Road Test: Scion FR-S vs Gen Coupe Track Shootout + Video

The affordable sports car shootout
by David Pratte

Affordable rear-wheel drive sports coupes, especially those hailing from the other side of the Pacific, have historically been a rather rare breed. But now, thanks to Hyundai and Scion, us regular folk have not one but two inexpensive rear-wheel drive sports coupes to choose from that don’t feature big thirsty engines or pony car badges.

The Genesis Coupe 2.0T R-Spec and FR-S are priced well under $30k, have been tuned with the enthusiast-driver in mind, and are equipped with 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engines that offer an attractive combination of performance and fuel economy. But which one’s fastest? And does fastest necessarily mean “best” for a car like this? Only one way to find out – it’s off to the race track we go, to evaluate these two hard-edged combatants in order to determine which one turns the fastest hot lap and which one offers the most smiles per mile.

KDM VS JDM

Korean automotive juggernaut Hyundai just keeps on raising the bar with just about everything it brings to market these days and the extensively updated 2013 Genesis Coupe is no exception. We liked the original 2.0T coupe when it first hit the market as a 2010 model (we even track tested it against the Honda Civic Si), and although we’re not sure about the front end design changes for 2013, there’s no disputing the fact that Hyundai has upped the ante in a big way by giving the car’s 2.0-liter turbocharged engine an extra 74-hp (up from 200 to 274) and 52 extra lb-ft of torque (up from 223 to 275).

But we’re not testing just any Genesis 2.0T coupe – we’ve got our hands on the R-Spec version, which comes standard with a Torsen limited slip differential, big 4-piston Brembo brakes, and stickier Bridgestone summer tires (225/40R19 up front and 245/40R19 out back). Unlike a lot of R-badged vehicles from other manufacturers, Hyundai hasn’t put the Genesis 2.0T R-Spec coupe on a diet though. It tips the scales at a hefty 3,399 lbs, but it still has the superior weight-to-power ratio in this shootout (12.4-lbs per horsepower for the Genesis vs 13.8-lbs per horsepower for the FR-S).

The Scion FR-S (or Toyota GT86 as it’s known in Japan and Europe) is a considerably smaller and lighter machine than the Genesis, and as Lotus taught the world, lightness delivers improved performance in every measurable way, from braking and cornering to fuel consumption and tire usage. The Scion’s smaller and lighter footprint also means a tighter and less luxurious interior, though my 6-foot 200-lbs frame never felt cramped or otherwise uncomfortable in it. The FR-S’s front seats are bolstered with serious lateral g-forces in mind, and the small race-inspired steering wheel and Spartan interior (there isn’t even a cover on the storage bin between the two front seats) give it the look and feel of a machine that’s serious about low mass and high performance.

Given the Scion’s very modern sheet metal, which in some ways reminds me of its high-tech supercar brother the Lexus LF-A, I was a bit disappointed by the low-tech gauge cluster. Perhaps it’s asking too much of a car that retails for less than $25k, but I would have loved a low buck version of the brilliant digital dash in the LF-A.

It should also be noted that the rear seats are more of a shelf for a briefcase during the week and a set of track wheels and tires on the weekend – humans with legs certainly won’t fit back there. But that’s part of the price you pay when opting for a sports coupe with a curb weight of just 2,758 lbs, a number that makes the FR-S quite possibly the lightest non-exotic sports coupe on the market today.

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FoxMcloud said:

une chose est certaine
esti que c'est laid une Genesis
c'est sans aucuns doutes le RWD sport coupe le plus laid sur le marché
la Mustang, Challenger, Camaro, FR-S, BRZ et tous les autres sont des années lumières en avant coté design

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FoxMcloud said:

une chose est certaine
esti que c'est laid une Genesis
c'est sans aucuns doutes le RWD sport coupe le plus laid sur le marché
la Mustang, Challenger, Camaro, FR-S, BRZ et tous les autres sont des années lumières en avant coté design

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altivec said:

La Mustang et la Camaro on deux des intérieur les plus à chier que j'ai vue de ma vie.

C'est le trip rétro pour vendre ça au baby-boomer, ok pour eux mais perso à minute que j'ai embarqué dans l'auto ça m'a coupé l'envie.
Sans compter que dans la Camaro t'a zéro mais zéro champ de vision, t'a l'feeling de conduire une boite de carton avec 3 petit trou (1 moyen en avant et 2 petit de chaque bord.

J'ai aussi eu la chance d'essayer la Camaro sur la track et oui c'est l'fun t'a du power mais batard t'est toujours sideway même avec des ost!e d'bon pneu, c'est littéralement une brique + 4 roue + un moteur super puissant that all.

Je parlerais pas du Challenger j'ai pas fait de test drive.

Si on prend Feeling/Exterieur/Interieur dans mon livre à moi ça serais:

FR-S/BRZ > Mustang > Genesis > Camaro

Challenger aucune idée ou le mettre et honnêtement pour la Mustang/Genesis j'ai hésité en ******, l'intérieur de la Genesis est de loin supérieur mais batard que je déteste la transmission de la Genesis du plus profond de mon coeur.

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AcuraBoy said:

OK you have to help me here.

So after reading the article, the fastest car was the genesis.

So now Genesis 2.0T> FRS
on another video Mustang V6 > FRS

FRS was suppose to be quick on a track??? ahahahah!!!! well this car is getting to much Hyped i guess. At least they said its fun to drive lol

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Sleeper22 said:

Mustang peut-etre interieur laid mais le nouveau 5.0L me fait oublier l'interieur, j'ai passé la fin de semaine passé en nouvelle 5.0L, pis merde j'en veux une, moteur yé smooth, tres belle plage de puissance et vire plus haut que les ancien 4.6L qui roule plus rough, , bref mon prochain achat

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VroomX2 said:

Exactly. You don't buy a sports car so you can look at the pretty dials and trim on the inside.

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logik23 said:

It's not a sports car, it's a muscle car.

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AcuraBoy said:

OK you have to help me here.

So after reading the article, the fastest car was the genesis.

So now Genesis 2.0T> FRS
on another video Mustang V6 > FRS

FRS was suppose to be quick on a track??? ahahahah!!!! well this car is getting to much Hyped i guess. At least they said its fun to drive lol

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VroomX2 said:

You're missing the point entirely. The frs was hyped for its handling. In this test like in the others, it was said to have great handling. It was known that it would not have great straight line speed.

Does it handle better then the genesis? Yes. Does it go in a straight faster? No. Around that same track, if you were to do a 5 lap race, the frs would probably beat the genesis.

You can't exactly call the frs overhyped. It delivers exactly what it promised.

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JoeyV said:

^When and where did they say that? The hype was, and is accurate, about how well it handles and how fun it is to drive and how "back to basics" it is compared to the heavy technology dependent cars that are everywhere today, all that at a very reasonable price (costing less than a Miata, Madaspeed3, Civic SI, or any other car with 200HP).

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trish07 said:

Je n'ai pas dit le contraire?

Je répondais au fait que bien que la FR-S/BRZ soient inférieures en puissance à la Gen, le peu de secondes qui les séparent sur une piste démontrent, selon mon opinion personnelle, que la FR-S est à la hauteur des attentes et qu'elle est une vraie petite machine, bien que moins puissante.

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JoeyV said:

lol, Sorry Trish, c'est ps a toi que je repondais. Je repondais a l'autre mais vos reponses son arriver entre la mienne et la ssienne

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trish07 said:

Amen!!! FRS=200hp and Gen=274hp (et là je parle même pas de la différence de torque) et pourtant, au final, + ou - une petite seconde les sépare sur la track :dunno: Je pense que tu comprends mon point. Clairement, la grosse différence de puissance de la Gen n'est pas à la hauteur de l'agileté de la FRS et à long terme, ça lui coûtera des places sur la track.

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