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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW California woman charged with assault, DUII after crash near Ashland injures children ... Firefighting near Crater Lake closes park's north entrance ... Barbershop-style singers help local schools ... California woman charged with assault, DUII after crash near Ashland injures children ... Firefighting near Crater Lake closes park's north entrance ... Barbershop-style singers help local schools ... Silvio Calabi: Scion FR-S is a budget sports coupe Comment By Silvio Calabi More Content Now MailTribune.com By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Apr. 20, 2015 at 6:49 AM By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Apr. 20, 2015 at 6:49 AM » Social News TV commercials aside, Toyotas — even the new Camry — really aren’t exciting. Solid and reliable, sure, but we don’t covet Toyotas; we buy them by the millions because we need Toyotas to get through life. That’s precisely why Toyota rolled out the FR-S, as in Front-engine, Rear-drive Sport, a niche vehicle jointly hatched with Subaru: Let’s get some lust going here! Still, maybe to keep such a fringe item at arm’s length, Toyota sells the FR-S as a Scion, the brand it invented for Millennials who reject being middle-aged Toyota owners. To some, the low-slung FR-S, particularly in Firestorm Red, has just enough sex appeal to suggest “Italian exotic!” I know this is so because women curl their upper lips when they see me in it (At your age?) while younger eyes swivel to follow the car. But the FR-S is much more Miata than Ferrari, a sports car that relies on sharp handling, a shrink-wrapped cabin with tightly contoured bucket seats, and a motor that makes more noise than power. Under the hood of an FR-S is a Subaru “boxer” engine, its cylinders set horizontally, two on each side, instead of in a vee or upright. Such a low-slung, flat motor helps lower a car’s profile and also its center of mass, which improves the cornering. It’s tuned for 200 horsepower and 151 lb.-ft. of torque — which may not be all the power we want, but in a car that weighs only about 2,800 pounds, it’s sufficient. It won’t overwhelm young drivers, or scare away insurance companies either. Another benefit is fuel efficiency; we averaged 28 mpg of gas overall. Because now even some car writers can’t operate a clutch, our FR-S came with a six-speed automatic transmission. Say what you want about slushboxes in sports cars, this at least is a good one. It has three settings — snow, normal and sport — and can be shifted manually with the stick or with paddles on the steering wheel. As an automatic, it’s rarely off-balance; in Manual mode it clings to each gear until the driver calls for the next one, and a rev-matching blip of the throttle comes with every downshift. The quick, high-effort steering wants both hands on the wheel, so the shift paddles are useful. Just pretend it’s a sequential racing transmission — or get the six-speed manual gearbox and learn to use a clutch. Like the steering and brakes, the FR-S’s ride is firm. No, it’s hard; every ripple in the pavement comes through, but this is communication, not mere harshness. The payoff is sharp turn-in, lots of control through fast corners, and a pleasant feeling of knowing what’s going on underfoot. For 2015 Toyota stiffened the front suspension slightly and re-tuned the rear shock absorbers for even less body roll and more feedback. The FR-S sits low, but the driving position is excellent and the view ahead is Corvette-like, over a long, low hood that drops away between the fender bulges. The windshield pillars are relatively skinny (another benefit of light weight), so the quarter-view is good too, except to the rear. The interior is surprisingly spacious, deep and wide. There are back “seats,” complete with safety belts, but they’re mostly just padded package shelves. There is a real trunk, and if you fold down the rear seatbacks there’s enough cargo room for a short snowboard or two. Just like boring cars, modern sports coupes have to meet all sorts of safety standards, so the FR-S is stuffed with airbags and electronic nannies — ABS, VSC, TRAC, EBD, BA, SST. They’re there when we need them and unobtrusive otherwise, and if we wish to indulge in anti-social behavior, the stability control can be switched off. The FR-S is also up-to-date in other ways, with things like LED taillights, halogen reflector headlamps and the sort of hands-free connectivity features that Gen Y cannot live without. If you’d like to see how much more power the FR-S can handle without getting twisted out of shape, click on Jay Leno’s Garage to see (and hear) the Scion-approved Speedhunters “Maximum Attack” 300HP FR-S, with custom trim and beefed-up suspension. Impressive, especially for a Toyota, but of course much more expensive than a stock $26,000 FR-S. Likes - Sharp handling - Driver Feedback - Fine platform for performance upgrades Dislikes - Fiddly touchscreen - Exhaust sound less than tuneful Silvio Calabi reviews the latest from Detroit, Munich, Yokohama, Gothenburg, Crewe, Seoul and wherever else interesting cars are born. Silvio is a member of the International Motor Press Association whose automotive reviews date back to the Reagan administration. He is the former publisher of Speedway Illustrated magazine and an author. Contact him at [email protected]. By Silvio Calabi More Content Now MailTribune.com By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Apr. 20, 2015 at 6:49 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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