Monday 16th September 2013

Toyota GT86: PH Carpool

You know what we think about the GT86 but what about the owners? One PHer tells all!

---

Name: Stuart Greenhall
Car: Toyota GT86
Owned since: July 2013
Previously owned: Mazda MX-5 1.8 RC (Mk3)

Handy pie consumption platform included

Why I bought it:
"I'd had my MX-5 for around 18 months and despite enjoying the open top experience two miserable winters and a wet spring got me thinking I wanted a change. I actually started my search at the hot hatch end of the market and quite fancied a Clio RS200 EDC or a Mini hatchback JCW. But popped into Toyota the day after my fiancé snapped a GT86 in a car park. When I sat in the showroom car I felt right at home and booked a test drive. The test drive settled for me, confirming it ticked all my boxes and even has a fair size boot."

What I wish I'd known:
"I hadn't done a huge amount of research on the car before looking at one. After getting home after buying one I thought I'd better just flick through some reviews and videos which confirmed what I thought really."

Things I love:
"One word: handling. From the moment you drive off it feels agile. When you start to push it you realise how sweet the chassis is. It feels so alive in the bends at speed, you feel the car yaw around you a little bit which feels fantastic. This coupled with well judged stability control and traction control means you feel it is you the driver making the car quick, but you still have the comfort knowing it will catch you if get it a bit wrong. Yes there are quicker things on the road but unless you're in something serious like an Atom or Caterham 7 I doubt you could have as much fun."

Trip to Wales with pals vindicated the purchase

Things I hate:
"The lack stereo controls on the steering wheel really bugs me, I get that while on a back road and just want to focus on the driving. But on a motorway at speed in traffic the last thing you want to be doing is messing around with a touch screen entertainment system. Please Toyota on the facelift put a remote on a stick like the cruise control. Also how on earth does the sat-nav cost £700? It uses the same head unit with an extra little box that gets plugged in."

Costs:
"The car was one year old; when I bought it had 9,000 odd miles on it and cost me £19,995 from Lancaster Toyota St Ives. The dealer actually sold three GT86s that weekend including this black GT86 that Mr Harris tested. On the fuel front I'm averaging 36mpg on my daily 90-mile commute on A-roads and dual carriageways with lots of roundabouts... Servicing is a little more expensive than your standard Toyota with the first year service costing £170 and the second year a bit more again. The running costs are comparable with the MX-5 I had, with the '86 being slightly better on the fuel."

We like it and so does this PHer owner

Where I've been:
"We took it to North Wales along with a friend and his 2005 Civic Type R - in terms of out and out pace the Civic would take some beating. The GT86 will keep up in the mid-range but as soon as that wonderful VTEC comes on song it will surge away from you. The highlight of the trip was an afternoon drive around the pass of Llanberis with its exciting roads and wonderful scenery. Would recommend it with mates who love cars."

What next?
"Possibly a BMW M135i or a Cayman S but at this moment in time I'm very happy to have a GT86. It may be a keeper."

[mrtwisty]

Luuuurvly. Seeing more and more of these on the roads and I for one love the styling.

Surprised an EP3 CTR is noticeably quicker in a straight line... isnt the power to weight ratio almost the same?

[AyBee]

Lovely car - can't wait until they come down in price a bit more

P.S. Can somebody at PH proof read these articles before they go live please, I can spot at least 3 errors without trying too hard - I understand that it's not supposed to be written by a journo but a few corrections can't harm

[Chicane-UK]

Very nice indeed.

Keen on the thought of owning one of these in a few years time when theres a few on the used market

[TREMAiNE]

Love these cars, though red wouldn't be my colour of choice.

[M@1975]

Urgh, lack of proof reading made that pretty horrible as a reader experience... Nice car though.

[300bhp/ton]

I really like these. In fact think they are fantastic and will certainly be on the radar in a number of years time, once they have done most of their depreciation.

However for this budget I simply couldn't opt for a Toyota, not when you could have something like this:


Mondial T (1993) £21,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...



1985 Ferrari Mondial 3.0 Coupe Petrol Manual (1985) £14,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...



Umm let me see.

-great drive = check
-great engine = check
-2+2 seating = check
-fairly lightweight and focused for the driver = check
-boot = well sort of


Ok it might cost a bit more to run, but I'm willing to bet in 5 years time it'll have held on to its money very well, while the Toyota won't have. On this basis alone I suspect 'total cost of ownership' may be rather similar.

[GTiFrank]

Great Carpool. Does it not feel a bit easy and "fake" oversteery compared so say a Caterfield? Reading Evo fast fleet reviews, where they moan about the wet handling on track issues with interest at the moment. I think it may be eco tyres not getting on with a wet Bedford autodrome.

[Midshipracer]

300bhp/ton said:

I really like these. In fact think they are fantastic and will certainly be on the radar in a number of years time, once they have done most of their depreciation.

However for this budget I simply couldn't opt for a Toyota, not when you could have something like this:


Mondial T (1993) £21,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...



1985 Ferrari Mondial 3.0 Coupe Petrol Manual (1985) £14,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...



Umm let me see.

-great drive = check
-great engine = check
-2+2 seating = check
-fairly lightweight and focused for the driver = check
-boot = well sort of


Ok it might cost a bit more to run, but I'm willing to bet in 5 years time it'll have held on to its money very well, while the Toyota won't have. On this basis alone I suspect 'total cost of ownership' may be rather similar.

Wasn't this car in the running for the worse car ever? A one hour programme which James May and Jeremy Clarkson. Just not even that fast or rewarding to drive

[SturdyHSV]

MX-5 to GT86 possibly to an M135i or Cayman? This man is clearly the ultimate PHer. He must throw red bull cans at and hammer frozen sausages into pretty much everything from his position as powerfully built company director

Always like seeing these on the road, nice to think people are buying cars because they want to drive them instead of for the shiny bit on the bonnet.

[Rawwr]

300bhp/ton said:

I really like these. In fact think they are fantastic and will certainly be on the radar in a number of years time, once they have done most of their depreciation.

However for this budget I simply couldn't opt for a Toyota, not when you could have something like this:


Mondial T (1993) £21,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...



1985 Ferrari Mondial 3.0 Coupe Petrol Manual (1985) £14,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...



Umm let me see.

-great drive = check
-great engine = check
-2+2 seating = check
-fairly lightweight and focused for the driver = check
-boot = well sort of


Ok it might cost a bit more to run, but I'm willing to bet in 5 years time it'll have held on to its money very well, while the Toyota won't have. On this basis alone I suspect 'total cost of ownership' may be rather similar.

Having driven both, the GT86 takes a massive dump on the Mondial.

[300bhp/ton]

Midshipracer said:

Wasn't this car in the running for the worse car ever? A one hour programme which James May and Jeremy Clarkson. Just not even that fast or rewarding to drive

It might have been, but then it would truly confirm they are total idiots and that Top Gear isn't a motoring programme.

Lets not forget that the Mondial was one of Ferrari's most commercially successful vehicles ever, and especially in it's day. Fast, good to drive, capable and I think striking and good looking. It certainly looks like a supercar at any rate and you'd hardly mistake one for Renault hatchback.

[AmitG]

Great writeup. It's always good to hear real stories from real owners This car is on my shortlist for a second car purchase.

I'm interested to know how it is doing sales wise. On the one hand I hear stories of oversupply and large discounts. On the other hand, the Toyota dealer I spoke to said that they were doing extremely well; he had personally sold 6 within the last month, and the conversion rate from test drive to purchase was 100% (although I imagine that the vetting process for a test drive is more thorough than if you just wanted a go in a Yaris...) And I see a lot of them out and about.

[Ginger goblin]

M@1975 said:

Urgh, lack of proof reading made that pretty horrible as a reader experience... Nice car though.

Agreed; "...when I brought it" being a particular lowlight.

[shalmaneser]

300bhp/ton said:

I really like these. In fact think they are fantastic and will certainly be on the radar in a number of years time, once they have done most of their depreciation.

However for this budget I simply couldn't opt for a Toyota, not when you could have something like this:


Mondial T (1993) £21,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...



1985 Ferrari Mondial 3.0 Coupe Petrol Manual (1985) £14,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...



Umm let me see.

-great drive = check
-great engine = check
-2+2 seating = check
-fairly lightweight and focused for the driver = check
-boot = well sort of


Ok it might cost a bit more to run, but I'm willing to bet in 5 years time it'll have held on to its money very well, while the Toyota won't have. On this basis alone I suspect 'total cost of ownership' may be rather similar.

WTF?

Are you delusional?!

[storminnorman]

300bhp/ton said:

I really like these. In fact think they are fantastic and will certainly be on the radar in a number of years time, once they have done most of their depreciation.

However for this budget I simply couldn't opt for a Toyota, not when you could have something like this:


Mondial T (1993) £21,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...



1985 Ferrari Mondial 3.0 Coupe Petrol Manual (1985) £14,995
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...



Umm let me see.

-great drive = check
-great engine = check
-2+2 seating = check
-fairly lightweight and focused for the driver = check
-boot = well sort of


Ok it might cost a bit more to run, but I'm willing to bet in 5 years time it'll have held on to its money very well, while the Toyota won't have. On this basis alone I suspect 'total cost of ownership' may be rather similar.

I usually agree with the "buy used instead of new" brigade but really they're not even remotely comparable. Poor form to come on a thread about someone's car and tell them they should have bought a dodgy 20yrold budget Ferrari

[McAndy]

Rawwr said:

Having driven both, the GT86 takes a massive dump on the Mondial.

Particularly when they are not in the same price bracket due to running costs.

I have a GT86 on my "possibly in the future" radar and The Whiff agrees.

[Steve vRS]

SturdyHSV said:

He must throw red bull cans at and hammer frozen sausages into pretty much everything from his position as powerfully built company director

I don't believe he exists until I see him with a tin of custard on his head

Steve

[300bhp/ton]

shalmaneser said:

WTF?

Are you delusional?!

How much will the Toyota be worth in 5 years time? The Mondial is likely to be worth the same or more than it is today.

If the Toyota loses say £5-7k in depreciation, that's a lot of money to fund running a Ferrari.

storminnorman said:

I usually agree with the "buy used instead of new" brigade but really they're not even remotely comparable. Poor form to come on a thread about someone's car and tell them they should have bought a dodgy 20yrold budget Ferrari

Can you point out where I told them anything

McAndy said:

Particularly when they are not in the same price bracket due to running costs.

I have a GT86 on my "possibly in the future" radar and The Whiff agrees.

So how much a month over 5 years would a GT86 cost you in depreciation?

[Arun_D]

M@1975 said:

Urgh, lack of proof reading made that pretty horrible as a reader experience... Nice car though.

Deary me, you're not wrong there.

[moskvich427]

M@1975 said:

Urgh, lack of proof reading made that pretty horrible as a reader experience... Nice car though.

This. Had to re-read some parts just to figure out the meaning!

Nice car though - really like the honesty of the Carpool contributors.