GR86 Seen Through Glass/Behind The Glass - Drive my Ride - GR86

Nice to see a review being filmed on one of my own driving routes ;) Wonder if the owner is on here, must be quite local to me.
 
What I expected from Sean given his past gr86 review. I find him too much of a badge snob. Tony to a much smaller degree too but he is much more down to earth and more on point, he does hit the nail more often than not, quite the opposite of Sean.
I wouldn't have trusted my car to either given their views on the brand
 
Didn't really agree with them saying that you couldn't use it every day. I do. Although I accept it's situational...I guess it's not ideal if you have a big family. But road noise aside, it's fine to live with. It has heated seats, Android Auto, air con and it averages 34 to the gallon. Perfectly comfy for a long drive, or to use on the commuter, then on Sunday morning you can take it out for a blast.

And yeah..."you have to explain what it is to people". Is this really a serious consideration when buying a fun car? How well others will react to it?
 
The only point where I agree with them is that this car scope is a niche market.

Perhaps I'm biased, but claiming this car lacks soul is, in my opinion, a lie. Comparing it to a hot hatch doesn't make much sense to me either.

They haven't pushed the car harder to make such assumptions. If they were to track it or drive it aggressively, their perspective might change. Even comparing it to a Cayman is reasonable to an extent, but unless you have PTV (GTS & GT4), I guarantee it won't be as fun as the GR. That said, I understand that at 30k, most people would prefer to buy a 981 S over a GR86 due to the status associated with the Porsche badge (And it is a great car anyway).

Tony did acknowledge in the end that he prefers the 86 to a Cayman, though. Sean on the other end as @Grblue86 said, "too much of a badge snob".
 
If you get to the 22 min section its gets pretty interesting. I agree alot with what they are saying, especially around the era we are in, the restrictions on the roads, the car market, everything has to be perfect and now, branding (basically the UK's obsession with German cars) where this car sits within it, its appeal and more importantly where do you use it? This is very real, especially us folks who live in busy areas of the country, most of the time it doesn't make any sense.

They are right in that the car makes sense when you get to use it, in that situation it's sublime, however if you are sat doing the mundane, then people will start to concentrate on the ride comfort, the quality of the switches and how good the infotainment is. The only thing I think they really missed is the sense of occasion, you still feel like it's special even when you are doing the boring stuff, OK you compromise in some areas, but it makes up for it in others.

The whole 'is it lairy enough' (such a fellow southerner 😅) I get, if you are going to either sat in traffic or average speed everywhere you might as well have something auto and comfy to waft around in and have something mental like a Caterham or a project car for the weekend. The GR86 sits a bit in the middle. I was going to go the 2 car route, then realised the weekend car wouldn't be used enough to justify it, so I fit in that 'particular person' segment they mentioned.

The toff does talk a bit of nonsense, especially when he tried to defend the Cayman.
 
They keep comparing a RWD car with FWD cars and 4WD. I agree about the noise but this can be addressed by adding some sound deadening. Personally I find the car very practical, i can get loads in it when i need to. No question that the Cayman is a great car but they failed to compare the running costs. Toyota has a 10 year warranty, servicing is reasonable and tyres, brake pads etc... are reasonable. What does a Cayman tyre cost these days? As for saying they'd prefer a Golf GTI over this... YAWN! only if you think understeering and torque steer are your bag.
 
It feels special to me even doing the commute or going down to the town to do a shop. Need to keep driving it more but I've needed other vehicles for other things lately. I'll still keep it as long as I can.
 
JonBon said:
They keep comparing a RWD car with FWD cars and 4WD. I agree about the noise but this can be addressed by adding some sound deadening. Personally I find the car very practical, i can get loads in it when i need to. No question that the Cayman is a great car but they failed to compare the running costs. Toyota has a 10 year warranty, servicing is reasonable and tyres, brake pads etc... are reasonable. What does a Cayman tyre cost these days? As for saying they'd prefer a Golf GTI over this... YAWN! only if you think understeering and torque steer are your bag.
Click to expand...
Oh sod it…. So in a nutshell this was my thoughts, thanks JonBon.

I particularly like the part where the GR86 is a hatchback but with a coupe body place on it…. Anyone know which RWD hatchback the GR86 is sitting on…. Anyone??

So as one of a number of ex Porsche owners (987gen2, 991C4S, 981 GTS & GT4) that are fellow GR86 owner on this great forum can attest to the running costs of any age of Porsche can be a bit eye watering, did it for 10 years, got very frustrated with the dealerships and the dilution of the badge into electric and SUV models at the end.

Bottom line for me the GR86 is a breath of late 90’s light weight fresh air with a 20’s thin layer of tech & R&D overlayed. Is it perfect, no (tell me which car is), but that is what is so right about it in the fact it doesn’t try to hide it!
I am delighted I am in the minority of drivers that get this car (apparently), and what it represents in the maddening crowd of boring dull cars in 2024.

Shame the CEO of Toyota felt out of touch with the generation of today (hell I am mid 40’s and I can’t relate to this phone/tablet obsessed zombie generation), as I was delighted to see a CEO immerse himself in motorsport and signed off to build the GR models of late. My regret is he has retired, a bit younger and I wonder what other marque would have snapped him up to do something similar, but at least we have all got to enjoy his last hurrahs!!

I’ll put my phone down now and enjoy a 90’s movie on DVD…. ;)
 
Grblue86 said:
What I expected from Sean given his past gr86 review. I find him too much of a badge snob.
Click to expand...

No kidding. Posh ****.


Grblue86 said:
Tony to a much smaller degree too but he is much more down to earth and more on point
Click to expand...

He learned fairly quickly that it's a good car to drive, but he managed to start the review seemingly knowing nothing at all about the car.

They conclude that neither of them would buy it. Well that applies to 99.9% of cars out there, they don't buy them all do they :rolleyes:
 
Conscript said:
And yeah..."you have to explain what it is to people". Is this really a serious consideration when buying a fun car?
Click to expand...

No, they're fools. I've never felt the need to explain it to anyone and the reaction has been positive from everyone I know who's seen it, except for the wife, who thinks it's a chav car. But then she's always had terrible taste.
 
The owners of a GR86 bought it for their reasons. I know I can't get five people in it, and I know in traffic I have to change gear and in an automatic I don't have to. But these things I considered before buying. I'm not f***ing stupid!I wanted a sports car that would be fun, manual, cheap to run and fit me, I'm tall, and my golf clubs in and was something I could afford, and that's what I got. Reviewers should review the car for what it is, not for what it isn't. I don't object to them having opinions but stating the bloody obvious and then knocking the car because it isn't something different is just ridiculous.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top