Stumbled on this old thread - what did you pay for it please?Well as promised here’s an update. I love reading road trip threads myself, so in the waffling below I’ve described my experiences. It’s very very long, possibly the longest post I’ve seen on here), so perhaps something for a read with a cup of tea. Owners of the car might be familiar with a lot of what I’ve described, so here’s my thoughts from somebody who’s only seen a couple of GR86s in the wild (even after all this time), let alone sat in one.
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We collected the car at the airport desk and I saw the key fob - plain black with no GR logo. Oh well, worth a try and nothing lost I thought. But as I scanned the rental agreement before signing, I noticed GR86 at the top - it actually was one then! We went to the parking area, and there was a dark metallic blue car parked up. 3500 km on the clock, only just run in (if rental cars ever are). It’s safe to say that the GR86 (and its predecessor) are very pleasing to the eye and I’ve enjoyed seeing the various cars on this forum. The only difference I saw from stock was some budget looking aftermarket wheels fitted with Nokian winter tyres. Presumably given the time of year, this was a requirement. It was no real problem as it’s not like I’d be driving at my best effort in my first time behind the wheel of a left hand drive car. It did take a little getting used to and my hand hit the door a few times looking for gears, but a 2 hour drive from Geneva to Thun (near Bern) to visit our friends was a good chance to settle in. The seating position is super comfortable and a bit lower than the Yaris that I am used to, which was nice. I wasn’t a massive fan of some of the interior choices (eg the separate bit of alcantara above the instruments), but it was pleasant enough.
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Off we went after inspecting the car - it really was spotless - only to immediately take a wrong turn out of the car park and have to find a hotel slip road in order to do a U turn. We were then off on the motorway, in the meantime stopping in one of the best traffic jam locations I’ve ever been in next to some vineyards and Lake Geneva itself.
Within 5 minutes of entering the traffic, we’d pulled up alongside a Swiss registered GR86 in convoy with a well modified looking GT86. Must be common as muck then. We did the obligatory thumbs up and waves, being not quite sure of the etiquette for continually overtaking and being overtaken in traffic (do you wave each time?). Anyway, we turned off to head towards the Jaunpass and those were the last Toyotas, let alone cars with 86 in their name, that we saw for a couple of days.
The car was notifying me that it was time to take a break, so we had one of those fun random road trip lunch stops in Gruyère, home of the cheese. There was a small shop with open sandwiches (belegtes brot), was not a fan of the clear pork pie jelly covering them but a nice stop nonetheless. I love finding unexpected places on a road trip and was a little sad that we were only on a brief jaunt of 4 days.
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We chose to drive the scenic route to Thun instead of the boring motorway. The Jaunpass is quite narrow and a relatively low summit at 1500 m but in the corners on the way up, the car felt really planted. It was the first time that there’d been some twisty roads. I enjoyed the descent too given the stellar handling, and didn’t have to worry about the gears as much so could focus on getting the corners right. We had by far the best weather of our brief trip, so banked the opportunity for some photos. After a 2.5 hr drive, we arrived at our friends’ house.
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The next day we didn’t drive very much, but I got to experience some nice lakeside roads for the first time. The engineering prowess in Switzerland is staggering, every mountain has some sort of cable car and the roads traverse gorges, tunnels and elevated sections above lakes. There were some lovely corners along the edge of the Thunsee, feeling a bit like the Amalfi coast (I imagine) had the weather been better and I was already feeling like my spatial awareness was improving, as well as the instinct to change gear with my right hand.
I woke on day 3 with excitement - it was a free day to spend driving by myself. For some background context, my fianceés’ friend had recently had twins (this being the purpose of the trip and the reason for the short 4 day stay), and she wanted some time to properly catch up with just the 2 (or rather the 4) of them. I felt so fortunate to be such a win win situation.
The weather forecast wasn’t ideal with it being torrential rain forecast all day long and I guess you can’t have it all. Not least in the mountains in September. However, as the entire trip and car choice was so unexpected, I really didn’t mind. I should admit that I’d done some pre trip investigations several months back and realised that we were only 1.5 hrs from the ‘standard’ trio of Swiss passes - Grimselpass west to east then into the Furkapass, then north a little and back to Innertkirchen via the Sustenpass. 3 of the best passes in Switzerland if not Europe were right on the doorstep then. The bad weather was ok since my OH had wanted to see the passes for herself at some point, and it meant that there would always be a reason to come back and enjoy the clear views some other time. So no pressure and another win win - if it was unexpectedly good weather then it was a huge bonus for me, but if it was to be bad weather then there was less guilt on my part. The only objective was to occupy myself for the day and I was still pinching myself as to how this had happened, given that I’d expected to be driving a Qashqai or something similar. I considered how much it costs for an organised tour or a sports car rental package but instead, we’d just got a cheap flight, a cheap car hire deal, free accommodation and ended up in a similar position!
From the get go the rain was torrential, with wipers set to full speed. This didn’t change much for the entire day. I headed towards Innertkirchen and off up the grimselpass. Rather than hairpins, the west side is one of those flowing roads which gradually ascends as you follow the valley and climb towards the upper slopes. The traffic was almost non existent apart from a few campers and an old 3 series convertible that I followed for the first bit. To give some perspective on the weather, fog lights had to come on closer to the top so there were no views at all. It was a surprise when I did reach the top as there wasn’t much warning before the summit sign / buildings appeared out of the mist. A quick photo then a nice descent - the cloud did briefly clear to show the furkapass ascent in front of me. The downhills were great in the car - you could use engine braking for the most part between 3rd and 4th, with a dab of the brakes when you got closer to a corner but every single time the car was spot on when turning in and held its line perfectly throughout. I never once felt like I had entered a corner too quickly and was getting into a rhythm sooner than expected - you really got a feel for how well balanced it is as a platform.
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I’d not appreciated how twisty the climb was up the Furkapss nor how close it was to the bottom of the Grimselpass. The lower slopes were briefly visible in the col between the two and I soon caught up to a queue of vehicles. I didn’t really mind this at the time as again, visibility was reduced to fog light distances and I wasn’t familiar with the road. Departing from the positivity elsewhere in this essay, in hindsight it was a shame as besides missing out on the views, the brief glimpses of the elevated sections of road above would have been nice to see. The views look stunning on a good day so I can’t wait to revisit and do it properly. Again, the handling was superb in the tighter hairpins but due to speed limits and the poor visibility I never really floored it. Another surprise came when I saw the infamous Belvedere suddenly appear infront of me, just like the top of the Grimselpass. I had a quick stop but there’s not much to do or see there so it was a bit further up the road over the summit then onto the infamous descent.
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I’d read about it being a bit treacherous and unpleasant due to the bumps, but I think that the lack of visibility may have been to my benefit as I couldn’t see the extent of the drops. It is narrow and there are some gaps in the fencing, plus the granite bollards with gaps between (surely too narrow for a car) in some sections were unnerving. It honestly wasn’t too bad though. My feelings must have been in contrast to the 2 German registered cars in front of me who kept a wide berth from the edge and at times crawled down. Perhaps I had the benefit of following their lead.
A brief drive north took me onto the Sustenpass to complete the circuit. A Swiss registered 911 carrera S followed me for the first bit, but it soon overtook up hill. Due to the streams of water running across the road I was in no rush to follow as I didn’t want to aquaplane, but I did wonder if the driver clocked what was in front or appreciated that it was just as special as their car, just in a different way. Perhaps not.
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It was a quiet time traffic wise so I could open things up a bit on the flowing rather than hairpin based sections of the lower Southern side. It was during this time I had one of those epiphanies where you just ‘get’ a car. On the flowing corners it was so on it, and I didn’t even have to try. It just felt perfectly balanced, perfectly powered and floated through each curve with ease. I’ve seen the GR86 described as a momentum car by somebody on here and I now understood what they meant.
Anyway, I headed over the summit without stopping due to the horrendous rain and I stopped a little further down to take some photos with the glacier in the background which was just visible when the clouds parted for a moment or two. The Sustenpass has a few distinct sections to it, some big straights with a few hairpins and steep gradients, then some twisty sections and then the wooded hairpins at the bottom.
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As I descended, I realised that I had to come back and drive it in the opposite direction. Based on a few cars coming the other way, it seemed like this was the ‘best’ side. Due to the sequence of the ‘best’ driving sides of the other two passes in the circuit, you are forced to do a U turn at some point if you want to do this.
I got down to Gadmen, turned and then immediately drove back up the pass, only to sit for 10 minutes at a set of traffic lights. I should mention that a minor issue was the numerous roadworks in the lower third of the pass - understandable given the location and the numerous tunnels. Some of the lights had a delay of 10 minutes, but 5 was more common. It did allow a breather, but it also broke up the flow a little. If it wasn’t for these, I’d have done another few runs of the 20 odd km ascent. Once through the last of them, I had several minutes of flowing uphill hairpins through a pine forest. It’s honestly one of the best bits of road I’ve ever been on, both driving up and driving down (for context, my parents live near one of the roads that Evo magazine does its car of the year test on). Just look at the Google maps screenshot of this section if you’re interested!!
Once at the top, another U turn and back down for the final time - the road workers must’ve recognised me by now. I descended and gelled with the car even more, it becoming harder to rule it out as an option for a third car (though see final thoughts below). I followed a queue of vehicles the entire way back to Thun from the bottom of the pass, but the car was comfortable on the motorway sections and I was getting a little tired from concentrating in the rain, so it wasn’t too much of a chore. I did break traction on an uphill hairpin when I dropped to second and got a bit too keen on the throttle but in that brief glimpse of what RWD is all about, the car remained eminently controllable. At least I hope it looked like that for the car behind. 6 hours later and feeling much more acquainted with the car, I returned back home, bemused as to how I’d ended up making multiple attempts at the Sustenpass on a Monday morning in a superb car for the grand total rental cost of £230.
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(Skip this bit (if you’re still reading) as it’s more waffle about my car choices)
So final thoughts on the GR86 from a newcomer:
This was a very unexpected and very extended test drive. I’d seen the thread about the Yaris vs GR86 and it had me thinking throughout this trip about what I’d do if I really was pushed be an option for me. I love the Yaris, primarily because of its rally background and because this what the character I wanted my choice of car to have when I could afford one of my own. So I’m keeping the Yaris for sure, due to the emotional attachment too.
But would I buy a GR86 if I didn’t already have the Yaris? Yes I unquestionably would. I can see why everybody on here and beyond loves it. The lower speed fun, the poise in the corners and the stunning looks are all plus points for me. It even worked on motorways, perhaps not ideal but it was still a comfortable place to be. I’m also attracted to the fact that you need to be a decent driver to get the most from this sort of car. I often feel the Yaris lets me get away with bad technique as you can power out of mistakes in corner entry. But as above, I grew up in the countryside near Kielder Forest with rough B roads, so track based cars were never really on my radar. I didn’t love the engine or the gearshift in the 86, but then again it did everything I wanted it to do and I tend not to drive a car near its limit anyway.
Interestingly enough, I do have a related conundrum and the chance to develop my driving with a rear wheel sports car, however: do I take up my friends offer to buy their S2000 which I currently have on long term loan from them, or do I consider a GT86 now that I’ve driven something closely related?
It’s very tempting given the same chassis in the latter, but I do wonder how driving the older version would leave me feeling now I’ve experienced the refined version, and the Honda has a superb engine as well as a soft top for another dimension when you’re forced to potter along. Any comments are welcome on this choice. Head says Honda as I know the car already but heart is staring to go towards GT86. Nice dilemma to have.
In summary, what an unexpected bonus, all as a result of scrolling a bit further down the web page when it came to sorting a hire car! If you’re thinking of doing the same, then the rental desk said they’re keeping this category of car until November so you may need to be quick- I’m sure the category will be reintroduced next summer, but who knows whether the GR86 will remain an option. My next trip up the passes might have to be in something like an MX5 from the ‘fun category’ instead, but I’ve got my fingers crossed for a repeat in the GR86.
GR86 Geneva Airport rental option
- Thread starter Dav1d
- Start date
- Dec 18, 2021
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No problem, are you thinking of doing the same? It was about £230-£250 if I remember correctly. Sadly I’ve been trying to find a way to book something in the “fun collection” again and I get cached results and can’t find a way to get directly onto it. Hopefully you’ll have more luck. I think I found it on the Swiss Hertz website originally, but was looking to replicate the trip perhaps in a rental MX5 and hope for some better weather!
I’ve gotten this far with considering taking my Yaris from the UK (see photo) planning wise but it’s a decent shlep on some motorways so thinking I might just explore bits of the Black Forest instead…
