Do any of you own them or have any of you driven them? As far as fun little commuter/track day cars go, I know Miata is always the answer, but the BRZ/86/FR-S has me intrigued.

I currently have an 07 Fit with an auto trans. It's starting to show its age and I have a list of repairs/noises that I need to get to as soon as I have time and the weather clears up. I'd like to get a fun and sporty replacement with a manual trans to replace it and track occasionally. I've thought about old Miatas and C5 Vettes, but the little BRZ has my attention at the moment.

Drove a friend's for a week while I was selling my TDI back

Thoughts:

• Sounds good
• Great short shifter
• SLOW
• small tire width (same as Prius), so the low HP can actually overwhelm the tires and give you the feel of higher HP cars
• seriously, it is a slow-ass car
• Very small interior space, small trunk. Not a very practical car

Son #1 has a 2019 BRZ with around 10,000 miles.
Son #2 is driving his older brother's hand me down 2013 FR-S with around 75,000 miles.

We're not into racing and neither car has ever seen a track, but in my opinion these cars are a lot of fun to drive.
Their acceleration won't blow anyone away, but they handle very well. They have also been absolutely reliable.

LS1/T56 F-Body

The wife will only drive a manual so the brz/86 was high on her list. I like them but for whatever reason the dealers we visited didn't want to move them and were real d-bags about test drives. Ended up with a new civic si for 10k less and a better purchase experience. It was a no-brainer for us but I still wish we had found a dealer that didn't park them in their showroom and act like they are a Porsche.

silverado_lover said:

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LS1/T56 F-Body

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https://www.facebook.com/796528305/posts/10158977364583306/?d=n

Flaith said:

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Drove a friend's for a week while I was selling my TDI back

Thoughts:

• Sounds good
• Great short shifter
• SLOW
• small tire width (same as Prius), so the low HP can actually overwhelm the tires and give you the feel of higher HP cars
• seriously, it is a slow-ass car
• Very small interior space, small trunk. Not a very practical car

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That is pretty brilliant.

As the old saying goes, I'd rather drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.

vansprinkle said:

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Do any of you own them or have any of you driven them? As far as fun little commuter/track day cars go, I know Miata is always the answer, but the BRZ/86/FR-S has me intrigued.

I currently have an 07 Fit with an auto trans. It's starting to show its age and I have a list of repairs/noises that I need to get to as soon as I have time and the weather clears up. I'd like to get a fun and sporty replacement with a manual trans to replace it and track occasionally. I've thought about old Miatas and C5 Vettes, but the little BRZ has my attention at the moment.

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Owned a 2013 BRZ for about 1.5 years and sold it to get a 2002 s2000. My main problem with the BRZ/FRS is that it's a very competent car, but it doesn't feel special. For me, this was a weekend fun car and it just didn't scratch that itch like the s2000 does.

The steering, handling and gearbox are all very good but the engine is the main letdown. It's underpowered and never feels quick or fast. In comparison, I drove a new ND miata and that car felt quick and significantly more fun to drive. The miata does have a weight advantage, but I think it's a better driving vehicle regardless.

My advice would be that the BRZ is perfectly livable as a daily driver/weekend toy, but I would opt for an ND Miata RF or a used Cayman S if you're looking for something fun to drive. If you want a convertible, look for nicely maintained s2000.

You could always turbo/blower the FA20, but then you're just ASKING for a head gasket failure

There's a high schooler in a nearby neighborhood that threw a big wang gang and some unequal length headers (opens up the subi rumble). Sounds good and looks like a TT car but still only has about 200hp

WRX?

I've also thought about a WRX or a NB/NC Miata, and I owned an 04 S2k for 12 years before I decided to sell it, which was probably a mistake.

My problem with the S2k was that at the time of purchase it was an expensive car for me, so I never wanted to track it or mod it. I'm looking for something in the $10k range that I can daily on my 4 mile commute and then track 2-4 times a year. I'm okay with being fast on a track and slow in town, since outside of my SS sedan I've always had Hondas for my put around and track cars.

C5 will be a more complete package for your price range, if you can find a clean one.