GR86 The GR86: Do you actually know what you are getting, and will you be happy with it?

Silver Fox

Silver Fox

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Now that many of us have had the opportunity to drive the car we ordered back in April, perhaps it’s time for us to reflect on whether we made the right choice.

I’ve read most if not all of the forum contributors’ driving impressions and I do wonder if everyone will be happy with the car.

It’s always difficult to order something in advance of trying it. As a previous owner of a GT86 (which was totally standard) that I loved, I was confident I’d enjoy the GR86 and my 'not-entirely-free-from-being-tongue-in-cheek but read to the bottom' test drive confirmed it.

How do those of you who have never driven a GT86, and/or are coming from something vastly different, think you’ll take to the car when it arrives?

Should Toyota have limited the ordering opportunity to current or previous GT86 owners only, bearing in mind the limited numbers and strong demand? (This is a controversial point, but Ferrari and Porsche and others do it and this may protect the prospective buyer.)

I suppose we want to avoid buyer’s remorse including:

• The GR86 isn’t as quiet as my Audi A8.
• The MPG isn’t as good as my Toyota IQ.
• There’s more road noise than my S-Class.
• The gearchange isn’t as smooth as the 12-speed auto in my Lexus.
• It doesn’t sound as good as my V8 AMG.
• It’s harder to get in and out than my Ford B Max.
• There’s less room in the back for my six-foot teenage kids than my Zafira.
• The stereo is rubbish compared with my Bowers and Wilkins.
• I can’t get a wardrobe in the back like I can my Volvo estate.
• The ride is firmer than my 7-Series.
• The infotainment isn’t as nice as my Mercedes.
• There are no bloody suit hooks!!*

Are you confident that you have made the right choice?


*OK this was me and I'm not being entirely serious
 
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I lol'd :ROFLMAO:

1669917013249.webp
 
I'm not sure the 20 minutes, accompanied, test drive was enough for me to appreciate the GR86 yet, but I definitely didn't come away from it having changed my mind.
I want to go back to a light weight, manual, non-turbo car, with direct steering, which isn't a Porsche, and better still, doesn't cost Porsche money.
From the short drive I had, this feels like the right car for me, and I'm looking forward to finding out I've made the right decision as I get to grips with it. I've owned cars with all the toys (fully loaded F-Type) and didn't gel with it, it was just too heavy and big (they feel too wide for the roads I enjoy spirited driving on) for me. It probably didn't help that I'd come from an Abarth 124 Spider, which was small and light, but just too fragile to be used as a daily driver (I lost count of the amount of things that needed sorting under warranty).
I thought an Alpine A110 was going to be what I was after, but after managing to get a an hours drive in one, it was nice, but I didn't fall for it, maybe it was just too impractical for me for the money - if I had a daily driver and wanted a weekend toy then maybe it'd have been different.
The GR86 had been shown at Goodwood a couple of years ago, and I loved the look and idea of it, but as we all know, no-one, especially Toyota UK, seemed to have an idea of when we'd be getting it, but seeing it did start me looking at the Supra.
The Supra's a great car, and gets attention everywhere it goes from both car people (who think they're clever by muttering 'nice BMW' to their mates) and none car people who just appreciate it for being something special. The 3 litre engine is really smooth and very powerful, but the steering could be better (I had the wheel alignment sorted by a specialist which did help a lot), but definitely doesn't compare with the short drive I had in the GR86, and you can feel the cars weight around the corners. I'll miss it, but I think its going to be replaced with more of a 'drivers car'.
The GR86 seems the perfect way for me to enjoy driving, at a bit of a bargain price, before the only cars we're allowed to buy are heavy and larger than they need to be, electric SUVs, which try to drive for you. I'm looking forward to getting to learn to master it's clutch, and see how long I can resist before I feel the need to make any modifications. I have no intention of flipping this car just to make a few thousand, when I'm going to struggle to replace it at anywhere near the same cost. The pleasure of driving a proper sports car, everyday, without breaking the bank is worth much more to me.
 
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Drove it this morning, no regrets and feels quite grown up although did have it squirrelling off a roundabout onto dual carriage way.

Not a fan of red, looks quite orange so pleased I’ve gone grey.

Stereo is better than I was expecting

All in all I’m happy and looking forward to delivery
 
My first sports car, AE86

69268196_1162414213967531_8751678396032876544_n.jpg

And the GR86 will be my last

Loads of cars in between, Porsches, RCF, Abarth 124, 350bhp Polo, Z3's, TTRS, and many more...

I know the GR86 will be the one, fun without scared of losing licence everytime you boot it, Abarth 124 spider came close.

Thank you Toyota for giving it to us
 
Long-time lurker registering to answer this question. For science :)

I have neither owned nor driven a GT86, and have not yet had the opportunity to drive a GR86 - my local dealer is taking their sweet time to get their demo car registered. I am grateful that the order list was not restricted to those who owned the previous generation!

I'm one of probably relatively few people coming to the GR86 because I'm looking for a car that is more sensible and more practical. At the moment I drive a Lotus Elise that I've owned for eleven years, and a Honda NSX that I've owned for six years. For the five years before I got the NSX, the Elise was my only car . . . and that kind of sustained masochism will do horrible things to your sense of perspective about what kind of handling and response is really essential in your everyday car, along with how much practicality you actually need to trade off for it.

I started looking closely at the GT86 when it looked like I might wind up in a position where I'd be making some long motorway journeys on a regular basis, and wanted something that was better suited to making those trips, with better mpg and some more comfort. The GT86 looked like it was an excellent modern sports car that could could achieve mpg in the high thirties, while still retaining some sports car feel. I've also never owned a car with the classic FR layout - I went straight from an Alfa 147 to the Elise - and felt like that would be a box well worth ticking.

What intrigued me about the GR86 when information started to emerge is that not only did it seem to build on the widely acclaimed platform of the GT86 while managing to improve every one of the faults (ref: Jason Cammisa), but that it sadly looks like it's going to be the very last of its kind. With the possible exception of the MX5, there are no more manual gearbox sports cars any more.

I have a general gripe about modern cars in they all seem to be too big, too heavy, include too much technology, and are designed for people who see driving as a necessarily evil rather than something to be appreciated and enjoyed. Everywhere you look there are touchscreens to display your notifications while you're driving and distract you from the road, lane-keep-assist so you don't have to pay attention anyway, turbos so you can have torque everywhere, double-clutch gearboxes so you can drink your Starbucks latte while your car parps its way onto a dual carriageway by an out-of-town retail park at twenty over the speed limit while insulating you from the outside world.

There are no more sports cars. There will be no more sports cars.

I haven't been interested in an affordable current production car since . . . actually, I struggle to remember when. The GR86 piqued my attention enough to put money down. If I take delivery and for some reason it doesn't gel, well, it'll move on and the only cars I'll have for the rest of my life will be the Elise and an electric box of some kind for the journeys that just need making. I'll take mine with as few gimmicks as I can get, please.

Do I know what I'm getting? Technically, no I don't. I have had a passenger ride in a colleague's GT86, and I sat in the GR86 that Toyota brought to the Festival of Speed earlier this year. I liked the cabin, the ergonomics, the taut feeling that the GT86 had, the hope of usability (what are these "back seats" that people keep talking about?) and the fact that both cars are the correct size, but beyond that there isn't much that I can tell without having driven one.

What I hope I'm getting is a car that can be driven to work without too much burden if the traffic's bad and it's raining, can handle a long road trip to the Alps in the summer without going deaf or getting whole-body carpal tunnel, but on the days when I want to get up at 6am and drive a hundred miles on B-roads will still manage to come to the party by exercising my brain and all four limbs.

It won't have the steering feel of the Elise, it won't have the fabulous intake bark of the NSX, it won't have quite the visual appeal of either, and it probably won't quite induce the same raw excitement to go out for a drive . . . but in the year 2023 it might just be, for me, the best possible balance for the last new production internal combustion engined car I'll ever buy. Time will tell if that turns out to be the case.


(I'll let you guess what colour mine will be)
 
Great post @RedCarsGoFaster and welcome!

If you get the time it would be great to hear more about your NSX - I suspect I'm not alone in thinking this!
 
RedCarsGoFaster said:
Long-time lurker registering to answer this question. For science :)

I have neither owned nor driven a GT86, and have not yet had the opportunity to drive a GR86 - my local dealer is taking their sweet time to get their demo car registered. I am grateful that the order list was not restricted to those who owned the previous generation!

I'm one of probably relatively few people coming to the GR86 because I'm looking for a car that is more sensible and more practical. At the moment I drive a Lotus Elise that I've owned for eleven years, and a Honda NSX that I've owned for six years. For the five years before I got the NSX, the Elise was my only car . . . and that kind of sustained masochism will do horrible things to your sense of perspective about what kind of handling and response is really essential in your everyday car, along with how much practicality you actually need to trade off for it.

I started looking closely at the GT86 when it looked like I might wind up in a position where I'd be making some long motorway journeys on a regular basis, and wanted something that was better suited to making those trips, with better mpg and some more comfort. The GT86 looked like it was an excellent modern sports car that could could achieve mpg in the high thirties, while still retaining some sports car feel. I've also never owned a car with the classic FR layout - I went straight from an Alfa 147 to the Elise - and felt like that would be a box well worth ticking.

What intrigued me about the GR86 when information started to emerge is that not only did it seem to build on the widely acclaimed platform of the GT86 while managing to improve every one of the faults (ref: Jason Cammisa), but that it sadly looks like it's going to be the very last of its kind. With the possible exception of the MX5, there are no more manual gearbox sports cars any more.

I have a general gripe about modern cars in they all seem to be too big, too heavy, include too much technology, and are designed for people who see driving as a necessarily evil rather than something to be appreciated and enjoyed. Everywhere you look there are touchscreens to display your notifications while you're driving and distract you from the road, lane-keep-assist so you don't have to pay attention anyway, turbos so you can have torque everywhere, double-clutch gearboxes so you can drink your Starbucks latte while your car parps its way onto a dual carriageway by an out-of-town retail park at twenty over the speed limit while insulating you from the outside world.

There are no more sports cars. There will be no more sports cars.

I haven't been interested in an affordable current production car since . . . actually, I struggle to remember when. The GR86 piqued my attention enough to put money down. If I take delivery and for some reason it doesn't gel, well, it'll move on and the only cars I'll have for the rest of my life will be the Elise and an electric box of some kind for the journeys that just need making. I'll take mine with as few gimmicks as I can get, please.

Do I know what I'm getting? Technically, no I don't. I have had a passenger ride in a colleague's GT86, and I sat in the GR86 that Toyota brought to the Festival of Speed earlier this year. I liked the cabin, the ergonomics, the taut feeling that the GT86 had, the hope of usability (what are these "back seats" that people keep talking about?) and the fact that both cars are the correct size, but beyond that there isn't much that I can tell without having driven one.

What I hope I'm getting is a car that can be driven to work without too much burden if the traffic's bad and it's raining, can handle a long road trip to the Alps in the summer without going deaf or getting whole-body carpal tunnel, but on the days when I want to get up at 6am and drive a hundred miles on B-roads will still manage to come to the party by exercising my brain and all four limbs.

It won't have the steering feel of the Elise, it won't have the fabulous intake bark of the NSX, it won't have quite the visual appeal of either, and it probably won't quite induce the same raw excitement to go out for a drive . . . but in the year 2023 it might just be, for me, the best possible balance for the last new production internal combustion engined car I'll ever buy. Time will tell if that turns out to be the case.


(I'll let you guess what colour mine will be)
Click to expand...
@RedCarsGoFaster Welcome and congratulations 👍, I’m guessing you’re going for Red Manual 🤔 I’ll add you to The List , where abouts are you located ?
 
I was hoping for a Car that feels like my old CRX , small(ish) ✅ practical (luggage space)✅ , totally useless back seat ✅ revvy engine ✅ light weight ✅ good brakes ✅ nice gear change (🤐) ✅ affordable ✅Not a hot hatch✅. The cherry on the cake is a 10 year warranty and as I will always use my local Toyota dealership and won’t modify the engine /drivetrain if it brakes they will fix it. ✅✅

PS The photos are not of my old car but it was exactly the same, Rio Red.

572563D2-0B37-4F81-B7F9-7E8CBA06F9A4.webp
 
AndyRC said:
I was hoping for a Car that feels like my old CRX , small(ish) ✅ practical (luggage space)✅ , totally useless back seat ✅ revvy engine ✅ light weight ✅ good brakes ✅ nice gear change (🤐) ✅ affordable ✅Not a hot hatch✅. The cherry on the cake is a 10 year warranty and as I will always use my local Toyota dealership and won’t modify the engine /drivetrain if it brakes they will fix it. ✅✅

PS The photos are not of my old car but it was exactly the same, Rio Red.

View attachment 10434
Click to expand...
I've said it before here but I'll say it again: I absolutely love these CRXs and I strongly regret not buying one many years ago.
 
Fox on sabbatical said:
I've said it before here but I'll say it again: I absolutely love these CRXs and I strongly regret not buying one many years ago.
Click to expand...
I nearly bought one with 24k on it, looked perfect in the photos (may not have been close up) but was 2/3 the cost of the GR86 and sadly was now lacking my Must Have feature 🤐. If I drove one today it may disappoint after 35 years so I’m happy to stick with the memories. It was unique in the day compared to XR2s , Pugs etc
 
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