2023 Toyota GR86 GTS Road/Track Review | Still the budget sports car king?
2023 Toyota GR86 GTS Road/Track Review | Still the budget sports car king?
Enthusiasts have waited a decade for the new Toyota GR86 but it’s a much improved package, with only one problem 👉 Full Review: https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial…
It’s been a long wait for the new Toyota GR86, with the first generation of Toyota’s budget sports car arriving way back in 2012.
While it deservedly won plenty of plaudits and buyers, with more than 22,000 sold, it certainly wasn’t perfect – especially when it came to the 2.0-litre four-cylinder boxer engine.
With a bigger engine, more power, a nicer interior a stiffer chassis with more grip, the new GR86 effectively fixes all its predecessor’s shortcomings in one fell swoop.
There’s only one problem, but you’ll need to watch the video to find out what it is.
Fast Forward
00:00 Intro
00:43 Pricing and specs
02:38 Interior review
03:41 Infotainment \u0026 safety
04:08 Passenger \u0026 Luggage space
04:53 On the road
07:35 Track test
11:50 Verdict
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Content
1.172 -> The original Toyota 86 was a smash hit here in
Australia selling more than 22,000 examples. It's
17.1 -> taken them more than a decade to replace it, but
here at long last we have the new GR86. But is it
23.76 -> still any good? We run you through the details
inside and out, take it for a drive, including
28.62 -> a little surprise at the end so stay tuned. As
ever, like the video, subscribe to the carsales
33.6 -> channel, and leave us a comment down below
with your thoughts on Toyota's new sports car.
43.2 -> When the first 86 landed Toyota shocked everyone
by offering it from just 29,990 for the base GT.
49.26 -> In that context, pricing for the new car looks
quite alarming. But taking into account inflation,
54 -> the increase is around $5,000. Normally, that's
that in terms of pricing, but the GR86 is a little
60.9 -> bit more complex. As you probably know the GR86
is basically a Subaru underneath and a lot of
67.26 -> Subaru's active safety gear doesn't work with a
manual gear box. This is why manual Subaru BRZs
73.26 -> are around $4,000 cheaper than the automatics.
They miss out on quite a lot of features. Manual
78.48 -> and auto GR86s though are the same price and
subsequently the manuals are a few thousand
83.34 -> dollars more than the Subaru counterparts. Toyota
says it's comfortable with the GR86 pricing
88.74 -> and that the car represents superb value. But in
manual, guys, at least, it's not as good value
93.54 -> as a BRZ. Let's move on. The new GR86 is a more
stylish proposition than its predecessor. A little
100.26 -> longer, a little lower, a more cohesive effort
that's been designed with aerodynamic efficiency
104.7 -> in mind. Visual differences between the GT and
GTS models are now very slight. The most obvious
110.58 -> being the GTS' 18-inch wheels with Michelin Pilot
Sport 4 tires and the adaptive front headlights.
117.84 -> Under the bonnet is one of the biggest changes
for this new GR86. The engine is still a naturally
122.46 -> aspirated four cylinder, but it's increased from 2
to 2.4 liters in size, which means more power and,
128.34 -> crucially, more torque. It now produces 174
kilowatts and 250 newton-meters with the option of
134.94 -> six-speed manual or automatic. The manual hits 100
km an hour in 6.3 seconds and drinks 9.5 liters
141.18 -> per 100 km. The auto is around half a second
slower, but around half a liter more economical.
147.24 -> GR86s are covered by Toyota's
five-year unlimited kilometer
150.78 -> warranty with an extra two years of
coverage on the engine and drive line.
159.48 -> Here on the cabin, there's also been a
big lift. More thought to the design,
163.44 -> better quality materials, more equipment. I'll
give you a few examples. We've got these HVAC
168.6 -> controls with the digital readouts in the center
and this row of silver switches here for commonly
172.86 -> used functions, which both look good and are easy
to use. Seating position is nice and low and these
179.88 -> supportive seats. Though ideally, I'd like the
wheel to come up a fraction higher. We've got a
184.98 -> manual handbrake, which is always welcome. And the
commonly used touchpoint, so wheel, handbrake, and
189.54 -> gear lever are wrapped in leather. Look, there's
nothing necessarily groundbreaking in here,
194.22 -> but you can tell some effort has been put in. And
as as far as affordable sports car interiors go,
198.96 -> I think it's pretty good. You can even have
the lower bits in red like this test car,
203.52 -> but for my taste it's a little bit much.
The instruments are now digital and join
208.02 -> dual-zone climate control, keyless entry
and start, heated leather accented seats,
212.28 -> and a six-speaker stereo on the equipment
list. An example of the extra design touches,
216.96 -> the surround of the digital instrument invokes the
horizontally opposed pistons of the boxer engine.
222.48 -> Infotainment is handled by an eight-inch
touchscreen. And while it's a fairly simple
226.08 -> unit, it has all the basics including smartphone
mirroring and digital radio. On the safety front,
231.78 -> the GR86 does have seven airbags, but as you can
see it's active safety offering is pretty sparse.
237.36 -> The GDS at least scoring blind spot monitoring and
rear cross traffic alert. Keen drivers won't be
242.52 -> too put off by the lack of lane keep assist, but
AEB is a handy feature that should be standard.
248.28 -> As you can see, backseat room is severely
compromised, but it's not too surprising
252.84 -> given the GR86s dimensions, though there are
ISOFIX points on both sides for the kiddy
257.34 -> seats. Of possibly more use is the fact that this
rear seat back can fold down flat with room for a
262.62 -> spare set of wheels for track day adventures.
Seats up, the boot holds 237 liters. It's
269.58 -> looking promising so far. Better
looks, nicer interior, more power,
274.26 -> but the most important thing with
any sports car is how it drives. The
288.9 -> original Toyota 86 was and is a great car,
but it's funny how thoughts and opinions can
304.32 -> change over time. When it was launched, we all
raved about it, stoked to have a fun, affordable
310.5 -> rear drive sports car and a Japanese one at
that available once again. Then as it became
316.32 -> more familiar and newer competition arrived,
its faults started to become more apparent.
321.06 -> Like the fact the engine had no mid-range
torque. The gearbox could be stubborn and notchy,
325.98 -> especially when it was cold. And those eco tires
weren't really up to performance car duties.
333.3 -> To kill the suspense, the new GR86 fixes all
the old car's faults. Clearly, Subaru and Toyota
339.36 -> were well aware of the shortcomings because
basically all of them have been successfully
343.32 -> addressed by this new model. Nowhere is this
more apparent than with the engine. But this
350.94 -> 2.4 still isn't gonna end up in the four-cylinder
hall of fame, but not only is there more power
356.16 -> and acceleration, it's also much more usable
with no dips or hesitations in the delivery.
361.74 -> You no longer have to constantly change gear
to keep it singing. But if you do shift, you'll
366.78 -> find that it's just better, smoother, and nicer to
use. Get the auto if you must. It's not terrible,
373.26 -> but does feel pretty lethargic as though gear
ratio is quite a bit taller than in the manual.
378.66 -> What might surprise you about the GR86 is that
it's actually pretty comfortable as sports cars
383.1 -> go. Sadly, there is a mega amount of road noise,
but if you can deal with that, there's nothing
389.04 -> stopping you driving long distances in this thing.
The softer suspension also helps when you start to
394.5 -> drive the GR86 like a proper sports car, as it
soaks up bumps rather than being upset by them.
401.22 -> There is much more grip now. In part this is
a function of having better tires. They're now
406.14 -> proper Michelin Pilot Sport 4s, but it's also
due to the stiffer platform and better setup.
411.72 -> The old 86 would fall into oversteer as you
approach the limit. A behavior built into the
416.46 -> rear suspension to make it feel more fun at lower
speeds. It worked, but it could make the car feel
422.16 -> nervous as you up the pace. No such problems with
the new car. This isn't all good news though.
429.54 -> For some people, even most people, the new car's
greater grip, and stability, and poise will all be
435.06 -> good things and give greater confidence. But if
like me, one of the things you loved most about
439.56 -> the old car was the fact that it would move around
at virtually any speed, and this more capable
444.12 -> newcomer does feel quite a bit more serious. So
what we need, it's a bit of further investigation.
463.02 -> I think it's fair to say that in
the right environment the fun factor
469.26 -> is absolutely still there. All right,
now we've got the right environment.
477.24 -> Let's have a play, go into the driving dynamics in
a bit more detail. So first up is the engine. So
484.38 -> it's still not the star of the show, but no longer
does it let the team down, although, that's more
489 -> of an issue on the road than the track. The
old two liter wasn't too bad on track because
493.38 -> you are always right up in the rev range when it
actually had some power. Nevertheless, this 2.4 is
499.32 -> much stronger. More power, no big mid-range holes
so you've got flexibility coming outta turns. And
508.02 -> this six-speed gear box works really well.
Shift's pretty good, nice and accurate.
513.84 -> It's easy to heel toe. The ratios are nice and
short so there's a good gear for every corner.
521.94 -> There we go. Revs out to 7500 rpm back down
to second. I'm not the biggest fan of the
528.6 -> way it sounds. It's got this synthetic engine
noise played into the cabin, but it's okay.
534.9 -> But as I said, the engine is not the start
of the show, that is the chassis. So as we
539.58 -> mentioned previously, some of the shortcomings
of the old 86 were obviously, it was great fun,
546.6 -> but it could sort of fall into oversteer,
which made it sometimes a bit unpredictable.
552.66 -> And it's just as well, there's a lot more grunt
on offer because there's actually quite a lot
556.74 -> more grip to overcome too. No longer does the
car sorta slide whether you want it to or not.
563.16 -> You've really gotta put in the effort.
As you can see, it's still moving around,
566.46 -> but I know it's coming. It doesn't sort of
just fall into oversteer like the old car.
576.06 -> Steering is fantastic in this car, perfectly
weighted, maybe not quite as much feel as the
581.76 -> previous car, but it's really, really close. It's
still one of the better steering systems around.
585.9 -> And the perfect response to anyone who says that
electric power steering isn't a match for the old
592.02 -> hydraulic stuff. Quick word about the car's
electronics. The first 86 had a dreadful ESP
598.5 -> system. Even in that sort of track mode, it
was so conservative and you could hear going
603.48 -> grunt, grunt coming in really clumsy if you tried
to explore the car's handling. The facelifted car
609.18 -> fixed that. The ESP became a lot better. And this
car is similar. It really continues that trend.
615.72 -> It's got a track mode here which allows you
to explore the car's handling. You can really
619.5 -> drive it on the limit while having that safety
net retained so you don't overstep the mark.
626.52 -> Of course, it's at its most fun with the
electronics off and there's really no reason
632.82 -> to fear that, because even though with this car's
extra grip you're still not going super fast,
638.94 -> and that just allows you to play
with the car so much. And that's
642.96 -> the greatest thing about this 86, gives you
so much confidence in what it's gonna do.
651.66 -> What truly elevates the GR86 into one of the
great driver's cars though, is the fact that
656.28 -> you can absolutely just choose the way you want
to drive it. There's enough grip and control now
661.26 -> that you can drive it neat and tidy and have a lot
of fun, and go pretty quickly too. But there's so
666.18 -> much communication and feedback that if you wanna
hone around RRP can block, there's absolutely no
672.3 -> problem doing so, It's so controllable. That makes
it a great car to learn in too. If you wanna learn
681.3 -> about the automotive steer, there are a few better
cars than this one to do it in. It just makes it
690.42 -> so easy. Trust me, if you're good in 86, go to a
hill climb, go to a skid pan, get under the skin
697.2 -> of what your car can do because there are few more
fun experiences behind the wheel at any price.
705.24 -> We might have had to wait more than a decade for
a new 86, but it's been worth it. To its credit,
715.02 -> Toyota has identified all the shortcomings
of the old car and rectified them,
718.68 -> as well as making it a nicer car to be
in. Trouble is there's another car that
724.08 -> offers everything that's great about the
GR86, but it's not only more exclusive,
728.28 -> but it'll leave you with a few extra thousand
dollars in your pocket too. The only difference is
733.2 -> it wears a Subaru badge instead of a Toyota one.
And that's why if I wanted a GR86, I'd buy a BRZ.
742.02 -> Thanks for watching. If you've enjoyed this
video, please give it a like, subscribe to
745.56 -> the carsales channel, and leave us a comment down
below with the cars you'd like to see us review.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjLjm4BeqWM