Long Term Test: 2012 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T Limited post #1

When this latest generation of the Hyundai Sonata was first introduced, I was impressed by its fantastic design and the great specs on paper. Imagine my joy when my father-in-law returned from overseas and informed me that he was also very smitten with the mid-size Hyundai sedan and was interested in purchasing a top-spec Limited model with the powerful, yet frugal, 2.0-liter turbo-charged engine. In addition to the sweeping fluidic design, what caught his attention was the exceptional value for money, the high level of standard equipment, and the fuel economy numbers that would be a leaps and bounds improvement over the gas-guzzling SUV that serves as their other car.

After a brief test drive and a fair amount of research online about the price, we reached out to the local Hyundai dealer to start negotiations on an available car. The color scheme that had our attention was the rich navy blue with the gray interior and we absolutely had to have the fully loaded Limited package with the navigation system. The local dealer had one in stock, but was not willing to be agreeable on the price, so we put out feelers to all the dealers in the area to see who would be willing to go the extra mile since it was the end of the year. Finally a dealer a little ways away called while we were having lunch and said they were happy to not only meet, but even beat our asking price on exactly the car we were looking for. With a little back and forth drama, that at one point had us worried we were going to have to get a red car, the dealer ultimately delivered by doing a swap with a dealer over 100 miles away. They even went the extra mile to deliver the car to our door at almost nine o'clock in the evening. Props to the team at WIN Hyundai of El Monte for going the extra mile to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Old vs New: Light Weight RWD Sports Cars (2007 Honda S2000 vs. 2013 Subaru BRZ)

With the recent introduction of the Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S twins, it would seem that lightweight, rear drive sports cars are making a bit of a come back. What better way to find out if the Subaru/Scion duo did it right by comparing it to another light weight, rear drive sports car? Luckily, I am the proud owner of a slightly older light weight, rear drive sports car, the Honda S2000.

The goal here is not to determine which car is faster, as that would not be a fair fight considering my car out powers the BRZ by a fairly significant amount. My goal in doing this comparison is to find out if Subaru got the lightweight, rear drive formula correct, and to see which of these two cars are more fun to drive.

VS

Test Drive: 2013 Subaru BRZ Limited

MSRP: $25,495
Price as Tested: $27,495

Thanks to a certain Japanese anime called Initial D, I became infatuated with the 1983 to 1987 Toyota Sprinter Trueno, a.k.a the AE86, a.k.a. the "hachi roku." In high school and during my first year of college, I was dead set on finding the American equivalent, the Toyota Corolla GTS, to own as my first car. Of course, as time passed, I realized this would be a lousy investment as the amount of money I would have to spend to make the car drive the way I wanted it to would cost me a fortune. Despite my economic disadvantage at the time, I remained a fan of the AE86.

When Toyota announced the spiritual successor to the AE86, the FT86, I was pretty stoked. In conjunction with Fuji Heavy Industries, the owners of Subaru, Toyota created the Toyota GT 86, better known as the Scion FR-S here in the states. Subaru also produced its own version of the car called the BRZ. Besides some interior differences and minor suspension tweaking, all three versions of the car are basically the same. Here, I test drive the Subaru BRZ to see if it lives up to the AE86's legacy.