It’s all about POWA 2 WEIGHT bro. The PURITY of the driving EXPERIENCE (the owners asshole tightens). This is better than a Miata! It’s not A GAY LITTLE ROADSTER! I’m a man in this! And it’s RWD! Suck it WRX, Honda Civic SI, and Nissan GTR! THIS IS A REAL SPORTS CAR!

I’ve driven a lot of these apparently. Five cars: a 2012 FRS (auto), 2018 gt86 (auto), 2015 BRZ, 2015 FRS, and a 2019 BRZ (last three all modded and manual). So where should I begin with this little platform?

I first saw a yellow FRS back in middle school, parked at a house that a I passed on my way home from the bus stop every day. I knew these cars aren’t fast, but something about its design spoke to my 13/14 year old mind better than any Ferrari or Bugatti could back then. From that day on, I knew my first car HAD to be an FRS. Or BRZ. Or GT86.

Many nights were spent browsing classifieds, watching reviews, and creating parts lists for a 300 crank hp build. Then I got to drive in my friend’s dad’s FRS!

It was a white 2012 with an automatic. I didn’t go far, or fast, or mess with it enough to hate the transmission. That first drive was like my first love. Wonderful at first yet blind to all it’s glaring flaws. I would soon drive another auto, this time an 86 soon after, and still came back happy enough with the car.

When car shopping finally intensified, my dad and I failed to get behind the wheel of the manual FRS we drove out to see, and instead test drove a WRX, and very soon realized that even better things are out there.

Now, that being said, I still have a soft spot for the car/platform. I love the idea of the car and still love the way they look. One day, I’ll probably own one for a bit too. However, after all these years and having been around enough of them, I can take off the idealized glasses and also accept that these little things are also kinda let downs. A little bit.

Let me explain:

My issue isn’t in how it handles, how it sounds, or even how a gust of wind would probably add or subtract three seconds from its 0-60 time. For me, the car in stock form drops the ball with its engine.

The FA20 in the frs/brz, without anything done to it, can be a disappointing little engine, but it’s not for its noise or lack of grunt. A Miata will happily rev out, and although you aren’t going anywhere, the motor feels like it wants to be used. In the FRS, the moment it nears 3000 RPM, the engine decides it has better things to do that lug a hairless ape around, only to give a half assed attempt at continuing to be a performance engine. Like a kid who doesn’t need to take a final to pass the class at the end of the semester, the motor phones it in. Which is a shame because I loved the FA20 in my old WRX. Sure that engine also wasn’t without fault, but it not only wanted to be use and abused, but it also actively egged you on to use it. The FA engine used in the FRS just doesn’t seem to want bothered to really do anything other than make noise.

You look at the tach, see that it goes past 7000 RPM, know you’re in a lightweight, RWD, manual coupe, and expect that engine to eagerly match the quick and playful handling and styling of the car. And it just can’t in most cases. Driving through some tighter roads in North Carolina, the handling more than made up for it, and just leaving the car at higher RPMs throughout the route would negate the lack of any midrange. However, most roads aren’t right little mountain passes (or race tracks), and not every drive will make you want to keep the car past 5k at all times.

Am I making the notorious “torque dip” out as something worse than it is? Eh. Maybe. These are brilliant little cars at the end of the day, and I really just wanted that motor to be as good as the rest of the platform.

Now, if you modify the car the get rid of that dead zone in the engine, you are treated to something vastly different. With the ECU tuned, the car becomes even more fun. The engine wants to be played with, and will give all 200 horsepower and 150 lb-ft of torque up past 7K, all while building in very linear anger. You still aren’t really going anywhere quickly, but you’ll find yourself more engaged and entertained by the FA20. You’ll most likely need an exhaust to accomplish this too, so you do get to be that guy in a BRZ!

Dynamically, these cars all handle great. On OEM suspension they handle wonderfully and aren’t very stiff. The car rolls a little, but overall corners fairly flat and with confidence. Even on a wet mountain road, and with those tiny little Prius tires, the FRS can be enjoyably (and controllably) driven within its limits. The tiny car communicates well, and the little itty bwitty fenders popping over the hood help you to gauge where your tires live (dude it’s literally an air cooled 911, trust me bro). It all makes for a fun, “chuckable” car that really entertains the driver, even if the engine isn’t the happiest to be rung out. It’s a simple car with a simple formula that goes back to the dawn of the automobile and executes it well.

The steering is quick and light, and the throttle by wire isn’t as awful as the VA WRX, although that might’ve been due to this engine being naturally aspirated. The transmission is also a joy to play with, being the same unit used in the ND Miata. The OEM throw is shorter than I expected, with a sublime feel. Or you can slap a 1.5ft tall racing shifter on your daily and be that FRS owner.

Speaking of that FRS owner, here’s what MSIMA co-author Justin has to say about his:

“A place where the FRS excelled was at autocross. However, not for the reasons most cars do. Did it have grip? Not really. Did it have power? Of course not, we already went over that. Did it brake well? Not any better than any other car. So why the hell am I claiming it excels? It’s a weird thing, the FRS. Going into a corner on a prepped, flat and tight track, the car just wants to rotate. Thanks to the awful Prius tires, rotate it does! Even powering out of a corner, with the stock tune, you can mash the throttle and the whole rear end will actually step out a significant amount. Now it’s no drift car, because after it steps out the car runs out of power to carry the slide. In an autocross setting, this actually translates quite well to speed on corner entry and mid corner. Don’t have braking power? Just toss it in like a house salad! Not set up for the next corner? Mash the gas like your moms favorite mashed potatoes. Autocross is where this car is by far the happiest, even if it can barely match a new Honda Civic.”

For a while after getting my WRX, I had a bit of a dislike towards the FRS/BRZ/86. Part of that stemmed from the price of those cars, being more expensive than a similar year WRX, only to require the owner to dump even more money to make it faster (like my friend in blue pictured at the beginning). Part of it came from the realization that I wasn’t really that impressed by the cars anymore. And part of it was the community that surrounds these little turds. An ND Miata owner doesn’t have anything to prove, but if you buy a BRZ, you made the other choice. I’ve seen more broken wide body, slammed Toyota-brus meandering the streets of south Florida bellowing an exhaust note of displeasure at the world as it slowly makes its way to 50mph, vs bastardized ND Miatas (not that Miata owners are some bastion of innocence or my own communities are much better). It took driving Justin’s FRS in the mountains to relearn why I liked that car in the first place, and another friend’s BRZ who got rid of the torque dip to see what the car could’ve been and what kind of fun you can have with fairly minor tweaks and changes.

So here I am. Coming to terms with this stupid little car. It’s nice to recall the first few drives in the little white FRS back in high school. Your friend insists on playing Eurobeat at least once, mash the throttle to not go anywhere, but also have the ability to take a right at a traffic light with confidence at 40 vs 20. Back before power and torque spoiled it, and my ass became cynical about the cars I’ve enjoyed.

Oh, and the rear suck by the way. I’m 5’8” and barely fit back there. A classic Mini has more head and leg room.