Discussion
We got to drive them at Donington on Tuesday. I have to say I love it, and it is plenty quick enough around the track. I wasn't allowed to switch the VSC off despite being an instructor (although there in my role as a sales exec), but it still gave good feel and the nose tucks in nicely to the apex.
As an all round road and track car for the enthusiast driver it excels and I will be buying one to sit alongside my Caterham (once used values fall in line with my salary!). This is my own opinion and it makes no difference that I happen to work for Toyota btw.
As an all round road and track car for the enthusiast driver it excels and I will be buying one to sit alongside my Caterham (once used values fall in line with my salary!). This is my own opinion and it makes no difference that I happen to work for Toyota btw.
Had my drive up goodwood hill today, in short:
Looks alot better in real life compared the pictures, Interior is typical Jap, similar to the S2k and rx8 quality. Driving position and seats are soo much better than the S2000. I was 3up and it still felt pretty quick, sounds good as well. Brakes are very good, steering is light but has good feel, shift wasnt as nice as the S2 but still good to use.
My friend in the back took a video, will post a link when he gets it on youtube. Rear seats are useless BTW, he was sat across the rear bench.
Looks alot better in real life compared the pictures, Interior is typical Jap, similar to the S2k and rx8 quality. Driving position and seats are soo much better than the S2000. I was 3up and it still felt pretty quick, sounds good as well. Brakes are very good, steering is light but has good feel, shift wasnt as nice as the S2 but still good to use.
My friend in the back took a video, will post a link when he gets it on youtube. Rear seats are useless BTW, he was sat across the rear bench.
lexusboy said:
Very quiet, just sounds like a gay non turbo Impreza, oh wait... lol
How is a non-turbo Impreza "gay"? Not sure how that works. I'm also not sure how a non-turbo Impreza sounds much different to a turbo Impreza, apart from the obvious turbo noise, a boxer 4 with uneven length headers is a boxer 4 with uneven length headers.I also drove it at Goodwood today and agree with the above. The issue in the back is legroom. My wife was in the back and found it tolerable but wouldn't want to spend too long in there.
I really liked it. It isn't fast enough if you get your kicks humiliating diesel BMWs at the traffic lights, but it's plenty fast enough to have fun, to overtake, to drive cross country quicker than plod would like. Basically, if you can't have fun driving it, there's something wrong with you
And I didn't even have chance to explore the limit handling, I bet it's a hoot on a damp roundabout.
I really liked it. It isn't fast enough if you get your kicks humiliating diesel BMWs at the traffic lights, but it's plenty fast enough to have fun, to overtake, to drive cross country quicker than plod would like. Basically, if you can't have fun driving it, there's something wrong with you
And I didn't even have chance to explore the limit handling, I bet it's a hoot on a damp roundabout.
Video of my run up the hill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSCBhhLr-rA
ady_GTi said:
Video of my run up the hill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSCBhhLr-rA
Very, very impressed with that. Nice driving!!Pete
Mastodon2 said:
How is a non-turbo Impreza "gay"? Not sure how that works. I'm also not sure how a non-turbo Impreza sounds much different to a turbo Impreza, apart from the obvious turbo noise, a boxer 4 with uneven length headers is a boxer 4 with uneven length headers.
Basically what I was saying is that it could sound a lot meatier than it doesLuckyP said:
ady_GTi said:
Video of my run up the hill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSCBhhLr-rA
Very, very impressed with that. Nice driving!!Pete
I've not been following the threads very closely, but there seems to be a bit of disappointment with a perceived lack of power. I'm not too concerned as I'm not looking for a traffic light rocket, just a modern sports coupe that'll allow me to enjoy the twisties.
Anyway, does no one think there'll be a hot version next year, or maybe further down the line? I'd be surprised if there's not, pretty much every launch comes out with the 'basic' spec but invariably a 'type R', 'type S', GTi, whatever model comes out a little later.
Anyway, does no one think there'll be a hot version next year, or maybe further down the line? I'd be surprised if there's not, pretty much every launch comes out with the 'basic' spec but invariably a 'type R', 'type S', GTi, whatever model comes out a little later.
jjr1 said:
Yes I agree it is very weird. Definitely artificial (I don't mean as if produced electronically) and not natural. It is not a reason to put me off but I have to say I could live without it.
It's not artificial. There's a vent from the induction box that opens up into the cabin at higher revs.In terms of what the car is like, I've driven both the manual and the auto on track (mostly sideways) at the European press launch in May.
Personally speaking, I thought it was excellent and a welcome return to 'fun' driving even at lower speeds. A great balance of power and chassis dynamics, well styled, interior quality was fine IMHO and even reasonably practical. I'd certainly have one.
LordGrover said:
I've not been following the threads very closely, but there seems to be a bit of disappointment with a perceived lack of power. I'm not too concerned as I'm not looking for a traffic light rocket, just a modern sports coupe that'll allow me to enjoy the twisties.
Anyway, does no one think there'll be a hot version next year, or maybe further down the line? I'd be surprised if there's not, pretty much every launch comes out with the 'basic' spec but invariably a 'type R', 'type S', GTi, whatever model comes out a little later.
I wasnt disappointed with the performance, its 200bhp at the end of the day. Its what i expected, if anything it felt pretty quick after everyone slagging it off for being "slow"Anyway, does no one think there'll be a hot version next year, or maybe further down the line? I'd be surprised if there's not, pretty much every launch comes out with the 'basic' spec but invariably a 'type R', 'type S', GTi, whatever model comes out a little later.
Im sure there will be a hot version next year at some point, which puts me off slightly from buying one but how much extra will that cost? There are plenty of companys already developing superchargers/exhausts etc..
Mastodon2 said:
How is a non-turbo Impreza "gay"? Not sure how that works. I'm also not sure how a non-turbo Impreza sounds much different to a turbo Impreza, apart from the obvious turbo noise, a boxer 4 with uneven length headers is a boxer 4 with uneven length headers.
Some of the n/a don't have uneven length headers.LancerG said:
I would buy a BRZ and then park it in a dark garage until someone brings out a bolt-on blower kit.
A supercharger or a turbo would unleash 260-280 easily at which point you could properly evaluate the chassis and drive.
Even my daily company car has 200hp !
I hope that this is tongue in cheek. Or do you really believe that chassis dynamics can only be experienced with north of 200bhp?A supercharger or a turbo would unleash 260-280 easily at which point you could properly evaluate the chassis and drive.
Even my daily company car has 200hp !
My XI has 65bhp as standard (100bhp in mine as I breathed on the engine) but it is an absolute blast to drive on road or track. IIRC Evo tested the XI as part of their track car of the year 2005 and it did by far the most track miles of any car that year simply because it was so much fun, so much so that they ended up building one of their own.
Stig said:
jjr1 said:
Yes I agree it is very weird. Definitely artificial (I don't mean as if produced electronically) and not natural. It is not a reason to put me off but I have to say I could live without it.
It's not artificial. There's a vent from the induction box that opens up into the cabin at higher revs.As with everyone else that has driven one, I agree that I expected to be overly disappointed with the performance but was pleasantly surprised. Don't get me wrong I am trading in 417bhp for this car and will miss that brutal acceleration occasionally.
Now all I need is to find a white one to view or just order a burnt orange.
Had a good look around them at FOS, still not sure about the looks, guess its a very colour dependant to. It screamed typical Japanease car though with reasonable build quality, very concerned about the paint finish/thickness, its very thin like Civic's, Golf's etc, even the red one on the stand had lots of swirls and a few chips in already.
The boot opening is tiny and the boot floor very high. Nice driving position.
Will have to see a few more colours and have a decent drive before giving my full thoughts.
The boot opening is tiny and the boot floor very high. Nice driving position.
Will have to see a few more colours and have a decent drive before giving my full thoughts.
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