Hello all, another incoming 86 owner, and I finally got a (sadly too short) test drive at the weekend.
I had been dead set on a Porsche.. until I got the email, but I've also been test driving Audi S3s, RS5, Merc A45, Hyundai i30N and my previous car for the last 8 years is an A3 1.4 CoD. Which isn't a terrible starting point for comparison seeing as it weighs almost exactly the same as the GR86 and has the same peak torque.. and that's about the only thing that can be said is the same (oh and the tyres, as I'd put PS4s on the A3 too)
I had previously driven a GT86 on a rally day in the snow/mud - I didn't expect any relevance to a road going car but it was surprising how much of the darty, slightly rough, mechanical feel was similar.
Everything seems set up to be short in the GR86. You're sat low (no problem). The steering wheel doesn't come out far enough (fine for my average height for the most part, but I'd prefer more reach for very long journeys). The clutch travel seems really short. The gearing and gear lever throw is pretty short (and loose for slow speed shifts - seems to get better when you go quicker). The throttle pedal is hyper sensitive. The brake pedal bites nicely at the top but then doesn't increase the braking force as much as you expect so you have to push pretty hard even for normal stops. And the steering also seems quick - great for that darty feeling but it was pretty light and didn't really give me much feel of how much grip the fronts had.
One thing that wasn't too short was the suspension travel - yes, it was a bit bouncy on rough surfaces, but the quality of damping over speed bumps was incredible - up to Porsche standards, no problem, and without needing complex trickery to do so. And yet the car was still flat enough around corners.
As a result, comfort was generally better than I expected - the seats are a little too soft perhaps, and there's a fair amount of tyre noise from the rear especially, but the engine was pretty quiet on small throttle openings at motorway speeds - only when the pedal is pushed harder did the artificial sound rear its head - the sound isn't too bad IMHO, it's just way too loud and comes from a different direction to the other engine sounds. I of course asked the dealer (a GR specialist, and the rep was the GR rep) if they could disable it (19th person that day to ask apparently) and they said no - mind you they also told me track mode adjusts everything from throttle response to brake feel, so I don't rate their knowledge too highly.
Storage was pretty good - loved the back seats, depth of boot was good. Height of the boot space was the only real concern but I think luggage will just about fit if not expanded.
As for performance.. well there's no way you'd think it was the same weight/torque as the A3. I thought being naturally aspirated it'd need revving out to pick up pace, but I think the short gearing and sensitive throttle combine to make it very reactive, and perfectly suited for getting up to UK road speeds. Cornering-wise it just seems immensely capable - the low centre of gravity, great suspension and quick rack made it feel so nimble - I can't wait to feel more of the rear driven push through a corner but on the test drive I wasn't familiar enough with the sensitive throttle to test it (a bit more throttle travel would probably give more confidence). Braking I didn't get to test beyond normal junction stops - didn't fill me with confidence but perhaps just something to get used to. And let's not talk about fuel economy..
All in all, it most reminded me of a classic sports car - there's that sort of nimbleness and rawness to the experience that harkens back to a different age of motoring, and that's probably the reason I want one - though I'll be keeping clear of the full TRD kit the demo car was sporting
I had been dead set on a Porsche.. until I got the email, but I've also been test driving Audi S3s, RS5, Merc A45, Hyundai i30N and my previous car for the last 8 years is an A3 1.4 CoD. Which isn't a terrible starting point for comparison seeing as it weighs almost exactly the same as the GR86 and has the same peak torque.. and that's about the only thing that can be said is the same (oh and the tyres, as I'd put PS4s on the A3 too)
I had previously driven a GT86 on a rally day in the snow/mud - I didn't expect any relevance to a road going car but it was surprising how much of the darty, slightly rough, mechanical feel was similar.
Everything seems set up to be short in the GR86. You're sat low (no problem). The steering wheel doesn't come out far enough (fine for my average height for the most part, but I'd prefer more reach for very long journeys). The clutch travel seems really short. The gearing and gear lever throw is pretty short (and loose for slow speed shifts - seems to get better when you go quicker). The throttle pedal is hyper sensitive. The brake pedal bites nicely at the top but then doesn't increase the braking force as much as you expect so you have to push pretty hard even for normal stops. And the steering also seems quick - great for that darty feeling but it was pretty light and didn't really give me much feel of how much grip the fronts had.
One thing that wasn't too short was the suspension travel - yes, it was a bit bouncy on rough surfaces, but the quality of damping over speed bumps was incredible - up to Porsche standards, no problem, and without needing complex trickery to do so. And yet the car was still flat enough around corners.
As a result, comfort was generally better than I expected - the seats are a little too soft perhaps, and there's a fair amount of tyre noise from the rear especially, but the engine was pretty quiet on small throttle openings at motorway speeds - only when the pedal is pushed harder did the artificial sound rear its head - the sound isn't too bad IMHO, it's just way too loud and comes from a different direction to the other engine sounds. I of course asked the dealer (a GR specialist, and the rep was the GR rep) if they could disable it (19th person that day to ask apparently) and they said no - mind you they also told me track mode adjusts everything from throttle response to brake feel, so I don't rate their knowledge too highly.
Storage was pretty good - loved the back seats, depth of boot was good. Height of the boot space was the only real concern but I think luggage will just about fit if not expanded.
As for performance.. well there's no way you'd think it was the same weight/torque as the A3. I thought being naturally aspirated it'd need revving out to pick up pace, but I think the short gearing and sensitive throttle combine to make it very reactive, and perfectly suited for getting up to UK road speeds. Cornering-wise it just seems immensely capable - the low centre of gravity, great suspension and quick rack made it feel so nimble - I can't wait to feel more of the rear driven push through a corner but on the test drive I wasn't familiar enough with the sensitive throttle to test it (a bit more throttle travel would probably give more confidence). Braking I didn't get to test beyond normal junction stops - didn't fill me with confidence but perhaps just something to get used to. And let's not talk about fuel economy..
All in all, it most reminded me of a classic sports car - there's that sort of nimbleness and rawness to the experience that harkens back to a different age of motoring, and that's probably the reason I want one - though I'll be keeping clear of the full TRD kit the demo car was sporting
