It's kind of tragic that the Mazda RX-8 and Honda S2000, two of the very best Japanese performance cars of the last decade, are no longer in production and never produced any heirs to their legacy. So how would the Scion FR-S measure up if it went toe-to-toe with with Honda's roadster and Mazda's last rotary?
The boys at Everyday Driver sought to figure that out with this recent review, which I enjoyed immensely. I think you will too.
No one can claim that the FR-S doesn't have excellent driving dynamics. If you've driven one and it hasn't won you over, you may have been doing it wrong. But it's also considerably down on power compared to the S2000 and the RX-8.
I won't spoil who wins the test, but I can't say I was all that surprised. It's the one I'd take given the choice, too.
The guys do bring up a good point, though. Over their lifespans the S2000 and RX-8 were tweaked considerably in various different ways, including power, handling and refinement. We've only seen "version 1.0" of the FR-S and BRZ. Who knows what it will become in a couple years? I have a feeling more power might come sooner than we expect.
Which of these three do you like best?