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Aftermarket engineer with deposit for a personal car

6K views 24 replies 10 participants last post by  J03K3R 
#1 ·
Hey guys, just wanted to introduce myself! My name is Gregan and I'm an engineer / project manager for a company that makes performance parts for cars, mostly Subaru. The company is called FactionFab, and I can speak for the rest of the car world by saying that we're all super excited to get our hands on this car. However, this account is going to be strictly personal, I'm joining simply because I'm stoked. I'm traditionally a subaru guy, having owned 6 so far including a swapped / widebody GC, built Forester XT, plus a couple others. I currently drive an STI hatchback and have been patiently waiting to get into something newer that isn't another subaru. I work pretty extensively with the 2015+ WRX and STI and have thousands of street and track miles on them, but they don't really do it for me. Hoping the GR Corolla can bring back a bit of the rawness that Subaru left behind.

I'm located in Utah and have a deposit with 1 dealership, I was told I'm number 8 on the list.

A couple pics of my STI. Not a crazy build, more of an OEM+.

 
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#2 ·
Nice man, I also have Subaru, specifically a 2013 wrx hatch. And I have been waiting for a proper replacement for the rex. The GR, will totally fill my void. Also in the process of trying to address a cooling issue with my rex. So once that is fixed, I will be unloading the car and buying a GR. I put a deposit down and am currently number one on the list at my dealer. Already a toyota guy with a tacoma and RAV for the wife.
 
#9 ·
We’re absolutely looking at the GR Corolla at work, but with it being a completely new car here in the states, we don’t have any concrete plans on what we’re doing until we can get our hands on the car. In addition to my personal car, the company has it’s own deposit on one as well for permanent R&D.

Hope you enjoyed the F-Specs!
 
#11 · (Edited)
Another month, another work vehicle to drive.
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This is a company owned 2020, and it has definitely not lived the easiest life for the last two years. I don’t regularly build parts for these, it’s basically just been bastardized testing a hundred other brands parts by our sister company marketing department. It was broken and needed some cleaning up, so I borrowed it for a couple weeks to get it back to good condition.

This car is the 3.0 model, so from the factory something like 330hp at the crank, but it does have a few mods and the butt dyno says it probably is pushing 375 at the wheels. It’s very quick, enough to totally get myself in trouble. I was honestly very excited to have it to myself for a bit, but I have to admit that I’m a little let down, for reasons I’ll explain.

First, the good. As mentioned, very quick. It will hit 110 before you know it, and it only feels like 65. Great high speed stability. When in normal mode, it’s also fairly quiet and comfortable on long drives. It would be a great car to take on a weekend getaway on a long highway.

Hit the sport mode button, and it changes 4 settings. Damping, steering, engine, and transmission. I don’t know if this car has an active exhaust (currently has an HKS cat back on it and I didn’t need to mess with it), but either way, hitting the sport button totally wakes up the cad. Revs bump up to 3k, and the car is noticeably peppier. The DCT does bless with you with amazing “burps” on upshifts at WOT and nasty pops on the downshifts that make you feel like you’re in a race car. It’s glorious. In normal sport mode, the stability control does a fantastic job of converting all throttle to direct acceleration without letting the back end out one bit, but one more button push will get you into a freeing mode that lets you swing the back end around as much as you want. It does have super wide and sticky rear tires, so it’s a little tricky to control. You can get a little bit of slide, while it fights for traction, then the next second you’re completely sideways. I’ll admit that I had flashes of mustangs leaving car meets while trying this.

Steering feel is 8/10, better than most modern cars I’ve driven, but not perfect. Brakes are EXTREMELY touchy, I felt like I was even a bit jerky coming to a stop at stop lights. Great at higher speeds when a deer jumped in front of me though.

I know people have been screaming for a manual transmission, but I actually really enjoyed the DCT as I felt like it compliments the better features of the car.

Because of all the above reasons, I quickly decided that this was NOT a good car to play in on the streets, and at that point the car lost a lot of appeal for me. It is still a great car for a daily drive, reasonably comfortable and ergonomic driving position, decent quality interior, wireless car play, steering assist cruise control, etc. I found myself annoyed at slow left lane drivers a lot because the car is so much more comfortable driving at faster speeds.

It got a LOT of attention everywhere I went. Younger guys in riced out beaters wanting to race or just asking me to rev it at a stop light (dumb auto trans). Kids in the street jumping up and down if I gave it a little downshift next to them. I swear I even had not one, but two women checking me out after getting out of the car at the grocery store. Can’t understand why I don’t get the same attention in my STI (kidding, I totally understand).

But here’s the hard truth. As much fun as this car is, today I find myself excited to get back in the 86. I know I’m gonna get some skepticism for this, but I actually believe that the 86 is the better car, and if they were both priced at 30k I don’t think I’d pick the Supra. The 86 is just a much more fun and engaging car for a daily driver. The 86 can be pushed a little bit on the streets and feel perfectly safe. The Supra can not, and since you can’t, it becomes an appliance for most of the drive.

The Supra feels heavier and less nimble. I’m sure on paper it’s no question quicker and more responsive, but it’s missing some of the sharpness that I love about the 86.

The Supra also feels more cramped inside. Ergonomically it’s still very comfortable, but I felt a little more “claustrophobic” inside than I do in the 86.

Anyway, that’s your random internet dude’s review of the Supra. Don’t get me wrong, I do totally love this car. I’m just comparing it to my absolute favorite car I’ve driven in the last 10 years, which happens to be the little brother.

Edit because I've been corrected that this car isn't a DCT, but a true torque converter auto. It is a damn good one.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Patiently waiting for GRC news, but wanted to give an update on my work stuff. Development of quite a few parts is underway on our 22 WRX. I still have pretty mixed feelings of the car as a whole, but as I predicted, the more I see them modded, the more people seem to be jumping on board. I do enjoy driving it, but I’m not sure I’d buy one.

For now, with some basic suspension mods, it seems to be pretty responsive. “Softer” coilover springs honestly feel as comfortable as stock. And super stiff springs that I woudn’t touch on an older WRX still are daily drivable. Impressive chassis honestly, really balanced and put together.

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No, I didn’t drive it this low for long, but it didn’t rub cruising around the block. Fenders are designed to have lots of room inside. For now, it’s set to a decent aggressive ride height and corners like a champ.

Also, the car I had reserved for a recent work trip wasn’t available, so they put me in a Polestar 2. It was actually a pretty cool little car. I’ve driven a few Teslas, but not for more than 30 minutes or so. I did own a 1st Gen Chevy volt for a few years, but that’s a very different car.

The car was very quick and responsive as you’d expect from the electric motors it has. It didn’t feel like a tank like other electric cars I’ve ridden in. Very composed in corners, dare I even say nimble? The one “sporty” feature it has was a selectable steering weight button, which I actually enjoyed. Kept it on standard for interstate cruising, then kicked it up to “heavy” for a few corners. Very noticeable difference, and spot on for what I was looking for on steering feel. I also enjoyed the extendable seat bottom and seat adjustment range. I was able to get a good position and comfort for my lanky ass. The rear trunk was roomy, with the lift-back design very economical. I stocked the back with one of the big full size coolers and a ton of extra drinks with no problem.

The car was very small. The outside makes it look like a full size sedan, but interior felt closer to a compact. I didn’t try to put anyone in the back seat, but with me being 6’3, I think an adult would have had a hard time fitting behind me. The infotainment was pretty buggy. I actually ran the OTA update myself to add CarPlay, but it was unreliable and required a force restart of the infotainment system almost every day to keep working. I’m guessing since it’s android based that someone with an android phone would have a better experience.

Overall, I really enjoyed the car. Definitely a head turner because they’re kind of a quirky new car, and I had a lot of people asking me about it at the event I went to. I honestly think it’s a super solid Tesla contender, and I would highly recommend someone shopping for an electric to find one. It felt more like an actual car than a Tesla to me, and I enjoyed that. Pushing 50k at the low end, it’s not an econo electric car, but you get a premium European interior and a fantastic build quality from what I could see. I honestly think I might push my wife to look at it when she decided she wants to get serious about buying a car.

Sorry for the crappy pic, I had to leave my good camera behind to stuff some extra product in my carry on.
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#17 ·
So there is a guy near me who has a brand new Rex in silver. And it has started to grow on me. I wound up selling my 13 hatch wrx a few weeks ago, as I couldn't pass up the offer. If things don't work out with the GRC (I do have my deposit down and am number one on my dealers list) I will probably wind up buying another wrx. Whats your opinion on the new one overall? My biggest overall gripe with it, is how all of the features are buried in the screen. Also on every previous generation of wrx, if you sprung for the "premium model" the sunroof was automatically included, now its a BS option package. idc about weight, I just like the sunroof.
 
#18 ·
I made a more thorough review in the 22 WRX thread that can probably answer your question. But to sum up, it's better than the 2015-2021 models in almost every way, but I still think it's missing a lot of the raw, nimble, connected race car feeling that made the -14 cars great. I don't think I'd be happy going from my hatchback to one of these, but if you're just looking for a replacement daily driver, it's fine. If the looks don't bother you, that is (which I don't care, Subarus are always kinda ugly).
I do agree with you that the infotainment system isn't great. It's fairly buggy, and my carplay randomly disconnects 1-2 times per week. I really dislike the large touchscreen movement that manufacturers have taken. Bring back my buttons! But the base model split screen is horrendous, so don't do that one.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Just got the phone call for a Ice Cap CE, confirmed MSRP and no add-ons. I've been watching this car on the allocation tracker since early April and it looks like it's been sitting on the lot since mid-May. Sales guy said he thinks at least 2 people from the list have passed on it, and I think I'm about to do the same. Hype has worn off for me and financing 45k just doesn't make the same sense that it did a year ago.

I just met a new friend at a cars and coffee who had another CE yesterday and she let me take it for a test drive. And while I really did like it, I'm not sure I liked it 45k worth. It felt very similar to my hatchback STI, but maybe a tad nicer inside and a bit more eager to rev and be pushed. I think I'll be happier keeping my STI and buying a used Cayman or 86 as a second car.

...Or maybe I'll just be dumb and buy it anyway. I have 48 hours to decide. Ugh.
 
#22 ·
Hype has worn off for me and financing 45k just doesn't make the same sense that it did a year ago.

I'm not sure I liked it 45k worth. It felt very similar to my hatchback STI, but maybe a tad nicer inside and a bit more eager to rev and be pushed. I'm think I'll be happier keeping my STI and buying a used Cayman or 86 as a second car.

...Or maybe I'll just be dumb and buy it anyway. I have 48 hours to decide. Ugh.
Similar situation. Have option for a CE at MSRP still in allocation phase. As the hype is cooling and it’s clear the Corolla wouldn’t be big enough for an extra family car, the BRZ/86 becomes the more appealing option at the moment. It would be my daily and alternate to the large family SUV, while wife has her CUV.

At the same time I’m tempted to just enjoy the CE for a year and feel it out but It’s just not drawing me in the way I imagined it would. I’ve test driven two, always had a big passenger so I know it would be a bit quicker and I didn’t take it above 5.5K. A brz would be great to enjoy on a bit more budget while we watch the GRC potential get sorted out. Then jump back in on a couple years if it makes sense. I guess it’s a good problem to have..
 
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