Finally, a Serious Contender for the School Run

Ask my kids -- I am king of the school run drift. There's no thrill quite like beating the big yellow bus to the car park, with time to nosh a breakfast treat at the Parkway Deli. Alas, the days of the Supra or AE86 seem to be in the past. Or are they? With the advent of modern sports cars, Toyota's president (and grandson of the company founder), Akio Toyoda, surely asked himself, “Where is the passion in our lineup? I want to build a sports car.” The all-new Scion FR-S is just such a car, and is available in June 2012. This graph shows the specs and the evolution of the car from predecessor Toyota models. Inspired by rear-drive Corolla of the ’80s that became the darling of drifters, this new sports car is light, agile, and affordable.

Delia, Damon and Jason will certainly concur -- Scion has succeeded in making the FR-S agile. From the quick steering to the responsive chassis, the FR-S responds to driver input in a way that reminds me of rear-wheel drive sports sedans of yore. Depress the stability control button for three seconds and things liven up even more. Although the chassis is neutral, it will slide appreciably with the right inputs. In my opinion, suspension, steering and power in the FR-S works with harmony. The stock tyros allows for accessible explorations of the FR-S’s behavior at the edge of the envelope -- the sort of exploration that makes getting to school in the morning fun.