Would You Buy This New Toyota Small Sport Coupe ?

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HTSS_TR

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Toyota debuts a new small coupe S-FR at 2015 Tokyo auto show.

Toyota/Lexus have very weird exterior designs for most of their vehicles lately.

I would never buy this one, Mazda Miata is a much better car than this weirdo.

Quote:
It’s powered by a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder, making about 130 horsepower, which ought to be enough to motivate the 2160-pound coupe.

A wheelbase of 97.6 inches puts the S-FR about midway between Toyota’s current compact rear-drive sports coupe, the Scion FR-S (101.2 inches), and the Mazda Miata (90.9 inches). So, too, does the concept’s overall length of 157 inches, which is 10 inches shorter than the FR-S and three inches longer than the Mazda. At 66.7 inches wide, the Toyota is narrower than both cars, and it’s also taller, at 52 inches.

The S-FR is expected to go into production in late 2016, with sales starting in early 2017.


TOYOTA_S-FR-626x417.jpeg



TOYOTA_S-FR_front-626x417.jpg



TOYOTA_S-FR_rear-626x417.jpg



TOYOTA_S-FR_dash-626x417.jpg
 
Profile sure looks like it is trying to be a Porsche. It's light, but a 1.5 liter 130 hp engine in a "sports" car?
 
I wouldn't classify it as a sport car, but that is what Toyota is saying about this concept car.

C&D said "The S-FR clearly takes its inspiration from the Toyota Sports 800 from the 1960s"

Probably 1.5L 130HP engine was considered sport enough in the 60's.
 
Sure it's a sports car. It doesn't weigh 3,500 lbs. 130 hp is enough to have fun with a small and light vehicle like that. Similar power to weight ratio like an Elise, which is a blast to drive. And unlike a 400 hp car, you can actually enjoy driving the S-FR at its maximum output without going to jail. Looks like the designers forgot all instruments but the tach and speedo. That's why I would not be interested.
 
Funny looking car which is probably fun to drive too. Lotus Elise has 190 hp though and it weighs even less, so don't try 1/4 mile against it..
 
The more I look at this, the more I am intrigued by it. A 2.0t in this featherweight would be a lot more fun!
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
Proof that some car companies still assign different parts of the body to be penned by different artists, and never let them talk to eachother.


I actually think the disjointed appearance is part of a deliberate design philosophy (that is going horribly wrong).
 
The grill kinda looks like a mouth full of braces trying not to smile melded with a flourescent light diffuser from a 1970's wedding hall. License plates are going to look horrible on it.

Sad, the rest of the car is well proportioned and an interesting concept.
 
Ford Oz has been going for the wide mouthed look lately
(google 2015 falcon and Mondeo)...it's taken some getting used to, and I now quite like them (not too good for roo's around here 'though).

So I don't find that toyota "bad" per se.
 
If it was all in black or gun metal grey, plus add a turbo to the engine.

Then yes, I would have one.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Ford Oz has been going for the wide mouthed look lately
(google 2015 falcon and Mondeo)...it's taken some getting used to, and I now quite like them (not too good for roo's around here 'though).

So I don't find that toyota "bad" per se.

that's the same grille design they've gone to everywhere...when they first unveiled the new Fusion (aka mondeo) everyone went on about how the grille looked like it was off an Aston Martin.(the designer either used to work for aston, or his brother did, or something)
anyway, they then proceeded to slap that grille on every model redesign so far except for the F-series pickup. even the 2015+ Mustang got a version of it...
 
Most of the new Toyotas look like they have a gaping snowblower integrated into the front end.
 
I can't get past the minimalistic and mingy gauges. I couldn't stand looking at those. My bicyles have more comprehensive instrumentation. And no, I don't care about of for the 50 color and symbol-coded idiot lights.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I wouldn't classify it as a sport car, but that is what Toyota is saying about this concept car.

C&D said "The S-FR clearly takes its inspiration from the Toyota Sports 800 from the 1960s"

Probably 1.5L 130HP engine was considered sport enough in the 60's.


This thing does have the tall, narrow proportions of the Sports 800.
Toyota was clearly aiming for minimalist simplicity in the design of the interior.
This explains the lack of gauges cluttering the dash.
Gauges in modern cars are invariably heavily damped anyway and the needles never move after warm-up unless something drastically wrong happens.
Drive an old car with real temp and oil pressure gauges and you'll see what I mean.
I find this car to be one the most attractive and interesting designs to come from Toyota in many years.
I consider most current Toys *****.
 
Look at the Subaru BRZ (and Scion version)...at 200HP and 2700 lbs, the reviewers all said that you wouldn't notice that it was an underpowered sports car because it was so much fun to drive.
Except that car buyers didn't listen to that and now there's all kinds of talk about those cars being dropped.
 
Originally Posted By: BRZED
Sure it's a sports car. It doesn't weigh 3,500 lbs. 130 hp is enough to have fun with a small and light vehicle like that. Similar power to weight ratio like an Elise, which is a blast to drive. And unlike a 400 hp car, you can actually enjoy driving the S-FR at its maximum output without going to jail. Looks like the designers forgot all instruments but the tach and speedo. That's why I would not be interested.


+1. Crash performance and legroom aside, it's probably a fun car to toss around. Seems like similar specs to my E30, which is considered a great driving car... Except this would probably have more aggressive rubber and suspension.

I like the simplicity of just the tach and speedo. Many cars don't have water, voltage, etc., and often data can be easily obtained via scangauge or equivalent.

My issue would be interior volume and cargo capability. Even as a tossabout personal car, some level of practicality is desirable.

I do like the very simple lines.
 
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
Look at the Subaru BRZ (and Scion version)...at 200HP and 2700 lbs, the reviewers all said that you wouldn't notice that it was an underpowered sports car because it was so much fun to drive.

It is fun to drive but (for my taste) it's just a little too small. No room to carry anything in the trunk for example. Most of us want at least a dash of practicality - think Porshe 911!
 
Originally Posted By: Benito
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
Proof that some car companies still assign different parts of the body to be penned by different artists, and never let them talk to eachother.


I actually think the disjointed appearance is part of a deliberate design philosophy (that is going horribly wrong).
Looks more cohesive than disjointed to me. Soft radius with modest character creases.
 
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