RE: Toyota GT86: PH Fleet
Discussion
I was surprised when I spoke to a Toyota dealer about these the salesman said they rarely sold any primos, and that almost everyone goes for the better specced model and a fair few the automatic.
At the time I thought he was trying to put me off, but looking online on howmanyleft etc he was bang on - there's hardly any primos been sold in the UK and almost half of GT86's are automatics which is bizarre for what is supposed to be a driver focused car. (For the BRZ less than 1 in 10 are automatics, make of that what you will)
With those sales figures it's not surprising Toyota haven't brought the bare bones model to the UK.
At the time I thought he was trying to put me off, but looking online on howmanyleft etc he was bang on - there's hardly any primos been sold in the UK and almost half of GT86's are automatics which is bizarre for what is supposed to be a driver focused car. (For the BRZ less than 1 in 10 are automatics, make of that what you will)
With those sales figures it's not surprising Toyota haven't brought the bare bones model to the UK.
NDNDNDND said:
I guess in a way the lack of responses to this article typifies the indifference that many have towards these cars. A pity as, for me, these are the only new cars that remotely interest me.
I guess it just goes to the show that enthusiast 'drivers' are hugely outnumbered by enthusiast 'owners' who are far more interested in bling and bragging rights than driving fun - or perhaps for these people driving 'fun' equates to out-accelerating diesels on a dual-carriageway.
A little harsh and over the top - I miss the GT86 chassis and steering but I have found the engine so catastrophically rubbish (and I am not talking about the lack of power/performance) that even my current shopping car is a better all round drive so as an enthusiast driver, I actually prefer something that shouldn't be better on paper.I guess it just goes to the show that enthusiast 'drivers' are hugely outnumbered by enthusiast 'owners' who are far more interested in bling and bragging rights than driving fun - or perhaps for these people driving 'fun' equates to out-accelerating diesels on a dual-carriageway.
LordGrover said:
Go buy one, change the tyres and add any one of the dozen or so turbo or super chargers available. It's not difficult.
I want it out of the box like that. If I need to add those then I have a headache with insurance, resale value and cost to add the mods such as a turbo. Toyota can do this cheaper than I could and it would be fully insurable as an unmodified car.
delta0 said:
Toyota. Please put better tyres on this and increase the power to 300bhp. I will be in your dealership when you do.
Can we give this guy a wooshing parrot? Totally missing the point of the car.Plenty of stuff on the market with power like that. We don't need more! We need more MX5's and GT86/BRZ's! It's very refreshing.
Also, as per the original page. I paid £16k the end of last year for a 3 year old with 25k on it! At the time there was a waiting list for new, and used weren't hanging around. Maybe thats changed as they start flooding the used market.
After driving MK1 & MK2 MX5's for over 10 years I've jumped ship to a GT86. I personally don't find the engine note bad at all. Quite the opposite in fact.
Compared to the MX5's agricultural BP & BP-Z3, the FA20 is positively tuneful. I really like the WOT warble you get from it.
I would prefer some exhaust noise too, but that's pretty easily rectified.
Compared to the MX5's agricultural BP & BP-Z3, the FA20 is positively tuneful. I really like the WOT warble you get from it.
I would prefer some exhaust noise too, but that's pretty easily rectified.
delta0 said:
Toyota. Please put better tyres on this and increase the power to 300bhp. I will be in your dealership when you do.
Here's your 300bhp BRZ for £20K with 10K on the clock. Shame it's not standard on the outside though... http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...
I was in the 86 hate camp ever since these cars came out in 2012. What didn't help was test driving an automatic BRZ, what a waste of 30mins.
Then while looking for a new car in Nov 2015, something reasonable and fun I decided to give 86 another chance - being on special at my local Toyota dealership for GBP16,810 drive away nothing more to pay helped convince me. Ever since that test drive something clicked, and I love it - bought a red 86GT, same as primo in UK. Just under 5000km on the odo now and absolutely loving every minute of it. Definitely saying to everyone that is thinking about it - just get it, base model, manual, you will never look back - it is awesome fun.
PS: oh yeah, fuel consumption so far 8.8L/100km - so very cheap car to run.
Then while looking for a new car in Nov 2015, something reasonable and fun I decided to give 86 another chance - being on special at my local Toyota dealership for GBP16,810 drive away nothing more to pay helped convince me. Ever since that test drive something clicked, and I love it - bought a red 86GT, same as primo in UK. Just under 5000km on the odo now and absolutely loving every minute of it. Definitely saying to everyone that is thinking about it - just get it, base model, manual, you will never look back - it is awesome fun.
PS: oh yeah, fuel consumption so far 8.8L/100km - so very cheap car to run.
Edited by WarboyRB on Thursday 10th March 09:29
delta0 said:
Toyota. Please put better tyres on this and increase the power to 300bhp. I will be in your dealership when you do.
Why not buy one, take it to Litchfield for a Supercharger and engine work, and get some new wider wheels - it's not like there aren't lots of places that sell aftermarket wheels. It'll probably cost less that way than Toyota would sell it for anyway, even if they were to do such an upgrade. Which they're not.delta0 said:
Toyota. Please put better tyres on this and increase the power to 300bhp. I will be in your dealership when you do.
You just do not understand what makes this car so great - the fact that its fun and the fact that its cheap. If its 300bhp the price would be out of reach for the majority.I believe that getting some tyres on a set on 17" rim is definitely a must and power wise it doesn't need much, 215-220bhp would be plenty and that is only a tune/exhaust/air filter away. I'd say you can probably get more but let's settle on 220bhp. That would almost bring it on par with the Porsche 968CS, and that is a sweet car.
Edited by WarboyRB on Wednesday 9th March 10:18
Just a farewell to this thread. I have an equivalent to the Primo, with exhaust, a better noise, an inlet mod, better tyres, about 220hp and a great great wheel alignment by a specialist. There has been no increase in fuel consumption. The small mods have enhanced the car a long long way.
Almost better than the above is that in Australia it was even better value. Cheaper than a base model Mini Cooper. Cheaper than a Clio sport, half the price of a 370Z and much less than half the price of a current M135i. A quarter of the price of a Cayman. Mine is still running better as it gets close to 25K miles.
Almost better than the above is that in Australia it was even better value. Cheaper than a base model Mini Cooper. Cheaper than a Clio sport, half the price of a 370Z and much less than half the price of a current M135i. A quarter of the price of a Cayman. Mine is still running better as it gets close to 25K miles.
mauricegb said:
I was surprised when I spoke to a Toyota dealer about these the salesman said they rarely sold any primos, and that almost everyone goes for the better specced model and a fair few the automatic.
At the time I thought he was trying to put me off, but looking online on howmanyleft etc he was bang on - there's hardly any primos been sold in the UK and almost half of GT86's are automatics which is bizarre for what is supposed to be a driver focused car. (For the BRZ less than 1 in 10 are automatics, make of that what you will)
With those sales figures it's not surprising Toyota haven't brought the bare bones model to the UK.
Figures on howmanyleft don't seem to tally with yours, more like a little over a quarter are autos.At the time I thought he was trying to put me off, but looking online on howmanyleft etc he was bang on - there's hardly any primos been sold in the UK and almost half of GT86's are automatics which is bizarre for what is supposed to be a driver focused car. (For the BRZ less than 1 in 10 are automatics, make of that what you will)
With those sales figures it's not surprising Toyota haven't brought the bare bones model to the UK.
Manual GT86 = 3409
Automatic = 900
I'd sum this car up as one which lots of us showed interest in but were put off by the power. It's easy to say what is 'enough' but people's perceptions have moved on and this needs about 250bhp to help sales, its that simple. The market for lower powered sports cars like this in not huge (yes, I know about the MX5 but how many new ones of those do you see?).
I do think a convertible version could have been a big seller but ...
I do think a convertible version could have been a big seller but ...
Frimley111R said:
I'd sum this car up as one which lots of us showed interest in but were put off by the power. It's easy to say what is 'enough' but people's perceptions have moved on and this needs about 250bhp to help sales, its that simple. The market for lower powered sports cars like this in not huge (yes, I know about the MX5 but how many new ones of those do you see?).
I do think a convertible version could have been a big seller but ...
Fine by me, there are hundreds of thousands of other new cars to choose from. This fits my needs perfect. It's almost a breath of fresh air in 2016 to still be able to buy something like this. I prefer a fun and rewarding drive over a spec sheet game of top trumps in the pub.I do think a convertible version could have been a big seller but ...
Given the low weight, I have no issues with the power or the engine and that's coming from a string of V6 Alfas. Now on 4k miles, it's loosened up nicely and is sweet. The bonus is it's great on fuel, even though it requires 98 RON or more.
As to the tyres, Michelin Primacy HP are a decent tyre that work well.
I'd hate to fit forcible induction as driving a relatively low torque / high revving / low capacity engine again has been a reawakening
As to the tyres, Michelin Primacy HP are a decent tyre that work well.
I'd hate to fit forcible induction as driving a relatively low torque / high revving / low capacity engine again has been a reawakening
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