Mike Humble:
“Beautifully engineered… and a very difficult car not to like”
Front engined rear wheel drive – a driveline chosen and engineered for sheer simplicity is how it’s always been looked upon. Volvo stuck with it for years, Ford built up their market supremacy throughout the `60s, `70s and most of the `80s and Mercedes Benz still use it on most of their mid to large passenger cars to this day. When it comes to those fondly remembered affordable sporty hatchbacks like the Capri, Manta and MGB GT, rear wheel drive was something they all shared in common. The current landscape of motoring now whizzes by quicker than the view from a train window with its (some say) hysterical obsession with economy and emissions. Once upon a time, economy only mattered when five speed gearboxes became the norm.
Today, it’s all about electric and hybrid cars and it probably won’t be long before they bring back the ritual of throwing rotting fruit and vegetables on village greens at drivers of petrol or diesel cars. But you still can go out and buy a car that doesn’t require copious amounts of refined animal urine – namely AdBlu or to be defibrillated from the mains socket to keep running For the time being at least, you can still just about buy new something old school, something familiar and above all, something bloody soul stirring. Having driven and tested the original GT86 not long after its launch here in the UK back in 2013, I’d rather foolishly not bothered to try the GR model, merely writing it off as a bigger engined replacement until recently.
As before, the car is a joint venture with Subaru and the format of it being a compact and tail happy little bundle of joy remains. Only this time round however, the engine is now a boxer four Subaru 2.4 developing 230bhp – a significant increase over the GT86’s 204. Again, as before, there is no fancy force feeding from a turbo or supercharger, just good `ol fashioned multipoint fuel injection. The biggest improvement to the way it gets down the road is a marked increase in torque – there’s now 250Nm of grunt developed at what seems a peaky 3700rpm. Despite the revvy nature (max power incidentally comes up at a heady 7000rpm) off the boil driving is improved to a level where the car is a joy to drive around town or lanes (snatchy throttle aside) than as much as at speed. The new engine has a wardrobe full of bottom end pulling power – something the old model lacked somewhat and the Toyota supplied six speed gearboxes has possibly one of the sweetest selection actions I’ve ever experienced this side of a Mk1 Ford Escort.
Other grin inducing features include a fabulous induction roar when your driving slippers turn into hobnail boots – if Brian Blessed gargled petrol instead of mouthwash, THIS would be the noise
The skinny tyres from the Prius have given way to some slightly wider rubber but nonetheless, tail happy tail wagging fun is still there in spades. Other grin inducing features include a fabulous induction roar when your driving slippers turn into hobnail boots – if Brian Blessed gargled petrol instead of mouthwash, THIS would be the noise. The simple and mundane task of accelerating for a motorway slip road brings a soundtrack that has you thinking the rest of the traffic can hear too. The moment you set the cruise there’s a decent level of hush but the rear tyre roar at speed is always there, especially on concrete surface road tops. Interior ergonomics are pretty good and there’s a marked improvement in the quality over the GT model. Sadly though, the lovely retro looking rocker switches you’d tend to find in a `60s Alvis are no more, replaced by a bank of push on push off buttons. The only thing I could point a stick at inside is Toyota’s use of a poorly sited cruise control stalk that lacks night time illumination. It’s really awkward and takes a while to fathom without taking your eyes off the road.
Despite the compact dimensions, the front elbow, leg and head room is pretty good, but unless your rear seat passengers are small children or Warwick Davies, the rear seat is best used for supermarket shopping or somewhere to throw your coat such is the lack of legroom. Boot space is ample for a weekend adventure and up front you’ll find an ample amount of hideyholes for coffee cups, loose change and other small goods and chattels. I particularly like the new dashboard with virtual and digital gauges, you can even change the appearance of the fonts, select a digital ‘G force’ feature and even time your own laps just in case you fancy a trip to the Nurburgring rather than visit your Aunt in Kettering. A track mode button turns up the smiles even further by altering the throttle mapping, backing off some of the power steering assistance to give a bit more feel at the rim and giving the instruments a menacing reddish hue. What else? Well there’s excellent fade free brakes and a proper hand operated parking brake – it really is a car for all moods.
the Toyota is a sheer delight. Its well balanced, lets you know soon enough if you are pushing the envelope too far and generally speaking, the ride comfort is agreeable
Some might say the GR86 is a little frantic and urgent for some, yes it’s true that it really wants to get a move on and can be a little bit jerky in heavy traffic, but once mastered, I found little to complain about overall. As far as road holding matters, the Toyota is a sheer delight. Its well balanced, lets you know soon enough if you are pushing the envelope too far and generally speaking, the ride comfort is agreeable. One thing that really did impress me was the gearing of the 6 speed manual box. The lower ratios are close enough to keep the engine spinning ‘on the cam’ but slot the stubby selector lever into top and 70mph motorway cruising has the engine whirring away at a very high geared and leisurely 2500rpm. As a consequence, I found touring MPG to be brilliant – it should be easy to knock on the door of 40mpg in the right circumstances – very impressive!
So there you go, a fun little coupe that has superb road manners, really punchy performance, good fuel efficiency and a name that’s a byword for quality – and always has been. Also, you may note that I have refrained from waffling on about handling etc. Have no worries… just try one and see for yourself while you still have a chance to.
The Toyota GR86 – Beautifully engineered… and a very difficult car not to like!
OVERALL SCORE: 9/10
- Toyota GR86
- Cost: £30,140 (correct as of 09/2023)
- Driveline: 2387cc flat four petrol with 6 speed manual & rear wheel drive
- Power: 231bhp (172Kw)
- Overall Fuel Economy / Co2: 32.1mpg & 200G/Km (WLTP)
- Performance: 0 – 60 in 6.3 seconds with 140mph Max (claimed data)
- Warranty & Servicing: 3yr / 60,000 miles and 10,000 mile or annual servicing – whichever is sooner
- Insurance Grouping: 45D
SO WHAT’S GREAT?
- Huge improvement in performance and torque over old model
- Well equipped
- Ferocious and addictive induction roar when pushing along
- Relatively smooth cruising refinement
- Surprisingly decent fuel economy
- Communicative chassis and strong brakes
- Excellent driving position and forward visibility
- Good overall build quality
AND WHAT GRATES?
- Can be a little too eager and lurchy around town or in slow traffic
- Poor positioning of cruise control switch
- No sat-nav
- Rear view camera get dirty very quickly in bad weather
- High tyre noise at speed on rough surface roads or motorways
My thanks go to the press team at Toyota GB
Autobritannia 