GR86 Test Drives Email!

[Sajinsanand]

Finally got my testdrive at Jemca Bracknell (after the GR86 being double-booked on Wednesday's first attempt) and I was able to enjoy 90mins unaccompanied fun, taking it up through Maidehead and up into Cookham.

I came away with mixed feelings, as I wasn't wholly gelling with the way the car drove. It's difficult to describe; I felt that the gearshift was solid, mechanical, and "shunk-y" whilst the clutch required more finesse and a smoother, almost delicate action, and I wasn't able to fully enjoy rowing through the gears. (I see it mentioned elsewhere that there is a clutch spring "fix", so I'm not too worried.)

I also didn't enjoy the budget stereo particularly, but that could well be because Christmas tunes kept coming on and it's only figgin' November!

Grumps out of the way, on to things I really enjoyed. The driving position, seats, and especially the steering wheel were exquisite and were a great place to be, and I loved the view out to the smurf-wrapped frontage.

The car felt full of poise and alive under me, and the engine and gearing very flexible, with it flowing nicely along the backroads I'd chosen. I pushed it up into the higher revs a few times and each time it sounded suitably angry and dramatic.

Overall, I think the car would reward the driver who befriends it, takes time to learn its ways and quirks, and takes it to their bosom. The GRY I came away from absolutely buzzing, and the GRS also gave me great vibes (in a different way); the GR86 wasn't instant attraction for me, but I suspect it will get under my skin and I'll end up obsessing over it, and waking up in a cold sweat dreaming about it!

Got to see the GR86 at Inchape Toyota Guildford in the same color. What a car. They have not started the test drives yet.

 

[Snowy]

Not much I can add to all of the excellent test drive reviews posted so far, except perhaps for a scenic view of the Gateshead demonstrator taken on Friday.

Looking forward to taking mine on the North Coast 500 in April. You'd think it could get from Derby to my dealer by then

 

[KobayashiMaru86]

Finally got my testdrive at Jemca Bracknell (after the GR86 being double-booked on Wednesday's first attempt) and I was able to enjoy 90mins unaccompanied fun, taking it up through Maidehead and up into Cookham.

I came away with mixed feelings, as I wasn't wholly gelling with the way the car drove. It's difficult to describe; I felt that the gearshift was solid, mechanical, and "shunk-y" whilst the clutch required more finesse and a smoother, almost delicate action, and I wasn't able to fully enjoy rowing through the gears. (I see it mentioned elsewhere that there is a clutch spring "fix", so I'm not too worried.)

I also didn't enjoy the budget stereo particularly, but that could well be because Christmas tunes kept coming on and it's only figgin' November!

Grumps out of the way, on to things I really enjoyed. The driving position, seats, and especially the steering wheel were exquisite and were a great place to be, and I loved the view out to the smurf-wrapped frontage.

The car felt full of poise and alive under me, and the engine and gearing very flexible, with it flowing nicely along the backroads I'd chosen. I pushed it up into the higher revs a few times and each time it sounded suitably angry and dramatic.

Overall, I think the car would reward the driver who befriends it, takes time to learn its ways and quirks, and takes it to their bosom. The GRY I came away from absolutely buzzing, and the GRS also gave me great vibes (in a different way); the GR86 wasn't instant attraction for me, but I suspect it will get under my skin and I'll end up obsessing over it, and waking up in a cold sweat dreaming about it!

The old was the same in that you had to be precise with your inputs to get the best out of it. A car that trains it's driver.

 

[mackie]

Yeah I felt like an oaf driving it, the clutch will take some practice but that's all part of the fun IMO. My current ZF8-equipped car has made me soft.

 

[KobayashiMaru86]

I'll phone my dealer tomorrow. If Cardiff had their then so should mine. Worst case I spin to Cardiff for a go

 

[Swizzle]

Just back from a very wet afternoon in woodford, i’ve ordered auto so i mainly wanted to check the ride and make sure the kids fit, my thoughts on the ride were pretty positive, firm but not crashy, pulled well in all gears from tickover, controls were easy to find as my test drive went from sun to storm very quickly, my only dislikes so far are the doors are huge, I couldn’t work out if you could get the track dash with the traction still on and the mirrors didn’t autofold, as many have said the clutch is short and fast which is a bit tricky in traffic, glad I've gone auto, and most importantly my 4ft and 5ft tall kids fit, the little one could even sit behind me with her legs crossed so it could be genuine 2+2

 

[Jp825]

I had to pop in to Steven Eagell St Albans earlier to collect the jacket I'd left on the back seat yesterday (duh!) and saw someone heading out for a test drive. Anyone on here?

If thats about 1pm then that be me. I didn’t see any jacket in the car though.

 

[SRGardening]

Evening All,
So had my test drive at Cardiff Toyota this morning and all in all found the car to be excellent and certainly met, if not exceeded my expectations. First thing I checked was the room for passengers- the pic below is the chair in the position with me being able to fit in both the front and rear passenger seats - I’m 6ft and slim build and I actually found it ok - but my legs needed to be stretched out in the front rather than up (as would hit glove box), plus it would only be ok for shortish journeys really…but for me that’s fine as kids (who are almost my height) will only be in it for occasional journeys

So, in terms of start up , the engine/exhaust probably sounded a bit quieter than I had expected but was still pleasant enough (for a boxer). I was pleasantly surprised by the feel of everything from the drivers seat - cockpit buttons felt substantial, steering wheel felt quality, handbrake position was lovely, gear knob looked slightly dated to me but I liked the notchiness of selecting each gear. One thing I wasn’t keen on is the infotainment system which just seems old fashioned (and I’m comparing this to my 2019 RAV4 which is not the best anyway!). Also, the dials on the dash are also a little bit old fashioned but I also sort of like that part.
Note picture of the dash and to highlight 2 things- the mileage and MPG - the salesman told me it had been on some sort of event day the previous day so I’m sure there has been some spirited driving and after 341 miles was showing close to 30mpg which was not bad at all. The other thing I wanted to mention was the little green symbol on the dash which I think is for the handbrake/hill control when setting off - it seems to be illuminated all the time which I just thought was a bit weird - and as mentioned just looks a bit old fashioned

So the drive itself felt amazing- seat comfy and supportive. The Clutch I actually found ok - lighter than others have reported and didn’t feel jerky or likely to stall at any point. I found the noise in the cabin pleasant and sporty sounding (prob the elec noise to be fair!). I think the blind spots are a bit more extreme that I realised (when joining a motorway from slip road visibility is very limited). It was an accompanied test drive and a fairly brief one but still enough for me to know I can’t wait to get my car! I had a few opportunities to accelerate with a bit of gutso and it felt amazing! And for the majority of the time spent in normal traffic it felt comfortable and relatively quiet- an easy daily car.
Final thing to note was the lack of reversing sensors as already mentioned and the camera is a bit poor (but similar to my RAV4 one so actually seemed ok to me!).

So overall…very pleased and looking forward to my actual car arriving (hopefully in December but we shall see….)

 

[mackie]

If thats about 1pm then that be me. I didn’t see any jacket in the car though.

They'd already retrieved it by then, mission was successful

 

[Jp825]

They'd already retrieved it by then, mission was successful

Glad you got it back. Did they let you go out in the car by yourself?

 

[mackie]

The reversing camera isn't actually that bad compared to the basic one on my current car (BMW but without the 360 system). Sensors would have been nice but this is better than nothing. I didn't think we'd get blind spot monitoring but that is included and seems to work well.

I thought the digital cluster worked well though, not laggy like some I've seen and I like both layouts. It's only missing Civic Type-R style shift lights which the sim-racer in me would love.

 

[mackie]

Glad you got it back. Did they let you go out in the car by yourself?

No, I went out with their GR specialist Mohammed, I actually followed you out so I think I saw him in the passenger seat. Accompanied was fine for me, I only needed to check that the ergonics worked for a 6'2" person really.

 

[OPC100]

Just back from a very wet afternoon in woodford, i’ve ordered auto so i mainly wanted to check the ride and make sure the kids fit, my thoughts on the ride were pretty positive, firm but not crashy, pulled well in all gears from tickover, controls were easy to find as my test drive went from sun to storm very quickly, my only dislikes so far are the doors are huge, I couldn’t work out if you could get the track dash with the traction still on and the mirrors didn’t autofold, as many have said the clutch is short and fast which is a bit tricky in traffic, glad I've gone auto, and most importantly my 4ft and 5ft tall kids fit, the little one could even sit behind me with her legs crossed so it could be genuine 2+2

The white looks good.

Interesting about your kids fitting in the back. My smallest is 5ft, so hoping she can get in the back when one of the boys can get in the front which is probably the most I may need to carry in normal circumstances.

 

[OPC100]

First thing I checked was the room for passengers- the pic below is the chair in the position with me being able to fit in both the front and rear passenger seats - I’m 6ft and slim build and I actually found it ok - but my legs needed to be stretched out in the front rather than up (as would hit glove box), plus it would only be ok for shortish journeys really…but for me that’s fine as kids (who are almost my height) will only be in it for occasional journeys View attachment 10164

Cheers. This looks like it could work for me and two of my boys then. Occasionally need to take them both 15-20 minutes to the next town and they are 5ft10 and 5ft11, so thinking it will be okay.

 

[AndyRC]

Just back from a very wet afternoon in woodford, i’ve ordered auto so i mainly wanted to check the ride and make sure the kids fit, my thoughts on the ride were pretty positive, firm but not crashy, pulled well in all gears from tickover, controls were easy to find as my test drive went from sun to storm very quickly, my only dislikes so far are the doors are huge, I couldn’t work out if you could get the track dash with the traction still on and the mirrors didn’t autofold, as many have said the clutch is short and fast which is a bit tricky in traffic, glad I've gone auto, and most importantly my 4ft and 5ft tall kids fit, the little one could even sit behind me with her legs crossed so it could be genuine 2+2View attachment 10145View attachment 10146View attachment 10147

Have you got a photo with the registration number

 

[AndyRC]

Great photos and comments folk , keep those photos coming , please don’t forget one with the registration number

 

[Swizzle]

Have you got a photo with the registration number

i stuck one on the reg numbers thread

 

[AndyRC]

i stuck one on the reg numbers thread

Great

 

[Bathroom_Security]

Got to see the GR86 at Inchape Toyota Guildford in the same color. What a car. They have not started the test drives yet.

I spoke to them on Saturday and they had one on order? So they actually have one there in the showroom?

 

[Grblue86]

The reversing camera isn't actually that bad compared to the basic one on my current car (BMW but without the 360 system). Sensors would have been nice but this is better than nothing. I didn't think we'd get blind spot monitoring but that is included and seems to work well.

I thought the digital cluster worked well though, not laggy like some I've seen and I like both layouts. It's only missing Civic Type-R style shift lights which the sim-racer in me would love.

On the blind spot Monitoring:
I have seen people in the US forums buying wider view side view mirrors, do they not get the blind spot monitoring?