GR86 GR86 - My review after 3k miles and why I'm selling it.

Today, I bought my BMW m240i - I had a test drive for 3 hours yesterday in a Supra...
I test drove the BMW for about an hour and it was enough to make my mind up. The only real fault with the BMW is that it rides hide and there's some body roll but I think putting it on lowering springs and it will fix it.

I've gone for "Thundernight metallic"

FYhfBpoXEAMCDBe-4109089452.jpg


BMW wins it for me, Supra is nice but too small really. However, I think I'll run the BMW till the Warranty expires and then trade it in for an older Supra. One of the major draws to me with the Supra is the 10 year warranty... so I don't mind buying a 3 year old one. Whereas my BMW I've just bought is 2 months old with 1k miles on it.


In fairness to the GR86... I am comparing a £31k car vs this @ £50k.


I've read all the comments here. Maybe I'll regret my GR86 sell. I don't think I will. I feel it's a good car, that could be one of the greats if you're prepared to drop some money on it. 260-300 horsepower and the GR would be perfect drivers car. I will miss the manual gear box, kinda, but not really because it isn't a great manual box.

As for some comments here... I've got over 50 laps on the Nurburgring and I'm a local to Cadwell where I attend basically every single car track day. I've had advanced driving lessons and I was also blue light response trained in a manual... I'm not saying I'm the stig. I'm not. But I am an advanced driver whom has spent many many hours on learning to drive properly in a variety of different situations.

To me (important, to me) this GR86 is underpowered, which to me is the biggest flaw. Other than that I find it quite an unrefined car, sure that has it's perks for fun. But, road noise, particularly tyre noise is poor. After driving the Supra and m240i you really notice these things...
I think ultimately, I want some luxury in my car. The GR86 isn't that. It's a bare bones sports car, no annoying tech (bonus) and simple. But, that can also be a flaw. I think there's a good middle ground to be had and personally that's exactly what I think when I drove the m240i.

Is it perfect? No... I wish it handled and steering feel more like the GR86, but on everything else it's better... and that's not even subjective. Objectively everywhere else this car is better. Subjectively, looks of the 86 are better... but then again you get the compromises of it being a tiny sportscar.
Who knows? In fairness if Toyota make a special edition GR86 and fancy popping a turbo charger on, or up the horsepower. I'll be back in the queue for one. Because ultimately, for all its flaws I could live with it if it had an extra 50-100 HP.

Cheers,


And someone put a really nice comment earlier and to you I say thank you. You said "Hey we might disagree but at least we can be civil". Yeah, I agree and that is reallly nice. I think I will miss the community feel here the most.

Further, it's not lost on me that I'm effectively bad mouthing one of your children here... so thanks for your patience (this note is to everyone) :p

<3

James
 
Today, I bought my BMW m240i - I had a test drive for 3 hours yesterday in a Supra...
I test drove the BMW for about an hour and it was enough to make my mind up. The only real fault with the BMW is that it rides hide and there's some body roll but I think putting it on lowering springs and it will fix it.

I've gone for "Thundernight metallic"

View attachment 15319

BMW wins it for me, Supra is nice but too small really. However, I think I'll run the BMW till the Warranty expires and then trade it in for an older Supra. One of the major draws to me with the Supra is the 10 year warranty... so I don't mind buying a 3 year old one. Whereas my BMW I've just bought is 2 months old with 1k miles on it.


In fairness to the GR86... I am comparing a £31k car vs this @ £50k.


I've read all the comments here. Maybe I'll regret my GR86 sell. I don't think I will. I feel it's a good car, that could be one of the greats if you're prepared to drop some money on it. 260-300 horsepower and the GR would be perfect drivers car. I will miss the manual gear box, kinda, but not really because it isn't a great manual box.

As for some comments here... I've got over 50 laps on the Nurburgring and I'm a local to Cadwell where I attend basically every single car track day. I've had advanced driving lessons and I was also blue light response trained in a manual... I'm not saying I'm the stig. I'm not. But I am an advanced driver whom has spent many many hours on learning to drive properly in a variety of different situations.

To me (important, to me) this GR86 is underpowered, which to me is the biggest flaw. Other than that I find it quite an unrefined car, sure that has it's perks for fun. But, road noise, particularly tyre noise is poor. After driving the Supra and m240i you really notice these things...
I think ultimately, I want some luxury in my car. The GR86 isn't that. It's a bare bones sports car, no annoying tech (bonus) and simple. But, that can also be a flaw. I think there's a good middle ground to be had and personally that's exactly what I think when I drove the m240i.

Is it perfect? No... I wish it handled and steering feel more like the GR86, but on everything else it's better... and that's not even subjective. Objectively everywhere else this car is better. Subjectively, looks of the 86 are better... but then again you get the compromises of it being a tiny sportscar.
Who knows? In fairness if Toyota make a special edition GR86 and fancy popping a turbo charger on, or up the horsepower. I'll be back in the queue for one. Because ultimately, for all its flaws I could live with it if it had an extra 50-100 HP.

Cheers,


And someone put a really nice comment earlier and to you I say thank you. You said "Hey we might disagree but at least we can be civil". Yeah, I agree and that is reallly nice. I think I will miss the community feel here the most.

Further, it's not lost on me that I'm effectively bad mouthing one of your children here... so thanks for your patience (this note is to everyone) :p

<3

James

Pleased for you James.

A friend has the latest revision of the M240i and it is quick!!

Nice colour you have chosen too!

Enjoy your new wheels!
 
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Today, I bought my BMW m240i - I had a test drive for 3 hours yesterday in a Supra...
I test drove the BMW for about an hour and it was enough to make my mind up. The only real fault with the BMW is that it rides hide and there's some body roll but I think putting it on lowering springs and it will fix it.

I've gone for "Thundernight metallic"

View attachment 15319

BMW wins it for me, Supra is nice but too small really. However, I think I'll run the BMW till the Warranty expires and then trade it in for an older Supra. One of the major draws to me with the Supra is the 10 year warranty... so I don't mind buying a 3 year old one. Whereas my BMW I've just bought is 2 months old with 1k miles on it.


In fairness to the GR86... I am comparing a £31k car vs this @ £50k.


I've read all the comments here. Maybe I'll regret my GR86 sell. I don't think I will. I feel it's a good car, that could be one of the greats if you're prepared to drop some money on it. 260-300 horsepower and the GR would be perfect drivers car. I will miss the manual gear box, kinda, but not really because it isn't a great manual box.

As for some comments here... I've got over 50 laps on the Nurburgring and I'm a local to Cadwell where I attend basically every single car track day. I've had advanced driving lessons and I was also blue light response trained in a manual... I'm not saying I'm the stig. I'm not. But I am an advanced driver whom has spent many many hours on learning to drive properly in a variety of different situations.

To me (important, to me) this GR86 is underpowered, which to me is the biggest flaw. Other than that I find it quite an unrefined car, sure that has it's perks for fun. But, road noise, particularly tyre noise is poor. After driving the Supra and m240i you really notice these things...
I think ultimately, I want some luxury in my car. The GR86 isn't that. It's a bare bones sports car, no annoying tech (bonus) and simple. But, that can also be a flaw. I think there's a good middle ground to be had and personally that's exactly what I think when I drove the m240i.

Is it perfect? No... I wish it handled and steering feel more like the GR86, but on everything else it's better... and that's not even subjective. Objectively everywhere else this car is better. Subjectively, looks of the 86 are better... but then again you get the compromises of it being a tiny sportscar.
Who knows? In fairness if Toyota make a special edition GR86 and fancy popping a turbo charger on, or up the horsepower. I'll be back in the queue for one. Because ultimately, for all its flaws I could live with it if it had an extra 50-100 HP.

Cheers,


And someone put a really nice comment earlier and to you I say thank you. You said "Hey we might disagree but at least we can be civil". Yeah, I agree and that is reallly nice. I think I will miss the community feel here the most.

Further, it's not lost on me that I'm effectively bad mouthing one of your children here... so thanks for your patience (this note is to everyone) :p

<3

James

You just prefer a different compromise basically, that's fine. I get the refinement part too, part reason I sold my GT86 at the time was that we were starting to do longer trips, then the relative lack of refinement started to grate.

Nice to read your driving history, mine was just an observation that some people buy sportscars for the looks (and the GR86 is quite a looker in the wild :love: - just spotted my first today) but wasn't aimed at you, just a PH tease ;) Driving inspiration of mine Reg Local drives a M2C so....

Safe and happy motoring with the new wheels!
 
Some of the reasons you didn't get on with the 86 were probably going to be obvious before you bought it (power and interior), hopefully you enjoy your new car though, I hear a remap is worth while 😂
 
Today, I bought my BMW m240i - I had a test drive for 3 hours yesterday in a Supra...
I test drove the BMW for about an hour and it was enough to make my mind up. The only real fault with the BMW is that it rides hide and there's some body roll but I think putting it on lowering springs and it will fix it.

I've gone for "Thundernight metallic"

View attachment 15319

BMW wins it for me, Supra is nice but too small really. However, I think I'll run the BMW till the Warranty expires and then trade it in for an older Supra. One of the major draws to me with the Supra is the 10 year warranty... so I don't mind buying a 3 year old one. Whereas my BMW I've just bought is 2 months old with 1k miles on it.


In fairness to the GR86... I am comparing a £31k car vs this @ £50k.


I've read all the comments here. Maybe I'll regret my GR86 sell. I don't think I will. I feel it's a good car, that could be one of the greats if you're prepared to drop some money on it. 260-300 horsepower and the GR would be perfect drivers car. I will miss the manual gear box, kinda, but not really because it isn't a great manual box.

As for some comments here... I've got over 50 laps on the Nurburgring and I'm a local to Cadwell where I attend basically every single car track day. I've had advanced driving lessons and I was also blue light response trained in a manual... I'm not saying I'm the stig. I'm not. But I am an advanced driver whom has spent many many hours on learning to drive properly in a variety of different situations.

To me (important, to me) this GR86 is underpowered, which to me is the biggest flaw. Other than that I find it quite an unrefined car, sure that has it's perks for fun. But, road noise, particularly tyre noise is poor. After driving the Supra and m240i you really notice these things...
I think ultimately, I want some luxury in my car. The GR86 isn't that. It's a bare bones sports car, no annoying tech (bonus) and simple. But, that can also be a flaw. I think there's a good middle ground to be had and personally that's exactly what I think when I drove the m240i.

Is it perfect? No... I wish it handled and steering feel more like the GR86, but on everything else it's better... and that's not even subjective. Objectively everywhere else this car is better. Subjectively, looks of the 86 are better... but then again you get the compromises of it being a tiny sportscar.
Who knows? In fairness if Toyota make a special edition GR86 and fancy popping a turbo charger on, or up the horsepower. I'll be back in the queue for one. Because ultimately, for all its flaws I could live with it if it had an extra 50-100 HP.

Cheers,


And someone put a really nice comment earlier and to you I say thank you. You said "Hey we might disagree but at least we can be civil". Yeah, I agree and that is reallly nice. I think I will miss the community feel here the most.

Further, it's not lost on me that I'm effectively bad mouthing one of your children here... so thanks for your patience (this note is to everyone) :p

<3

James
Is the pictured M2 the one you're buying? Because I could swear I've seen it on Instagram before. That plate/colour combo looks familiar.
 
Today, I bought my BMW m240i - I had a test drive for 3 hours yesterday in a Supra...
I test drove the BMW for about an hour and it was enough to make my mind up. The only real fault with the BMW is that it rides hide and there's some body roll but I think putting it on lowering springs and it will fix it.

I've gone for "Thundernight metallic"

View attachment 15319

BMW wins it for me, Supra is nice but too small really. However, I think I'll run the BMW till the Warranty expires and then trade it in for an older Supra. One of the major draws to me with the Supra is the 10 year warranty... so I don't mind buying a 3 year old one. Whereas my BMW I've just bought is 2 months old with 1k miles on it.


In fairness to the GR86... I am comparing a £31k car vs this @ £50k.


I've read all the comments here. Maybe I'll regret my GR86 sell. I don't think I will. I feel it's a good car, that could be one of the greats if you're prepared to drop some money on it. 260-300 horsepower and the GR would be perfect drivers car. I will miss the manual gear box, kinda, but not really because it isn't a great manual box.

As for some comments here... I've got over 50 laps on the Nurburgring and I'm a local to Cadwell where I attend basically every single car track day. I've had advanced driving lessons and I was also blue light response trained in a manual... I'm not saying I'm the stig. I'm not. But I am an advanced driver whom has spent many many hours on learning to drive properly in a variety of different situations.

To me (important, to me) this GR86 is underpowered, which to me is the biggest flaw. Other than that I find it quite an unrefined car, sure that has it's perks for fun. But, road noise, particularly tyre noise is poor. After driving the Supra and m240i you really notice these things...
I think ultimately, I want some luxury in my car. The GR86 isn't that. It's a bare bones sports car, no annoying tech (bonus) and simple. But, that can also be a flaw. I think there's a good middle ground to be had and personally that's exactly what I think when I drove the m240i.

Is it perfect? No... I wish it handled and steering feel more like the GR86, but on everything else it's better... and that's not even subjective. Objectively everywhere else this car is better. Subjectively, looks of the 86 are better... but then again you get the compromises of it being a tiny sportscar.
Who knows? In fairness if Toyota make a special edition GR86 and fancy popping a turbo charger on, or up the horsepower. I'll be back in the queue for one. Because ultimately, for all its flaws I could live with it if it had an extra 50-100 HP.

Cheers,


And someone put a really nice comment earlier and to you I say thank you. You said "Hey we might disagree but at least we can be civil". Yeah, I agree and that is reallly nice. I think I will miss the community feel here the most.

Further, it's not lost on me that I'm effectively bad mouthing one of your children here... so thanks for your patience (this note is to everyone) :p

<3

James
It's all relative - I don't have the history of driving fast cars, I came from a mini cooper @ 136bhp. Now i've cracked 1k miles, the GR86 feels more than enough for UK roads. Hope the M2 satisfies your needs, looks very good!
 
It's an M240i fellas. Awd and more power then the previous M2 without additions to the model designation. A proper rocket and very tuneable B58, albeit bit lardy, +450kg thereabouts with choice options compared to the GR86. Different preposition...
 
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The M240i does seem like an ideal choice for you @James-UK , having read and digested your views on the GR86.

I've looked at the specs for these - fast bit of kit aren't they!

Are they all AWD and auto now? I remember the older M235i/M240i and the 1-series equivalents came with a manual option.
 
And someone put a really nice comment earlier and to you I say thank you. You said "Hey we might disagree but at least we can be civil". Yeah, I agree and that is reallly nice. I think I will miss the community feel here the most.
PS: Amen to that!
 
The M240i does seem like an ideal choice for you @James-UK , having read and digested your views on the GR86.

I've looked at the specs for these - fast bit of kit aren't they!

Are they all AWD and auto now? I remember the older M235i/M240i and the 1-series equivalents came with a manual option.
There is an rwd (with M-diff) since last summer but it isn't available on most markets. Auto only still. If you want a B58 with a rear seat it's the 'lightest' option.
 
Slightly tangential to this thread and our comrade James' choice, but the fact there's so few petrol, rwd, manual cars available (let alone naturally aspirated ones) makes me extremely grateful indeed to secure a GR86.
 
Slightly tangential to this thread and our comrade James' choice, but the fact there's so few petrol, rwd, manual cars available (let alone naturally aspirated ones) makes me extremely grateful indeed to secure a GR86.
Me too. There are so few cars out there that I want to spend my own money on. All the older 80s, 90s and 00s stuff that I love is either too expensive, difficult to get parts for, rusty, or all 3 now. 🤣🤣🤣

Other real option is the mx5, especially the rf for all year round use, if you only need 2 seats / not much luggage space. Or you go the hot hatch route for similar, albeit fwd or 4wd enjoyment and even then not all are manual now either.
 
Me too. There are so few cars out there that I want to spend my own money on. All the older 80s, 90s and 00s stuff that I love is either too expensive, difficult to get parts for, rusty, or all 3 now. 🤣🤣🤣

Other real option is the mx5, especially the rf for all year round use, if you only need 2 seats / not much luggage space. Or you go the hot hatch route for similar, albeit fwd or 4wd enjoyment and even then not all are manual now either.
Agree!
 
Slightly tangential to this thread and our comrade James' choice, but the fact there's so few petrol, rwd, manual cars available (let alone naturally aspirated ones) makes me extremely grateful indeed to secure a GR86.
This. James has scratched that itch perhaps with three GT86 and a much extended 'test drive' of the GR86.
I get the appeal of the BMW straight sixes. Once was very close getting a 1M Coupe when they were new half regret that as they never went down in price much, similarly had an order for an M2 but didn't have the patience to wait 1,5 year for one, my brother had a tuned 340i which he let me drive and I had a 1 series track car too (but no straight six).

Something like this 240i would be quite something as I would probably end up running it on e85 and 700hp :geek: and xdrive is epic in winter, but I also know I would just end up frustrated having constantly to hold back on public roads while feeling the weight on the small roads I otherwise enjoy.... However if I had an autobahn or a track in my back yard perhaps I wouldn't be hanging around in the Zoo...
 
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Love the new M240i in that purple, see a lowered one with a quad exhaust around me quite a bit and it looks/sounds awesome. Enjoy your new car! 👍🏻
 
Isn't there a very simple problem showing up here which happened to some with the GRY but probably everyone came across it with the GR86.
Cars are a very personal product not anything like most other things we buy appart from homes.
How many people bought the GR86 blind - without actually spending quality time with it after watching those Youtube videos and magazine articles.
Many did the same with the GRY - back seat too small, seat too high, big mirror, needed this that and the other. I was lucky as I spent an hour with the demonstrator and never started it up. After an hour I believed I knew everything - even tried the dog crate in. Power or performance wasn't an issue to me as it is still way more than I need. I ordered mine knowing what I was getting and had never had a faster / more powerful car than the GRY so wouldn't be let down. This is the problem when coming from highly powerful cars, buying blind and only knowing what youtubers have said.
It's such a shame when it happens as I bet it is a lovely car and for someone who has realistic expectations of their cars and happy to keep it relatively standard then it could be a keeper with 10 years worry free fun.
 
Good point @cuddles .

I was very confident indeed that I'd love the GR86 as I was a very satisfied owner of a GT86 before, and I doubted it would be inferior to that!

I was surprised (my own subjective view of course) how much better the GR was than the GT.

Those coming from say an MX5 probably knew what they were getting too.
 
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