[Lucky Ookami]

Hello everyone!

I was never really into cars before. I used to drive an old Toyota Camry many years ago until moving to New York City. Now that I've moved out, it would be great to get a car. Thankfully, I can still take public transportation to get to places like the office, so I'm not in a rush to pay a markup to get a car immediately. I was initially going down the boring car route. It was between the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4. As I kept reading articles and watching YouTube reviews, there was a lot of praise for the CX-5's handling. I was leaning towards the Mazda because of this, but then one day it hit me. If I am putting emphasis on handling dynamics, then why am I getting a SUV. Then I fell in love with the Civic Type R (FL5). Well, the FL5 is impossible to get without paying a $10k+ markup. I still want one, but maybe I'll try again in a few years. No other hot hatch appealed to me, not even the GR Corolla, so I decided to step down in vehicle size, which brings me to the GR86.

I am hoping to get one in manual transmission, which I will need to learn how to drive. I've been watching the YouTube channel Conquer Driving in order to learn and not go in completely blind when I'm at the dealer lot. As far as color goes, I want one in Track bRED. I am still flip flopping between the base and premium trim. My only personal subjective gripe about the premium is the duckbill spoiler, which I am lukewarm about.

As I slog through the search for dealerships selling at MSRP + no/min forced add-ons, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about cars (this car specifically as well as in general). Although I don't plan on immediately modding this car, I can't help myself from window shopping. For example, I've been reading some of the aerodynamic tech articles on the APR Performance website and the GR86 specific aerodynamic informative packet by Verus Engineering. I would love to buy some aero pieces from them. As far as a wing goes, I'm leaning towards the swan neck design of the BRZ STI one. Other than that, I would like to get a set of Volk Racing TE37 wheels. In terms of suspension, that stuff is still way over my head. I'm trying to comprehend the multi article suspension/handling guide by MotoIQ.

 

[38Super]

Welcome, good luck in the search. Manual transmissions are sweet when you get the hang of it and if you don't get stuck in gridlock a lot lol.

Compare the options of base over premium other than the spoiler are heated seats (if you need, I don't drive my BRZ in the winter), 'better' sound system but if you really like music you'll still want more, 18"s vs 17" wheels but you are changing them, and then some interior stuff like fabric seats vs Ultrasuede, aluminum pedals, illuminated vanity mirrors, oh and blind spot detection. So you'd have to decide if that's worth the difference in price, ain't my wallet.

Also I don't think Toyota takes orders, so you put your name on a list at a dealership and they call people when one comes in but I don't know I ordered a Subaru lol.

 

[zi464]

TBH , if I'm in NY or LAX I would not get a manual car.

Test drove both of them and still waiting for 86. I like the exterior and drive feeling that 86 gave me.
BRZ - Even it's rear wheel drive but I would say it still has the " all wheel drive soul" inside.
Should be easier to buy than 86.

86 - more fun , especially while you aggressive in corner, you could feel the car wants to drift.

 

[repeet]

Congratulations on your new found freedom.

I'm not sure learning to drive a "standard" on a new "unbroken in" car should be your first choice. The automatic on these cars are praiseworthy and have additional safety features that the standard models don't have.

I would find a friend, rental, (enemy), that has an old standard transmission car for you to learn on before you subject a brand new, future collectible, to the rigors of student missteps.

Any old farm pickup truck or beat-up Honda Civic would do. Go to Craig's List and find a 400,000 mile standard transmission beater to go learn on . It only has to last another two to four thousand miles for your to learn how to "negotiate" the clutch.

We clutch snobs are that way because operating a clutch is a learned skill set completely separate from just driving a car.

Read some of the comments of the guys who have been trying to learn on this platform and about the frustration about not being able to "get it right" to the point of not being able to enjoy their cars. The irony is that the clutch on these cars are very direct and intuitive. Once you "know" what to "feel" for.

 

[Lucky Ookami]

Welcome, good luck in the search. Manual transmissions are sweet when you get the hang of it and if you don't get stuck in gridlock a lot lol.

Compare the options of base over premium other than the spoiler are heated seats (if you need, I don't drive my BRZ in the winter), 'better' sound system but if you really like music you'll still want more, 18"s vs 17" wheels but you are changing them, and then some interior stuff like fabric seats vs Ultrasuede, aluminum pedals, illuminated vanity mirrors, oh and blind spot detection. So you'd have to decide if that's worth the difference in price, ain't my wallet.

Also I don't think Toyota takes orders, so you put your name on a list at a dealership and they call people when one comes in but I don't know I ordered a Subaru lol.

Ultrasuede does look nice based on the pictures, but I haven't had a chance to feel it in person. The aluminum sport pedals also look nice. I wish it was an easy part that I could order from the parts department, so I could upgrade myself if I do go the base trim route. At least based on some of the diagrams I'm seeing on parts.toyota.com. I also tried looking up the blind spot monitor device to see if that part could be bought separately and installed by myself, but I couldn't find it. Maybe I'll just do a coin flip or take whichever trim hits the dealer lot first.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Toyota takes orders. Regular allocation system like Honda. I believe Mazda and Nissan are the same? Seems like Subaru is the unique one among the Japanese manufacturers in terms of allowing for orders.

 

[Lucky Ookami]

TBH , if I'm in NY or LAX I would not get a manual car.

Test drove both of them and still waiting for 86. I like the exterior and drive feeling that 86 gave me.
BRZ - Even it's rear wheel drive but I would say it still has the " all wheel drive soul" inside.
Should be easier to buy than 86.

86 - more fun , especially while you aggressive in corner, you could feel the car wants to drift.

Apparently, I live in what is considered an edge city. Just learned about that term today, lol. Pretty much everyone has cars around my area, but there is public transportation that is decent enough to be used.

Interesting that you mentioned the "all wheel drive soul" of the BRZ.

 

[Lucky Ookami]

Congratulations on your new found freedom.

I'm not sure learning to drive a "standard" on a new "unbroken in" car should be your first choice. The automatic on these cars are praiseworthy and have additional safety features that the standard models don't have.

I would find a friend, rental, (enemy), that has an old standard transmission car for you to learn on before you subject a brand new, future collectible, to the rigors of student missteps.

Any old farm pickup truck or beat-up Honda Civic would do. Go to Craig's List and find a 400,000 mile standard transmission beater to go learn on . It only has to last another two to four thousand miles for your to learn how to "negotiate" the clutch.

We clutch snobs are that way because operating a clutch is a learned skill set completely separate from just driving a car.

Read some of the comments of the guys who have been trying to learn on this platform and about the frustration about not being able to "get it right" to the point of not being able to enjoy their cars. The irony is that the clutch on these cars are very direct and intuitive. Once you "know" what to "feel" for.

Good tip regarding Craigslist.

I thought I heard something about the GR86/BRZ being a little harder to learn manual compared to some of the other modern manuals. I assume it is because cars like the 10th/11th gen Civic Type R and GR Corolla have auto rev match down shifts? Is there anything else that other cars might have in terms of assistance that the GR86/BRZ doesn't?

 

[GazooWooz]

Good tip regarding Craigslist.

I thought I heard something about the GR86/BRZ being a little harder to learn manual compared to some of the other modern manuals. I assume it is because cars like the 10th/11th gen Civic Type R and GR Corolla have auto rev match down shifts? Is there anything else that other cars might have in terms of assistance that the GR86/BRZ doesn't?

This is actually a perfect car to learn on, low power and very hard to kill the engine while you learn. Has a well built Aisin transmission that can handle the abuse, and the clutches in these cars go the distance. I'd say go for it if you can find one. 6MT makes driving that much for involving. Enjoy!

 

[Duchess]

You’re highly unlikely to damage a transmission learning on it. I’ve taught clueless people on cars with weaker transmissions and it’s not a problem. Movies and TV love to show people “grinding gears”, but nobody I taught ever did that. What they (and myself) did was stall since starting is the most difficult thing. The engines in these (and my old EA and EJs) don’t stall as easy as some, so that’s a help. The issue with this car IMO is the garbage stock clutch pedal spring, terrible throttle calibration that hesitates slightly off the line before opening too far too quickly so that the last 40% or so of travel is nothing, and what seems like a long time for the clutch to break in. The 3 other manual cars I bought new were broken in on the drive home and were never very inconsistent in takeup. The GR took hundreds of miles of inconsistency. Feel is also terrible with the stock spring, but not bad after swapping that out. Anyway, after over 850k miles and a couple dozen (?) manual cars—mostly oddball old junk—this is the only one that made me feel like a learner since I learned. This isn’t meant to discourage more to just expect to be stalling or for the damn thing revving to 2500 until you get used to it and, once you’ve got this one down, any other manual will be really easy. Be patient, aware of the start button, and keep out of traffic. It also helps to know the mechanics of it so you can understand what you’re doing or did wrong, so I recommend a video or something with animations of tge mechanics if you aren’t familiar. Try to find a quiet place with some hills to practice and you’ll be fine. It’s not as hard as too many guys try to make it out to be.

 

[zi464]

Apparently, I live in what is considered an edge city. Just learned about that term today, lol. Pretty much everyone has cars around my area, but there is public transportation that is decent enough to be used.

Interesting that you mentioned the "all wheel drive soul" of the BRZ.

I'm in DFW with normal working hours 8:30-5:30.
The rush hour traffic not worst as LAX or NYC , but still makes me crazy sometime .
Some of the days I have completely stop on highway more than 20 times for 10 miles drive.

While you aggressively into a corner the rear of BRZ still move , but not as mush as 86.
86 is like drifting into a corner.
BRZ is more " stable " , Subaru uses their all wheel drive concept to tune the car.That's what I felt.

 

[Lucky Ookami]

I'm in DFW with normal working hours 8:30-5:30.
The rush hour traffic not worst as LAX or NYC , but still makes me crazy sometime .
Some of the days I have completely stop on highway more than 20 times for 10 miles drive.

While you aggressively into a corner the rear of BRZ still move , but not as mush as 86.
86 is like drifting into a corner.
BRZ is more " stable " , Subaru uses their all wheel drive concept to tune the car.That's what I felt.

Thankfully, my office location is in the opposite direction of the city. So thankfully, I don't need to commute into downtown or anything like that.