GR86 Test drive coming from an E89 Z4 35i

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telnetter

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Went for a test drive today as I must have signed myself onto the list at some point! I've paid the deposit and now have until 3rd July to decide.

I went to the dealership in my E89 Z4 35i, bit of a dreary, damp and windy day.

I drove GT86 for about 45 mins in some traffic jams 🤦‍♂️, a bit of faster B road transiting to "fast" A road then back onto the coast road via the south downs.

My takeaways from the drive are:
  1. The clutch takes a bit of getting used to in conjunction with the aggressive accelerator but felt reasonably comfortable by the time the drive had ended.

  2. Seating position was easy to get comfortable, not spent enough time to really tell but the seats felt slightly more comfortable than the ones in the Z4

  3. The cabin is lovely, not cluttered, feels like just the right level of tech, really like the climate controls, reminded me of the simplicity of the ones in the Z4

  4. The indicators are even more funky than the ones in the Z4, got used to them once I'd worked out how to cancel them

  5. The steering has more feedback than my Z4, there was a point driving through a village where the road takes a sharpish right. I could feel the amount of grip from the front tyres through the wheel which just doesn't really happen in the Z4. It also felt more precise.

  6. Felt fast enough, strong midrange, there was a point where I needed to do an overtake and the torque felt adequate.

  7. The engine isn't as forgiving as the Z4, you definitely need to be in the right gear! I had to up my game compared to just leaning on the Z4s engine flexibility.

  8. Even though the car is lighter, it felt more planted.

  9. It doesn't look as good as a Z4 but it does look good in its own way - a proper Japanese sportscar.
Now to make a decision - If I go ahead I think I've decided on silver at the moment but I've only seen GR86 in person in bright blue.

Also, does anyone have any experience of the Toyota ceramic protect packages that the dealerships offer or am I best to go elsewhere?
 
telnetter said:
Went for a test drive today as I must have signed myself onto the list at some point! I've paid the deposit and now have until 3rd July to decide.

I went to the dealership in my E89 Z4 35i, bit of a dreary, damp and windy day.

I drove GT86 for about 45 mins in some traffic jams 🤦‍♂️, a bit of faster B road transiting to "fast" A road then back onto the coast road via the south downs.

My takeaways from the drive are:
  1. The clutch takes a bit of getting used to in conjunction with the aggressive accelerator but felt reasonably comfortable by the time the drive had ended.

  2. Seating position was easy to get comfortable, not spent enough time to really tell but the seats felt slightly more comfortable than the ones in the Z4

  3. The cabin is lovely, not cluttered, feels like just the right level of tech, really like the climate controls, reminded me of the simplicity of the ones in the Z4

  4. The indicators are even more funky than the ones in the Z4, got used to them once I'd worked out how to cancel them

  5. The steering has more feedback than my Z4, there was a point driving through a village where the road takes a sharpish right. I could feel the amount of grip from the front tyres through the wheel which just doesn't really happen in the Z4. It also felt more precise.

  6. Felt fast enough, strong midrange, there was a point where I needed to do an overtake and the torque felt adequate.

  7. The engine isn't as forgiving as the Z4, you definitely need to be in the right gear! I had to up my game compared to just leaning on the Z4s engine flexibility.

  8. Even though the car is lighter, it felt more planted.

  9. It doesn't look as good as a Z4 but it does look good in its own way - a proper Japanese sportscar.
Now to make a decision - If I go ahead I think I've decided on silver at the moment but I've only seen GR86 in person in bright blue.

Also, does anyone have any experience of the Toyota ceramic protect packages that the dealerships offer or am I best to go elsewhere?
Click to expand...
Nice review - good to hear your thoughts on the interior were positive despite having come from a BMW. Assume the 86 was noticeably less refined on the A roads than the Z4?

I've not had any experience with the specific coatings that Toyota offer but I understand that often the issue with the dealer applied stuff is that they don't perform the necessary prep work beforehand. New cars tend to arrive with scratches and marks as well as residue from the protective films. A proper detailer will wash, decontaminate and polish the car before applying the coating and then leaving indoors to cure.

I guess it depends how fussy you are as to whether you'd notice this sort of thing tho!

Cheers
 
If you are not fussy about having a proper job done on the coating then it will be fine. If you are fussy then avoid. I spoke to a detailer who used to work at a main dealer applying these Lifeshine type products and he said he was never given enough time to do the job properly (hence why he went self employed) Very often the initial prep was non existent and a product that had 2 stages or more sometimes only the final stage would be applied with the full approval of the managers.
 
telnetter said:
Went for a test drive today as I must have signed myself onto the list at some point! I've paid the deposit and now have until 3rd July to decide.

I went to the dealership in my E89 Z4 35i, bit of a dreary, damp and windy day.

I drove GT86 for about 45 mins in some traffic jams 🤦‍♂️, a bit of faster B road transiting to "fast" A road then back onto the coast road via the south downs.

My takeaways from the drive are:
  1. The clutch takes a bit of getting used to in conjunction with the aggressive accelerator but felt reasonably comfortable by the time the drive had ended.

  2. Seating position was easy to get comfortable, not spent enough time to really tell but the seats felt slightly more comfortable than the ones in the Z4

  3. The cabin is lovely, not cluttered, feels like just the right level of tech, really like the climate controls, reminded me of the simplicity of the ones in the Z4

  4. The indicators are even more funky than the ones in the Z4, got used to them once I'd worked out how to cancel them

  5. The steering has more feedback than my Z4, there was a point driving through a village where the road takes a sharpish right. I could feel the amount of grip from the front tyres through the wheel which just doesn't really happen in the Z4. It also felt more precise.

  6. Felt fast enough, strong midrange, there was a point where I needed to do an overtake and the torque felt adequate.

  7. The engine isn't as forgiving as the Z4, you definitely need to be in the right gear! I had to up my game compared to just leaning on the Z4s engine flexibility.

  8. Even though the car is lighter, it felt more planted.

  9. It doesn't look as good as a Z4 but it does look good in its own way - a proper Japanese sportscar.
Now to make a decision - If I go ahead I think I've decided on silver at the moment but I've only seen GR86 in person in bright blue.

Also, does anyone have any experience of the Toyota ceramic protect packages that the dealerships offer or am I best to go elsewhere?
Click to expand...
I had the Toyota protection added to mine. It’s ok, I was lucky that the car arrived without any major paint defects or scratches but you can tell it hasn’t been corrected. The factory paint finish isn’t that smooth, the reflection doesn’t have the clarity of a proper paint corrected and ceramic coated car. Having said that it wasn’t expensive, was easy to organise, protects the paint and interior and Toyota can’t argue with any future paint issues.
 
Have you only driven the gt86 and seen the gr86 in blue? Or did you mean you test drove the GR already, the dealers should let you test drive the new gr, if you have ordered.
From asking the same question about toyota ceramic, others have said go for a professional local detailer, i think someone said the toyota dealers may not apply it right.
There was another forum member thinking about a z4 and gr86 too.
 
I'd avoid any dealer applied coating like the plague - as above there's little prep so all it usually does is seal in their valet bay swirls/marring. I machine polished it off my last BMW a couple of years ago after the full prep of course (snowfoam/iron fallout remover/handwash/claybar/panel wipe with jetwash before and after each stage) and did the Ceramic coat myself with stunning results. It took around 3 full days and cost around £80 for the GTechnic Crystal Serum Light/Exo 4 coatings from Amazon

Having also had THE email, I too went for a GR86 test drive this week and found it an incredibly fun car, As with the MX5 its one you can enjoy at any speeds and easily keep within the speed limit but has enough grunt. It feels much smaller than most modern cars to feed down typically tight British B roads. The ride comfort is good for a sports car. It has good body control and is well balanced but really playful when you want it to be

One the downside, its had some body panel vibrations on pulling low revs on medium high throttle (<2K revs) and some of the plastics were a bit scratchy
 
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