At $15,500, Is This Updated 2014 Scion FR-S Up To The Task?
Today is Boxing Day. And what better way to celebrate that than to have a car powered by a boxer engine for Nice Price or No Dice? Let’s find out if this Scion’s asking is anything worth celebrating.
The Scion xB Was the Closest We’ve Come to Having Kei Cars in America
Whether you’re just emerging from a cloud of Christmas cheer, parsing fond memories of this year’s Chanukah festivities, or kicking off today’s Kwanzaa bonanza, one thing I think we all can agree on is that the 1954 Chevy 3100 pickup we looked at yesterday would make for an excellent gift no matter what your holiday. At $35,000, it proved to be a relatively easy gift to give, as well, earning a solid 64 percent Nice Price win for its troubles.
Speaking of trouble, today’s 2014 Scion FR-S seems to have gotten into a bit of it. That’s the suspicion, seeing as it’s offered at less than ten years of age and with just 98,000 miles on the clock but with a new (ish) engine and a whole slew of Subaru BRZ parts in place of the Scionish bits it had when it left the factory.
The ad does not provide any background explaining the impetus for the new mill, but it notes that the build involved a 2018 block and many upgraded and uprated internals. According to the seller, the engine was “Built for boost,” although they apparently didn’t go as far as actually bolting up an angry snail between exhaust and intake, so there’s even more opportunity for under-hood shenanigans for the next owner. A 2018 six-speed manual came along with the engine, with the seller waxing philosophical about its benefits:
Mated to a 6-speed manual makes driving great again. There is nothing like rowing through gears and rev matching even with a car that is slightly under powered. If you want fuel economy, get an automatic. If you want torque, get an EV. But if you want fun (on a budget), get an FRS.
Other new (ish) parts include headlights, taillights, wheels, and seats, all from the FR-S’s kissing cousin, the Subaru BRZ. It’s as if whoever put this car together attempted to erase the Scion-ness from it in the same way Toyota has from the market in general.
The result is a car that comes across as a bit of a mutt, showing off logos from both marques and models. That’s not too big of a deal, considering that the parts all came from what’s essentially the same car and off the same assembly line.
It looks pretty good as well. The white paint appears clean and without any issue. That, and the design of the Scion’s nose, gives the car an eerie resemblance to the contemporary Lexus LFA. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
With its BRZ embossed seats, the interior is likewise clean, tidy, and without any issue save for the enforced identity crisis and perhaps the aftermarket steering wheel, which trades its factory airbag for a quick disconnect column.
The BRAZZERS license plate frame on the boot lid is a cheeky bit of alliterative fun, too. A clean title caps off the car’s attractions, which leads us to its $15,500 asking price.
Now, it should be noted that the FR-S (whether Scion or Toyota) and its Subaru BRZ cousins tend to show up on the used car market disproportionately with salvage titles, so that clean title really is a plus here.
Does that factor and the fairly fresh engine make for an FR-S worth $15,500? Or is that just too much for such a crazy, mixed-up kid of a car?
You decide!
San Francisco Bay Area, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to FauxShizzle for the hookup!
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