Thursday, March 22, 2012

2013 Scion FR-S Priced for U.S., Starts Just Under $25K

2013 Scion FR-S

Scion has announced pricing for its all-new 2013 FR-S sports coupe, which will go on sale this spring. This particular fruit of the joint Toyota/Subaru project will start at $24,930 when equipped with a six-speed manual transmission, while cars with the six-speed auto—the more efficient choice, according to EPA estimates released earlier this week—will start at $26,030. (We expect the Subaru BRZ to start at roughly the same price as the FR-S, excluding any dealer markups resulting from limited 2013 stock. No word has been given regarding 2013 FR-S volumes.)

Standard equipment on the FR-S includes a limited-slip Torsen diff; an eight-speaker, 300-watt Pioneer audio system with HD radio and USB input; Bluetooth connectivity; and totally sweet "86"-logo fender badges. Automatic-transmission models get steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, which actuate rev-matched downshifts; those are neat but still way less satisfying than a perfect heel-and-toe.

Although both the FR-S and the BRZ share the same 200-hp, 151-lb-ft, 2.0-liter flat-four and, well, pretty much everything else, the two cars have distinct at-the-limit handling characteristics, as we noted in a recent compare-and-contrast feature. Where the Subaru is tuned more for understeer, the Scion is decidedly neutral thanks to softer springs and stiffer shocks. We're not implying that the Subie doesn't deliver the goods—both cars are fantastic—but out of the box, the Scion better rewards driving skill. (Our first drive of the BRZ is here, and the FR-S here.)

To save you the trouble of looking up some other affordable rear-drive cars, the 167-hp Mazda Miata starts at $24,265, the 274-hp 2013 Hyundai Genesis coupe 2.0T at $25,125, and the 305-hp 2013 Mustang V-6 at $22,995. Regardless of your preference from this eminently agreeable but decidedly diverse group, we think everyone can agree that now appears to be a very good time to be an enthusiast with a relatively thin wallet.



from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com




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