Classic vs. Modern: Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ vs. Datsun 280Z

My interest in cars remains stuck in the early 1970s--when I was spending most of my time trying to retrieve the copies of AutoWeek that had been confiscated by my second grade teacher, Mrs. Wilks.

While my iPod may be full of downloads from the likes of Dirty Pretty Things, The Kooks and Grizzly Bear (and very little from Led Zeppelin, the Stones or Pink Floyd), my garage contains nothing built after 1991. And frankly, I like it that way.

Not much in the way of new cars gets me particularly excited. But I have to admit to taking a huge shine to the totally hot “Subion” twins, the FR-S and BRZ, probably because they remind me of the Datsun 240Z, 260Z and the pair of 280Zs that have occupied my garage from time to time. Naturally, I have to wonder how they'd stack up against the FR-S and BRZ as daily drivers in terms of satisfaction and cost of ownership.

As a daily driver, the 280Z makes more sense than a 240 or a 260Z. The combination of electronic fuel injection, an available 5-speed (the last year and a half only), bumpers capable of standing up to a parallel parking incursions and really good factory A/C make it the most practical (if not the prettiest) of the first generation Z-cars.

As expected, performance-wise it's not really close, with 0-60 times in the mid sixes for the moderns vs. the high-eights for the classic Z-car. Fuel economy? The comparison gets even harsher. Around town, I usually see about 17 mpg and 24 mpg on the highway in my 280Z. Not bad for a mid-'70s performance car but just pitiful in comparison to the moderns. The BRZ with a manual transmission is rated at 22 city, 30 highway and 25 mpg combined.

While I view both the FR-S and the BRZ as extremely good-looking cars, I give the edge to the Z, which has so many styling cues cribbed from other great GT cars like the E-Type and Toyota 2000GT. I am, after all, terminally mired in the automotive past.

Still, the exhaust note, the higher percentage of admiring glances and appreciation in value will make the Z a better proposition in the long haul, right? Probably not. It sort of depends on where you live: As rear-drivers, neither the moderns nor the Z-car can really be expected to do all that well in the winter without a set of Blizzaks or Nokkians.

The real difference is the fact that neither the Scion nor the Subie will look like the remains of the Titanic after just two winters. Early Z-cars were rusters of the highest magnitude. And while you'll likely not spend much maintaining the mechanicals (early Z-cars are notoriously reliable), the super clean, low-mileage, rust-free 280Z that you might pay more than 13 grand for today (according to the Hagerty Price Guide) will likely be a three grand project car after a few winters of salt exposure.

While it's too early to tell for certain, I would expect the FR-S and BRZ to enjoy Mini Cooper-like resale value. Sadly, if used as a daily driver in most parts of the country, the classic Z-car will cost far more to own over three or four years than the Scion or the Subie simply by virtue of its flimsy construction and nonexistent rust-proofing. This round of classics versus moderns goes to the moderns.

By Rob Sass