[VLOCT]

@chevelle,

Just keep in mind that for all performance cars, the better the specs, better the resale value, when you decide to change, if that's a consideration. I would suggest within your budget get the best specs, as you're probably going to do, anyway.

My comment on the driving dynamics was mainly for us men when our foot turn to lead, which is occasionally know to happen . Especially, when you hit some twisties. The lighter weight and the awesome torque of the 'vette will really shine and be appreciated there. Cheers.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by VLOCT

@chevelle,

Just keep in mind that for all performance cars, the better the specs, better the resale value, when you decide to change, if that's a consideration. I would suggest within your budget get the best specs, as you're probably going to do, anyway.

My comment on the driving dynamics was mainly for us men when our foot turn to lead, which is occasionally know to happen . Especially, when you hit some twisties. The lighter weight and the awesome torque of the 'vette will really shine and be appreciated there. Cheers.

And that is why i haven't yet got the new camaro even though it is very appealing and my short-dream car.

I do value dynamics, but not to the point that i had calculate slalom and skid pad when on twisties. I value the fun, the feel and the drive up/down the twisties than the forces it generates. I am sure 'Vette will put in more smiles than any other. I have lusted for a 'Vette for many a years and i am sure it will be worth the wait. Who knows i may as well take some track lessons in order to use it more efficiently once i have owned it. Lets see what's in store. We shall know soon and this is just a start.

[mohit]

Originally Posted by chevelle

That is a great price. Is this v6 Premium? I am getting quotes of Camaro 1LT at $30k plus tax and that too without those colors.

The price seems about right. There's a $1500 rebate for 2012 'stang.

Edit: Scratch that! The rebate is $2500 in your neck of woods - V6 Premium Auto with some basic options is approx 24500 + taxes according to edmunds. That seems like a deal to me!

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by chevelle

I do value dynamics, but not to the point that i had calculate slalom and skid pad when on twisties. I value the fun, the feel and the drive up/down the twisties than the forces it generates. I am sure 'Vette will put in more smiles than any other. I have lusted for a 'Vette for many a years and i am sure it will be worth the wait. Who knows i may as well take some track lessons in order to use it more efficiently once i have owned it. Lets see what's in store. We shall know soon and this is just a start.

The 2LT 'vettes have a Heads up display with g force meter.
So in a twisty, you can go fast, ....real fast till you see 0.98g on the HUD.


In most other cars , it is feel, tyre squeal and lot of other parameters which is used to find the limit.
In a 'vette all are up there, on the windscreen.No guessing involved.


My only gripe with the GS is the lack of performance tires in the GS size. They are available but much more expensive that base 'vette tires.

But I'm hoping to buy one C6, after they reveal the C7 , which will happen this year end. the C6 prices will drop like crazy then

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by Jomz

The 2LT 'vettes have a Heads up display with g force meter.
So in a twisty, you can go fast, ....real fast till you see 0.98g on the HUD.


In most other cars , it is feel, tyre squeal and lot of other parameters which is used to find the limit.
In a 'vette all are up there, on the windscreen.No guessing involved.


My only gripe with the GS is the lack of performance tires in the GS size. They are available but much more expensive that base 'vette tires.

But I'm hoping to buy one C6, after they reveal the C7 , which will happen this year end. the C6 prices will drop like crazy then

Yes, i am aware of the HUD but i prefer the traditional approach. I am also hoping the same. But i don't see that happening until after december. Though if they preview a C7 early, that would prompt many a dealers to start giving huge discounts to clear out 2012-2013 models. Right now, most dealers are giving $5k-6k off a new corvette, i expect those to increase once c7 is previewed. But it will still be off my budget so i will stick to 2008-2010 trade-ins that will come once c7 is in market. But that is a long wait, probably 5-6 months and i don't think i can wait that long. Another good thing is as soon as summer is over, C6 price will again go down making it a better deal.

As such Bowling Greens is now closed for tours so we can see C7 anytime soon. I just hope it doesn't disappoint else C6 values may go up.

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by chevelle

That is a great price. Is this v6 Premium? I am getting quotes of Camaro 1LT at $30k plus tax and that too without those colors.

Yeah v6 premium it is. I would stay away from the camaro just coz of the interiors. So did you get to test all the cars you had on the wishlist?

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Yeah v6 premium it is. I would stay away from the camaro just coz of the interiors. So did you get to test all the cars you had on the wishlist?

I did like the interior of Camaro 2LT. That felt more premium than v6 premium of mustang ignoring the orange color. This can be attributed to the fact that 2LT has RS package, performance gauges, HUD, black leather with white/cream inserts and connectivity package. But then the price is $31k so that difference is huge. No wonder last month Mustang outsold camaro by couple of hundred units.

I have driven almost all. Its just a matter of time before i pick up one.

Tomorrow i am going to Scion to negotiate for FR-S. They are quoting $29700+ tax and fees as they are doing a mark up of $2995 citing leather seats installation. If they agree at little less than MSRP, i may end up getting one. If not, then their loss and my gain as i will hunt for a corvette.

P.S: FR-S is not in my wishlist but my wife loved it since it is easy to drive and gives good FE considering she may be doing a commute of 20-30 miles a day in near future.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Yeah v6 premium it is. I would stay away from the camaro just coz of the interiors. So did you get to test all the cars you had on the wishlist?

I would also stay away from the Camaro for the ergonomics and outward visibility. While it looks cool from outside, it is pretty darn difficult to drive because of the windows and shapes!

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

I would also stay away from the Camaro for the ergonomics and outward visibility. While it looks cool from outside, it is pretty darn difficult to drive because of the windows and shapes!

I agree, visibility is poor, but the mirrors are big and comfortable to use and visibility through mirrors is really widespread. I feel many non-owners and critics have made this a big deal but it is not required much here as distance between cars are mostly maintained and blind spots can be taken care of by putting mirrors at correct places.

Camaro and Challenger are poor in terms of visibility while mustang has very good visibility. I hope all that is improved with upcoming ATS-based Camaro in 2014. But i don't like Mustang V6 exterior though love the 2013 Shelby. I hope it will be better to look at in a year as it undergoes redesign. It
will also have IRS and is also suppose to shed quite a few pounds.

As they say, different strokes for different people.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by chevelle

I agree, visibility is poor, but the mirrors are big and comfortable to use and visibility through mirrors is really widespread. I feel many non-owners and critics have made this a big deal but it is not required much here as distance between cars are mostly maintained and blind spots can be taken care of by putting mirrors at correct places.

I'm a non owner, but my feedback comes for a week long rental in Colorado. On the twisties, the Camaro is a handful to see around corners from and to judge deep cliffs on the side. If most of your driving is on freeways, it really shouldn't be a problem.

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by chevelle

P.S: FR-S is not in my wishlist but my wife loved it since it is easy to drive and gives good FE considering she may be doing a commute of 20-30 miles a day in near future.

Oh never driven this vehicle. Looks kinda sharp. How is it inside?

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

I'm a non owner, but my feedback comes for a week long rental in Colorado. On the twisties, the Camaro is a handful to see around corners from and to judge deep cliffs on the side. If most of your driving is on freeways, it really shouldn't be a problem.

I also had it for rental, i didn't find the problem. Atleast not that much that i couldn't judge the cliffs. Initially for 50-60 miles, it was difficult but then once i got the hang of it, it didn't bother me much. But as i said before, it varies from driver to driver. And i drove it on the way to Yosemite that is known for one of the best twisties. You know what, i had similar problem in FR-S, that too on freeway, but a twist of neck and visibility was not bad once i got used to it. FR-S also has blind spots in plenty but if you get use to it, you can easily make out.

Originally Posted by maddy42

Oh never driven this vehicle. Looks kinda sharp. How is it inside?

My first impressions are coming soon in a new post. Stay tuned. Just a heads up, its a mix bag.

[chevelle]

First Impressions on Scion FR-S

This is the first RWD baby of Toyota and Subaru partnership. This is one of the highly sought after and highly rated coupe in market.

This has a 4-cylinder Boxer Engine developing 200 ps and 151 lb-ft of torque. Since most dealers are getting limited number of FR-S and BRZ most of models are marked up by a couple of grand at least. FR-S comes in just one variant while BR-Z has two. The FR-S i drove was an automatic with upgraded wheels and tires. This was running P225/45/R18 or something while the stock is punny P215/45R17 - the same as the Prius.

Here is my impression

- Exterior is a love or hate. I liked the design but it did remind me at times of TC.
- The interior is neatly laid out with easily accessible controls. But, the quality is not good for a $30k car. Wish it had good dashboard plastics.
- The rear seats are a joke. When i positioned driver seat, there was no room at back for even a person to sit. I would immediately get rid of those seats and save some weight.
- The seat itself is very good. It is shaped like Recaro's sport seats so it holds us in place when taking the car to its limits.
- The engine needs to be pushed in order to extract decent performance. It is slow initially due to lack of low end torque.
- When climbing a hill, i was using the paddle shifters, but in top gear it was a dead horse. It was as if the power was not there to pull it further. So had to downshift two gears in order to pull. This is not something i liked.
- When trying to overtake or accelerate the mid range was also not too good. I had to downshift two gears in order to provide decent acceleration.
- Engine was doing around 2500 rpm at 75 mph. So i expect decent FE on freeways.
- The handling was precise and very delightful. Pushing in corners was fun though the tires did squeal when pushing it a lot.
- The ride quality was decent. Didn't go through broken roads but on regular roads and concrete freeways it was good.
- The exhaust sound is good, but when revving higher than 3k rpm, one can also hear engine noise.
- Another negative that bothered me a lot and was probably a deal breaker was the road noise that crept in the cabin even at 40-50 mph. It was so loud that it was hard to do a normal conversation. The sales guy also said that there is not much insulation provided. So i would have to spend additional on that.
- The pioneer sound system was good.
- The steering didn't have any controls. I would have liked if they had provided some as it eases the operation of controlling sound system.
- The visibility initially was a little less but gradually i got used to it so it was good enough.
- Scion has a 2 year/25k miles premium program which covers everything apart from the regular warranty. So oil changes, tire rotations are done free for 2 years.
- The asking price was $26500. They added tint, wheels and tires adding another $3500. So their asking was $30000. For less than this, Genesis coupe makes a compelling choice as one can have a 3.8 for this amount and then some more. It may not handle as good as FR-S but that can be solved by aftermarket suspension. But everything else is much better in GC. I guess even mustang and camaro are good choice instead of this as they are pretty rounded in most departments.

I felt it was overpriced for what it offers. So i decide to let it pass.

P.S: The above is my impression from a short drive(~10 miles) and is entirely my opinion.

[Jomz]

^^ Do you think baby seats would fit in the FRS rear?? Both rear facing and front facing??

[mohit]

Originally Posted by Jomz

^^ Do you think baby seats would fit in the FRS rear?? Both rear facing and front facing??

Someone tried just this!

2013 Scion FR-S: Will It Baby?