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Baby FR-S Rumored to be $20,000 Rear-Drive Hatchback

8K views 63 replies 16 participants last post by  Jason.MZW20 
#1 ·


Toyota is enjoying plenty of success with its new GT86/Scion FR-S sports car, but that doesn’t mean it’s getting complacent.

In fact, rumor has it that Toyota is working on a little brother to the FR-S in the form of a rear-wheel drive, five-door hatchback. It’ll be positioned as an entry-level sports car with a price tag around $20,000. At that price point, sacrifices have to be made, and in this case, this new hatch will be powered by a 1.5-liter powerplant with around 150 hp.

According to an inside source, this four-door hatch will also feature a lowered ride height and four-wheel independent suspension.

While Toyota has been forthcoming about a future vehicle tie-up between itself and BMW, the assumption was that the co-developed car would be a flagship performance machine. These new rumors suggest the contrary; indicating that this new sub-FR-S may be the love child of the Japanese-German union.
Read more about the Baby FR-S at AutoGuide.com
 
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#6 ·
I recall telling someone just the other day that what Scion needs is to drop the xD and develop a hot hatchback car for their lineup and I even suspected they already were given that Toyota has just dropped the Matrix.
 
#13 ·
Couldn't agree more Zem. I had a Mazda 3 hatch, loved that car. Seriously considered a Subaru hatch not long ago too and aside from the craptastic transmission I really liked my Ford Focus hatch.

A good looking hatchback has always been one of my favorite cars and the the hatchback design by its very nature tends to make the car stiffer and better handled than a sedan counterpart i.e. the Focus / Mazda 3.
 
#16 ·
My aunt had a Scirocco back in the early 80's. Great car. I'm actually pretty excited about the prospect of a toyota RWD hatchback. That's gonna be some serious fun and at a 20K price tag they'll sell the crap out of it.
 
#21 ·
As long as its not a frekin' Scion!! Ugh! Anyway, I'm all for this. I love hatches too! Especially small ones, ala MINI. Maybe this could be a MINI Cooper competitor even if its RWD. Just the principle of cheap, tossable RWD light car. Sounds sweet to me! Independent suspension.
 
#23 ·
Well the CRX was front wheel drive but I think I see what you're getting at. A rear wheel drive CRX like car would be fun as hell. The article, however, states that the car will be a 5 door hatch, not a 3 door. Sorry bro. I wish it was the CRX too.
 
#28 ·
Well the 1.5L 1NZ-FE is long in the tooth, so will we see a new NR series engine for the 1.0L-1.5L class? Turbocharged?

A high-output, high revving 1.5L will be extremely anemic in the torque department. I hope it's a turbo motor (easy to up the power).
 
#32 ·
Technically it's not a baby FR-S (given how small the FR-S already is). I think the title should say "FR-S sibling?"

Anyway, if it's a RWD Auris-like vehicle, that would nice. Let the GTIs and MazdaSpeed3s duke it out in the $30k category. Even the MX-5 is getting up there in price! (In Canada, it can go as high as $36k).

However, a RWD hatch won't be too spacious (see 1 Series hatchback). Small rear seat area and small trunk. Ok, if you didn't really care about that, you'd stick with an FR-S and get a coupe-like profile.
 
#33 ·
Technically it's not a baby FR-S (given how small the FR-S already is). I think the title should say "FR-S sibling?"

Anyway, if it's a RWD Auris-like vehicle, that would nice. Let the GTIs and MazdaSpeed3s duke it out in the $30k category. Even the MX-5 is getting up there in price! (In Canada, it can go as high as $36k).

However, a RWD hatch won't be too spacious (see 1 Series hatchback). Small rear seat area and small trunk. Ok, if you didn't really care about that, you'd stick with an FR-S and get a coupe-like profile.
A car like this is not built to be nor intended to be spacious. Customers who want a lot of room in a car should be looking at midsize sedans or larger.
 
#48 ·
One potentially good thing about making it RWD is precisely that it will have the tranny / driveshaft tunnel. That tunnel down the center of the passenger compartment does a couple of things for the car from an interior design point of view.

1. It allows for running a full length center console down the middle of the passenger cabin that would incorporate cup holders, power outlets, general storage and holders for MP3 players and cell phones. Most cars now have bluetooth so the cell phone really just needs a place to be stored while driving.

2. A full length console allows for incorporating bucket seats in the back.
 
#61 ·
I see where you're coming from Tideland. It's a valid point and its also the reason why I do as much of my own maintenance as possible. Yes the dealership service departments tend to pencil whip certain check items and you know they haven't done it. I know my dealership here does. They average servicing a couple hundred cars a day so the mechanics are of course trying to get them done as fast as possible. When that happens you know stuff is going to get overlooked or pencil whipped. Nature of the beast.
 
#62 ·
I feel for dealer techs.
Flat rate pay, warranty time (paid by the book, not how long it took you), and no overtime pay. You also get no money for diagnosis.

I find it a bit abusive. Master techs can make less than "noobs" that do a lot of little jobs since a lot of pay is per job. If you get it done quickly, you can move on and make more money. However, those same master techs that make less for doing less jobs, also correct the "noobs" mistakes.

There's a reason for everything. I'm happy wrenching on my car at my own pace, not with some manager telling me to hurry up and get it done ... yesterday.
 
#63 ·
Good dealer techs make as much as 100 hours in a 40 hour week. Good pay for good producers. I've had painters that flagged 150 hours a week and our shop is a very very picky place to work.

The only tech I'd feel sorry for is a poor or slow one.
 
#64 ·
Good dealer techs make as much as 100 hours in a 40 hour week. Good pay for good producers. I've had painters that flagged 150 hours a week and our shop is a very very picky place to work.

The only tech I'd feel sorry for is a poor or slow one.
I'd take quality over quantity. When someone else has to fix your mistakes, you're not a good producer, you're a good bullshitter.
 
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