Switching from GR Yaris to GR86?

[Galerion]

Hi there,

I hope this is the right place to post this. So I find myself in an interesting situation. I have owned my GR Yaris for 3 and a half years at this point and I still think it has no rivals. It's fast, practical, decently comfortable, has all the gizmos you need and gets decent gas mileage for what it is. It's also extremely competent and capable which is a double-sided sword in a way.

Thing is as a petrolhead you always keep your eyes on other cars. I think many of you know what Im talking about. I have been thinking about switching to a sports coupe for a while now so I looked at potential ones that would be interesting to me. I looked at GR Supras, Camaros, Mustangs, GR86s and Lexus RC-Fs. I haven't driven any of them before so I tackled that issue.

Drove a manual GR Supra at the beginning of the year. Objectively a very good car but emotionally it really didn't do anything for me which was surprising but that's just how it is sometimes.
Today I drove a GR86 and a Camaro back to back and that was a mind opening experience for me. I realized just how spoiled I have become by lightweight cars. V8 + manual is a such sweet combination of things but you really felt that weight and the size at pretty much everything you did and I really wasn't a fan of that so that eliminated the Americans and the Lexus from my list.

The last one standing? The GR86 of course.
Quite a few say the car is slow and as a Yaris owner I was afraid I would feel that way too but I really didn't as I carved up some backroads. And I had a blast doing it. Now I really understand why everyone praises the handling of the car so much. It's incredible. You feel so connected to everything.

Im currently thinking that the GR86 might be the more fulfilling car in my everyday life since "the fun" is way more accessible and I think it's very pretty to look at too. I already have some mods in mind that would enhance it even further.

But I can have only one car and I don't know if Im feeling comfortable selling the Yaris for it. Might sound harsh but it feels like I would trade a very special car for a lesser one. Of course that's a bit unfair since the 86 is pretty unique in its own right too but I just can't shake that feeling currently.

I would appreciate some feedback from others who might have been in a similar position or people who own both of them.

 

[Nick]

I've not owned, or even driven, a GR Yaris so can't compare the GR86 to that, but I came from a GR Supra to the GR86. The GR Supra looks amazing, and is extremely fast, but I can understand how you didn't emotionally connect to it. The GR86 is no where near as fast, but as a road car, is more than fast enough to enjoy yourself in, and the low weight can really be felt when you drive it, which is probably why it handles so well and puts a smile on your face when you drive it. I wouldn't say the GR86 is a lesser car, but very different, a sports car rather than a rally car for the road. Sorry, this probably doesn't help, I think @Lauren would be the best person to comment, as they'e already done what you're thinking about.
Lots to read here - https://www.gr-zoo.com/threads/coming-back-to-hachi-roku-life-bagged-a-12-mile-car.6448/

 

[S18RSG]

I can maybe weigh in as someone who's owned a GR Supra, driven a few GR Yaris, and now gladly own a GR86.

First thing you have to answer for yourself, is what type of car do you want. If we just consider the GR Yaris and GR86, they're VERY different.

The GR Yaris is all about competency. It has all the grip you could ever want, massively capable engine with huge potential, while maintaining every day drivability. It feels special in a way because its so small, lightweight and punches well above it weight when considering performance and fast road driving.

The GR86 isn't a numbers car, it barely represents a performance car honestly. It's the closest thing to buying a Caterham/Morgan that you can daily. You don't buy a Caterham/Morgan for the performance, you buy them for the experience of driving, the fun, the connection. Like them, the 86 is a laugh. You change the way you drive, cause you no longer care about racing that Golf GTI or Fiesta ST, you care only about having enough open road in front of you to blast through the next set of bends as quickly and as "on the limit of grip" as possible.

You need to consider those two scenarios and see which one you align with most. For me, the Yaris is too clinical. Its limits are too high for the public road. It needs to be driven hard to get the best from it, which usually means driving illegally. At normal road speeds, it felt quite ordinary to me, nothing really special about the experience. The Supra was similar, but different. Again, massively capable, but needed driving at over 100mph to start feeling impressive. Was a special experience owning it, felt like "baby's first supercar" or similar, which was cool, but ultimately, its not a car that easy to bond with.

As I think @Lauren will now back up (as @Nick correctly suggested, she recently made the switch to GR86 following a bit of my persuasion), the GR86 is just so much more of an experience to drive. More fun more of the time. Can be enjoyed in any weather at any speed, and you don't feel like you're missing out driving it at 20mph around town or at illegal speeds on fast roads/track.

What I would say, as someone who's spent some good money so far changing it, is the 86 really benefits from a few quality of life changes. Even a few hundred, or maybe thousands spent to enhance the experience really does make a big difference.

If it's not immediately obvious, my suggestion is do it. But that's a call only you can make.

 

[OPC100]

Some great points above. I'd like both, but can't really at the moment and it boils down to this for me....

GR86 is all the car that I want for me. I don't care what else is faster, more expensive, etc when driving it. Or what anyone else says about it, or suggests what I could of bought instead of it. Car, a quiet road and just me driving, it's a great medicine for this mad world that we are living in.

GR Yaris will bring out the devil in me. I'd love one, but know how I'd drive it. Like the last rally car I had, fast all weather traction is addictive, but requires or temps you into too much speed that isn't legal for the road. I'd fear my licence.

Love both, but will keep the GR86 if I can only have one.

 

[Grblue86]

It will be good to hear from someone that have sold from a gr86 to a gr supra or gr yaris too, I am not that person but I took passenger rides during a handling and maneuvering track day in a GR supra and a GR Yaris and a gave rides to the owners of those cars in my gr86.

On the Yaris ride I could not stop laughing, it was tuned. The amount of grip was incredible, it was a very very fun ride but you needed to be hammering it to feel that way. No doubt in my mind it was the faster A and B road car there dedpite the supra running methanol and over 500hp.

The supra was very very fast, put you in the back of the seat fast but with so much power you needed to restrain yourself during turns or you easily spun out, the transition to oversteer was too fast for the owner skill to catch up. A great car undoubtedly but one that for me was too fast for the road, where your levels of restrain would be tested too often.

I had the slowest car by far of the bunch, it was the most controllable while at the same time being very slidy, while it didn't elicit the same laughs the yaris did, it does reward the driver more in terms of road feedback and drivers input and car responses/behaviour more.

All 3 are great cars, i could have bought any but for me and what I want to get out of a car when driving it, the GR86 is the winner (even without all the mods I have already)

You need to drive a few, be taken out for drives and then make up your mind. GR Yaris are plenty right? Close to 5k of them I think, so getting back on one would not be difficult at all

 

[Galerion]

Thanks for the replies so far. I really appreciate it and I think it might interesting for other readers too who aren't quite sure which GR car they should go for. Im making a few specific replies below.


@Nick
I might have said it a bit clumsily but I didn't mean that the GR86 is really a lesser car. I just meant that Toyota spent more resources on making the GR Yaris than the other two. Toyota went the whole way with it even though they didn't have to. I might just be an odd person because I imagine many others don't care about this kind of stuff but I do to an extent. Owning a special car like this already fills me a certain pride and joy regardless of the actual usage. It's why you will never find me buying something like a VW Golf no matter how fast and fancy it is.

Thanks for the link to Laurens thread. I have read through it and found it quite interesting. She did already have experience with the 86 ancestors though which I don't have. As a matter of fact I only owned a single RWD car in my time and that was a Lexus IS-F so quite a bit different. A great car to be honest. Toyota really knows how to make a great sounding V8 and I would probably still own it if things would have been a bit different. But it's abyssal gas mileage along with the absurdly high insurance here in Germany just made it too expensive to own in the long term.
If you don't mind me asking how did you came to the decision to trade your Supra for the 86?

@S18RSG
A great post with some good points in it. It's probably very much like you have said. What's my personal alignment and I can share a quick story about it. As a boy I used to dream about owning a car like a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. It was the pinnacle for me. The sports car for non-rich people. Japans finest.
Just look at this short video with scenes from the movie "Taxi 2".


I watched that movie more times than I can count when I was young. Some real childhood memories right there.
So now imagine we are in the year 2020 and Toyota says they are making a car just like that and I can buy it. It was over for me. They didn't have to sell me anything. I stormed right to the dealership and said "Here, take my money. I don't care. I just want this car."

So this is exactly why I find this current situation pretty difficult because I don't dislike the Yaris. I love it actually. It's the perfect companion in my opinion. It's just that I think that a car like the GR86 would be more fun and fulfilling for the kind of driving that Im doing. That's it really for me. So Im asking myself if this single point is really enough to outweigh everything else.

The ideal solution would be to just own both but Im not fan of that. It would be possible in theory but it obviously wouldn't be a smart usage of money. I also never saw the point of owning multiple cars or having a weekend car or anything like that. I rather have one car that I can enjoy everyday.

Im curious but what kind of mods would you recommend on a GR86?

@Grblue86
True. There are plenty Yaris around but I owned mine since day 1. There are some emotions attached to that. Besides who knows how long that is still the case? People buy them and then sleep on maintenance, they crash them or mod them beyond recognition. It's just how it is with cars like that and the clean ones are getting rarer and rarer. Happened countless times already especially when it comes to Japanese performance cars. Won't be the case next year or even two but it will eventually happen.
No to mention I wouldn't be trading the cars for free. The dealership wants its share too after all.

 

[stigg10]

I had both!

Ended up selling the GR Yaris as the GR86 is more fun to drive, more of the time. I always found myself picking up the keys to the 86, even if it was just to pop to the shops for 5 mins.

The Yaris was awesome (mine was tweaked by Litchfield to 340bhp), but I feel more connected to the car/road in the 86. It rides better than the CP too - doesn't feel as stiffly sprung.

I do miss the hilarious wallop of torque that the Yaris had, especially coming out of corners. But, if you keep the revs high in the 86 (something you never tend to do in the Yaris as it started to run out of puff around 6k) you'll still be having lots of fun - and at more sensible speeds too... you can't drift a Yaris out of a wet roundabout at 20mph!

 

[S18RSG]

@S18RSG
A great post with some good points in it. It's probably very much like you have said. What's my personal alignment and I can share a quick story about it. As a boy I used to dream about owning a car like a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. It was the pinnacle for me. The sports car for non-rich people. Japans finest.
Just look at this short video with scenes from the movie "Taxi 2".


I watched that movie more times than I can count when I was young. Some real childhood memories right there.
So now imagine we are in the year 2020 and Toyota says they are making a car just like that and I can buy it. It was over for me. They didn't have to sell me anything. I stormed right to the dealership and said "Here, take my money. I don't care. I just want this car."

So this is exactly why I find this current situation pretty difficult because I don't dislike the Yaris. I love it actually. It's the perfect companion in my opinion. It's just that I think that a car like the GR86 would be more fun and fulfilling for the kind of driving that Im doing. That's it really for me. So Im asking myself if this single point is really enough to outweigh everything else.

The ideal solution would be to just own both but Im not fan of that. It would be possible in theory but it obviously wouldn't be a smart usage of money. I also never saw the point of owning multiple cars or having a weekend car or anything like that. I rather have one car that I can enjoy everyday.

Im curious but what kind of mods would you recommend on a GR86?

Makes a lot fof sense. Here's what I would say, from my perhaps similar experience.

I've never had a desire for a rally car. Even as a rally fan back in the late 90s/early 00s, an Impreza/Evo just never really came onto my radar. When I started driving in the late 2000s however, having grown up around the hot hatch boom of the early 2000s (Civic Type R, Clio 182, Cupras, STs etc.) I always wanted one, and so I bought one. That developed my love for JDM cars generally. I've bought German cars, and although they're probably better than the Japs in many ways, they have no personality at all.

The GR86 to me, is one of the most charismatic cars I've ever owned. It's bursting with personality. It has flaws, but you don't care, because it does so much so well. A lot of that comes down to RWD, a lot down to the JDM-ness of the car (cheap plastics, cheap running costs, imperfect interior etc.).

The GR Yaris, in some ways, despite being 100% Toyota, feels like it was more targetted at a European market to me. Despite its success in Japan also, it seems to lack that personality for me, similarly to how a German car would. Not sure if its the clinical handling or something else, but it lacks something for me. Maybe Toyota focused on making it TOO good, and forgot about fun a little bit?

Either way, whether people agree or disagree, the drives always left me a little underwhelmed. Stepping back into the GR86 afterwards felt like an upgrade, not a downgrade.

As for mods, I would say (in order of importance):

1. Exhaust
2. Interior upgrades (better speakers, amp, some alcantara touches etc.)
3. Wheels/tyres (specifically quieter tyres)

I've obviously gone a lot further than that, and a lot further than most people. Not much else has been a "huge" upgrade, but more so just my own personal taste. I think the seats have been my single best upgrade, but not everyone wants to daily drive fixed bucket seats. The suspension, wheels and tyres make a huge difference to how the car looks and drives, but again, nothing particularly wrong with the stock suspension especially.

 

[Galerion]

Makes a lot fof sense. Here's what I would say, from my perhaps similar experience.

I've never had a desire for a rally car. Even as a rally fan back in the late 90s/early 00s, an Impreza/Evo just never really came onto my radar. When I started driving in the late 2000s however, having grown up around the hot hatch boom of the early 2000s (Civic Type R, Clio 182, Cupras, STs etc.) I always wanted one, and so I bought one. That developed my love for JDM cars generally. I've bought German cars, and although they're probably better than the Japs in many ways, they have no personality at all.

The GR86 to me, is one of the most charismatic cars I've ever owned. It's bursting with personality. It has flaws, but you don't care, because it does so much so well. A lot of that comes down to RWD, a lot down to the JDM-ness of the car (cheap plastics, cheap running costs, imperfect interior etc.).

The GR Yaris, in some ways, despite being 100% Toyota, feels like it was more targetted at a European market to me. Despite its success in Japan also, it seems to lack that personality for me, similarly to how a German car would. Not sure if its the clinical handling or something else, but it lacks something for me. Maybe Toyota focused on making it TOO good, and forgot about fun a little bit?

Either way, whether people agree or disagree, the drives always left me a little underwhelmed. Stepping back into the GR86 afterwards felt like an upgrade, not a downgrade.

As for mods, I would say (in order of importance):

1. Exhaust
2. Interior upgrades (better speakers, amp, some alcantara touches etc.)
3. Wheels/tyres (specifically quieter tyres)

I've obviously gone a lot further than that, and a lot further than most people. Not much else has been a "huge" upgrade, but more so just my own personal taste. I think the seats have been my single best upgrade, but not everyone wants to daily drive fixed bucket seats. The suspension, wheels and tyres make a huge difference to how the car looks and drives, but again, nothing particularly wrong with the stock suspension especially.

I looked at your thread about your car and I love it. I have imagined something pretty similar for me too. The car is a real looker especially after some mods. That along with the driving experience are the main selling points for me. Exhaust and wheel/tires would be a priority for me too. I think most cars can actually profit from those but obviously tastes differ.

I did have a few hot hatches previously too. A FK8 Civic Type R, a i30N and even a Yaris GRMN. But honestly the concept of FWD hot hatches doesn't excite me anymore no matter how good they are. It's why the GR Yaris was such a breath of fresh air for me.

Speaking about it I do have to disagree with you a bit on the GR Yaris though. The car does feel 100% Japanese if you remember the Japanese mindset on things and it is fun. The turbo sounds the car makes are 100% JDM and that already in stock form. The car is turbocharged and Toyota made sure to let people actually hear it because it's awesome. I didn't hear anything like that in the GR Supra for example. I do find myself sometimes just spooling up the turbo to hear those sounds. There is also the handbrake which can make you go crazy and the car has a reverse relationship with weather and road conditions. The worse they get, the better and more alive the car becomes. I think in those kind of conditions it's the best and most fun car you can buy

But here is where I do agree with you. The car isn't giving you those things for free. You have to be lucky and/or go out of your way to look for these kind of opportunities. In your normal day to day driving where you are just going to work or go shopping you won't find these kind of things. The only thing you have is putting your foot down a bit if traffic allows it but even those opportunities tend to be short lived just because of how fast the car is.

 

[S18RSG]

I looked at your thread about your car and I love it. I have imagined something pretty similar for me too. The car is a real looker especially after some mods. That along with the driving experience are the main selling points for me. Exhaust and wheel/tires would be a priority for me too. I think most cars can actually profit from those but obviously tastes differ.

I did have a few hot hatches previously too. A FK8 Civic Type R, a i30N and even a Yaris GRMN. But honestly the concept of FWD hot hatches doesn't excite me anymore no matter how good they are. It's why the GR Yaris was such a breath of fresh air for me.

Speaking about it I do have to disagree with you a bit on the GR Yaris though. The car does feel 100% Japanese if you remember the Japanese mindset on things and it is fun. The turbo sounds the car makes are 100% JDM and that already in stock form. The car is turbocharged and Toyota made sure to let people actually hear it because it's awesome. I didn't hear anything like that in the GR Supra for example. I do find myself sometimes just spooling up the turbo to hear those sounds. There is also the handbrake which can make you go crazy and the car has a reverse relationship with weather and road conditions. The worse they get, the better and more alive the car becomes. I think in those kind of conditions it's the best and most fun car you can buy
View attachment 29179

But here is where I do agree with you. The car isn't giving you those things for free. You have to be lucky and/or go out of your way to look for these kind of opportunities. In your normal day to day driving where you are just going to work or go shopping you won't find these kind of things. The only thing you have is putting your foot down a bit if traffic allows it but even those opportunities tend to be short lived just because of how fast the car is.

Just to clarify, the comment I made about it feeling more aimed at a European market, I mean compared to the GR86.

Compared to the Supra, which is literally just a BMW with a nicer body, it's night and day better in that regard, but the GR86 is the right level of compromised and needs some mods to help it. The Yaris is almost made to be "too good" from the factory, leaving mods only there to make the car your own, rather than make serious improvements.

Thanks for the kind words regarding my car though, glad you like it. I'd love to see someone else do similar.

 

[AP756]

Had RWD cars all my life (including GT86 from 2014), then Toyota launched the GR Yaris (the first AWD for me) and I bought one. Just two years later Toyota launched the GR86 and I bought one...

The GT86 I handed down to my godson for a fair price (he pestered me for months), the other two are still with me and I use them according to my mood. Well, both are great cars and I really can't tell which one feels better to me. So I'll keep them both as long as I'm able to enjoy driving .

Bye for now Fred

 

[CerN]

One thing that @Onehp was experimenting with on his GRY was fitting narrower and "worse"/cheaper tires to increase the fun at normal speeds. Maybe something worth a thought?

 

[Galerion]

Just to clarify, the comment I made about it feeling more aimed at a European market, I mean compared to the GR86.

Compared to the Supra, which is literally just a BMW with a nicer body, it's night and day better in that regard, but the GR86 is the right level of compromised and needs some mods to help it. The Yaris is almost made to be "too good" from the factory, leaving mods only there to make the car your own, rather than make serious improvements.

Thanks for the kind words regarding my car though, glad you like it. I'd love to see someone else do similar.

You are certainly right about that. I do have some mods on the Yaris too but I would be a fool to say that I significantly made the car better because Im not even exploring the limits very often. You have to drive like a lunatic to do that. But I don't blame the car or Toyota for that. It's a purpose built car. It was meant to perform and win races. The new Rally2 car is already doing well because the base is just that good. And private parties have performed very well in various other events too with their cars. It's just like with the Civic Type R or Nissan GT-R. These are precision Japanese weapons which do what they are meant to do with absolute perfection but that logically means their limits are sky high and as an average Joe you aren't reaching them very often. That's why some rival cars might seem more exciting then them.

It just depends on what you want I guess and Im feeling conflicted about that currently because I honestly wanna have both
It's what does worry me a bit about the 86. It absolute nails the fun everyday part. But I fear that after sometime of owning the car I would crave some more performance too and that's when things would get difficult and very expensive. Like you said the car needs some mods to help it but Im not really the person who is feeling comfortable with basically renovating their entire car.

One thing that @Onehp was experimenting with on his GRY was fitting narrower and "worse"/cheaper tires to increase the fun at normal speeds. Maybe something worth a thought?

So basically what Toyota did with the GT86? Put some economy Prius tires on it and be all over the place.

Never tried it or thought about it and I can't say I would feel confident with that. Tires are the one thing you shouldn't cheap out on since those the only things holding you on the road. But if someone has tried it I would definitely love to hear about their experiences with it.

 

[AP756]

My two cents: Out of curiosity I took a set of spare 17" Toyota rims, bought "All Season tires" (Hankook) and tried it out. This combo works nicely on my GR86. The limits you can reach definitively are a bit lower than on 18" PS4, but still in an area where you get a wide smile on your face without negative side effects. I'd say it feels harmonic up to max. speeds (in any direction) and it fits to my old-fashioned driving style.

Bye for now Fred

 

[CerN]

So basically what Toyota did with the GT86? Put some economy Prius tires on it and be all over the place.

Never tried it or thought about it and I can't say I would feel confident with that. Tires are the one thing you shouldn't cheap out on since those the only things holding you on the road. But if someone has tried it I would definitely love to hear about their experiences with it.

I think it was all discussed here: https://www.gr-zoo.com/threads/lower-grip-tyres-discussion.596/

 

[KobayashiMaru86]

Not much more to add. My thoughts are the same as Ross. The Yaris is a ten tenths car. Only feels special when you're past legal limits and these days, even on Mid Wales roads, that's getting harder to get away with. The Supra never appealed to me. Very fast, yes, the engine has loads of tuning potential but for me would be a car where you'd need a daily too as boot pace was minimal. The GR86 for me get it's just right. Just enough space inside to be useful as a daily, so much chassis tuning potential and so well supported since many GT bits fit. Even stock it feels special doing 20mph to the shops. Get it on the roads I know and it creates an odd feeling for me of familiarity with the road and yet a new experience of experiencing the road again but in a good RWD car, coming from mainly FWD for years (bar a quick affair with a Z4M). I've found for me at least to stay in tune with it, it has to be driven regularly. Leave it a few weeks and it takes time for me to sync up again. Mods for me that are a must were exhaust as now I can hear it and it's better to drive for it. I'm down the rabbit hole of chassis bracing but they aren't strictly needed but for me, they make quite the difference. Wheels and tyres will be next. I'd like a brake setup but only if it all matches and spares are easy to get in the future.

 

[ZN8]

@doogle83 had both too. I'm sure if he is still hanging around he could chime in.

 

[Netcon]

I really don't have much to add but I went from GR Yaris to GR86. Briefly in-between had a GT86 to see if I'd like it. I don't regret the swap but I do miss the Yaris. Being a Toyota fanboy the 86 doesn't feel as Toyota as the Yaris but in some ways the 86 feels more special as a car. Money no object i'd have both but between my Corolla T Sport daily and GR86 I get enough variety to keep me happy. Lucky to have the Corolla for bad weather/winter and the 86 for the nice days mainly. In reality the Yaris/86 id be happy with a coinflip on!

 

[Lauren]

I've owned both. 50K + 3.5 years in a Yaris including plenty of track time and two years in a sprint championship. I owned a GT86 before that which I won 3 sprint championships in. I also had an AE86 which could be the most overhyped car ever made. I loved my GT though and did 150K miles in it.

I bought the Yaris because - homologation special. I'd never had a turbo or 4WD before. I'm a FR purist and have been since I was 19. I really enjoyed the Yaris, it's just so good. Only on track could you really play with the balance, best seen with some serious trail braking to get that rear end mobilised and it really would. It was never a sideways machine though really. Smidgens of corrective lock were the way for the most part. I did the GR tour round the Alps last year. It was great it was easily the fastest car on the road. Nothing could touch it. You will never lose a GR Yaris with a decent pair of hands behind the wheel.

I also found it really engaging too. I could take you round say Oulton Park in my stock car and literally drive round everything. It was super fast if you knew how to use it. That was fun to a point.

Like you I had the 3.5 year finance issue. But when I thought about it, I had a bit of a 'Last of the V8 Interceptors' moment in that I realised if I did not get a GR86 now then I would never be able to get one again. I reviewed the 86 when it came out for my dealer and loved the exquisite damping and how accurate the steering was. It was sublime and everything you wished the GT86 was.

I would also say that the GR86 has a far more flexible an usable engine than the Yaris does and the gearing is perfect in a way that the gearing on the Yaris was annoying. Try driving at 28mph in 4th or 46mph in 6th. The Yaris just can't do it. Forever swopping cogs in general driving. But that isn't why I made the change.

For me it's more about that FR purity and what I like with the 86 is that it rewards finesse far more than the Yaris does. You don't need to be that good a driver to go reasonably quickly Yaris. But you can't say the same with the 86. I guess if you're someone who doesn't like to turn off the stability control then the fun you can have in the 86 will not be fully realised, but if you do you can be a bit silly especially in the wet. These things have their time and place of course. I love the way I have to balance the car and you cannot beat an NA for throttle response. A turbo can never come close and it's almost like your'e pumping the throttle in the Yaris or just using it's near absolute traction to fire you out of the corner. You can do it so much more prettily in the 86 balancing a little oversteer on the exit and even hold it if you like. I love that sensitivity. I do wish Toyota hadn't cheaped out on the 86 front brakes but the feel is still good. I prefer the lighter steering of the 86, it has a far better feel than the Yaris and you can react so accurately to it. Love that. The damping is also better and more resolved than the Yaris. The car feels lighter despite being the same weight.

In the end it's about what you want. I don't regret it at all though. Next year I'l take to the Alps with the Yaris crew again. Just been busy getting married this year.

 

[Galerion]

I think it was all discussed here: https://www.gr-zoo.com/threads/lower-grip-tyres-discussion.596/

Thanks for that and at @Onehp for his extensive testing. I planned on replacing the original PS4S with Conti SportContact 7 after this summer since that tire has destroyed the competition in basically every single comparison test since its release. I guess I have now something more to consider.

I've owned both. 50K + 3.5 years in a Yaris including plenty of track time and two years in a sprint championship. I owned a GT86 before that which I won 3 sprint championships in. I also had an AE86 which could be the most overhyped car ever made. I loved my GT though and did 150K miles in it.

I bought the Yaris because - homologation special. I'd never had a turbo or 4WD before. I'm a FR purist and have been since I was 19. I really enjoyed the Yaris, it's just so good. Only on track could you really play with the balance, best seen with some serious trail braking to get that rear end mobilised and it really would. It was never a sideways machine though really. Smidgens of corrective lock were the way for the most part. I did the GR tour round the Alps last year. It was great it was easily the fastest car on the road. Nothing could touch it. You will never lose a GR Yaris with a decent pair of hands behind the wheel.

I also found it really engaging too. I could take you round say Oulton Park in my stock car and literally drive round everything. It was super fast if you knew how to use it. That was fun to a point.

Like you I had the 3.5 year finance issue. But when I thought about it, I had a bit of a 'Last of the V8 Interceptors' moment in that I realised if I did not get a GR86 now then I would never be able to get one again. I reviewed the 86 when it came out for my dealer and loved the exquisite damping and how accurate the steering was. It was sublime and everything you wished the GT86 was.

I would also say that the GR86 has a far more flexible an usable engine than the Yaris does and the gearing is perfect in a way that the gearing on the Yaris was annoying. Try driving at 28mph in 4th or 46mph in 6th. The Yaris just can't do it. Forever swopping cogs in general driving. But that isn't why I made the change.

For me it's more about that FR purity and what I like with the 86 is that it rewards finesse far more than the Yaris does. You don't need to be that good a driver to go reasonably quickly Yaris. But you can't say the same with the 86. I guess if you're someone who doesn't like to turn off the stability control then the fun you can have in the 86 will not be fully realised, but if you do you can be a bit silly especially in the wet. These things have their time and place of course. I love the way I have to balance the car and you cannot beat an NA for throttle response. A turbo can never come close and it's almost like your'e pumping the throttle in the Yaris or just using it's near absolute traction to fire you out of the corner. You can do it so much more prettily in the 86 balancing a little oversteer on the exit and even hold it if you like. I love that sensitivity. I do wish Toyota hadn't cheaped out on the 86 front brakes but the feel is still good. I prefer the lighter steering of the 86, it has a far better feel than the Yaris and you can react so accurately to it. Love that. The damping is also better and more resolved than the Yaris. The car feels lighter despite being the same weight.

In the end it's about what you want. I don't regret it at all though. Next year I'l take to the Alps with the Yaris crew again. Just been busy getting married this year.

Hi Lauren. Nice to meet you. I did read through your thread of making the switch too.
A very nice and fair write-up of yours. It looks like you enjoyed the Yaris very much and only the made the switch because of your preference for FR and the thought of the GR86 being the last of it's kind. Thought to be fair that's true for both cars.
I don't really have a preference like that but I can say that I won't be buying a FWD car again.


Something that I didn't mention was that making the trade would cost me 6K. I didn't mention that because I wanted to compare the cars purely based on the technical stuff and the driving but obviously money does play a role in my decision making too.

It has been a few days since my test drive and I had time to think everything through especially thanks to all the replies from all you here. We also had a few days of very bad weather here in Germany which is why I made a longer backroad blast with the Yaris again and it was as good as you would expect.

So here is how it currently looks like.

Switch to GR86:
Pay 6K. The car is begging to be modded too just like a few of you have said. Personal must-have mods for me would be exhaust, new wheels/tires and lowering springs. That's roughly another 2-3K. The car has more expensive insurance and taxes. Not by a huge amount but it is there. It also has officially worse gas mileage which is why taxes are higher. These two things are linked here in Germany in case you don't know about that. It's also missing a few comfort features like adaptive cruise control or heated steering wheel which I have been using quite often to be honest.

Stick with the GR Yaris:
I will have paid off the car next month and that frees up a good chunk of income that can then be used for other things. While the GR Yaris has less need to be modded you can still go absolutely crazy with it since the modding scene is huge. I already have my must-have mods but there a few others I was always interested in but never got to. With the new freed up resources I could pursue them more easily. Or I could use the money for smart things like more savings but we would have to see about that
The car also has more performance out of the box and with my mods it has even more so. While that's admittedly hard to explore in normal day to day driving, my most recent drive confirmed that I do enjoy it very much whenever I can explore it. And I think I would have a hard time coping when it's no longer there.

As you can see thing are kinda lopsided. That along with my emotional attachment to the Yaris has made me decide that I won't be buying the 86. There is just no way I can justify that currently with the way things are. Maybe that will change further down the line. Maybe it won't. Who knows?

Either way Im thanking you all again for your responses. I have learned a few new things along the way and you helped me with analyzing the situation and exploring my personal feelings on the matter.