (comparable I'd say to a 944 na)
-Improved steering over the 944. Better road feel then 944 powersteering & no vibration through the wheel like many 944 cars have.
-Really great handling!
-Awesome cockpit. Crazy dash (LOVE the dash, the door cards. Steering wheel is just okay. Yes some bits feel plastic but appears well built. For the price the build quality of the Toyota seems really good).
That's my impression. 3.9 outta 5 is my rating for this unit as a street car. Good value. Gutless. They nailed the cockpit, exterior & inputs & outputs.
08-13-2017, 11:41 AM
drove a Toyota 86/BRZ/FRS today
