Shingo Shoji
Senior Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Just got back from my first proper road trip in the FL5 with friends in their GR Corolla and M140i. We covered over 600km (372 miles) over the weekend through Australia's Snowy Mountains and Snowy Valley. In a country of terrible roads, these were some of the best I've experienced. There was actually smooth asphalt in some sections!
The FL5 performed really well and it was so good to use it as it was intended to be. It was the hardest I've pushed it and showed no signs of overheating and it felt glued to the ground. The brakes are immense. No fade and consistently strong through the drive. Handling and feeling of being connected to the car was sublime. The best compliment I can give the FL5 was that when I was driving the other two cars, I had fun but really just wanted to get back in my car.
The Corolla was really fun. It has a great exhaust note, rides better than the FL5 and the AWD system is great but the driving position is way too high and the performance is a bit boosty. It's still a sweet engine through, but I feel like they just haven't made it special enough for me. I still loved it though.
The M140i with the optional Msport exhause sounded by far the best, has an incredible engine but was a bit wafty through tighter corners and I prefer an engine that likes to rev. It had Bilstein shocks and they really are great. I felt it handled the smaller bumps better than the other two. Each is suited best to different tasks. On the freeway to the mountains, you want the M140i. On the unsealed roads we came across, you want the GR Corolla. In the mountains, in the corners and everywhere else you want the FL5.
On smooth roads I have no criticisms of the FL5 at all. On rougher, coarse chipseal roads the tyre roar and rattling was annoying but not a deal breaker. I feel like it just needs a softer comfort mode to deal with rough vibrations better. It's not that it's too hard for me, it's more just rougher roads send those vibrations straight into the dash. Pretty sure I want to give the Integra Type S ADS swap a go to see if it might be suited more to Australia's terrible roads.
Looking forward to the next road trip which hopefully will include a track day.
The FL5 performed really well and it was so good to use it as it was intended to be. It was the hardest I've pushed it and showed no signs of overheating and it felt glued to the ground. The brakes are immense. No fade and consistently strong through the drive. Handling and feeling of being connected to the car was sublime. The best compliment I can give the FL5 was that when I was driving the other two cars, I had fun but really just wanted to get back in my car.
The Corolla was really fun. It has a great exhaust note, rides better than the FL5 and the AWD system is great but the driving position is way too high and the performance is a bit boosty. It's still a sweet engine through, but I feel like they just haven't made it special enough for me. I still loved it though.
The M140i with the optional Msport exhause sounded by far the best, has an incredible engine but was a bit wafty through tighter corners and I prefer an engine that likes to rev. It had Bilstein shocks and they really are great. I felt it handled the smaller bumps better than the other two. Each is suited best to different tasks. On the freeway to the mountains, you want the M140i. On the unsealed roads we came across, you want the GR Corolla. In the mountains, in the corners and everywhere else you want the FL5.
On smooth roads I have no criticisms of the FL5 at all. On rougher, coarse chipseal roads the tyre roar and rattling was annoying but not a deal breaker. I feel like it just needs a softer comfort mode to deal with rough vibrations better. It's not that it's too hard for me, it's more just rougher roads send those vibrations straight into the dash. Pretty sure I want to give the Integra Type S ADS swap a go to see if it might be suited more to Australia's terrible roads.
Looking forward to the next road trip which hopefully will include a track day.
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