Discussion
For anyone who's interested, there's another 86 website/forum to be had: gt86ownersclub.co.uk as well as ft86club.com where I've seen a few fellow PHers.
Right then. Just got back from 30 minutes in the car.
Initial impressions...
It's not fast, but it's by no means slow. It has enough torque to bimble around in 5/6th at low revs and not struggle. Engine sounds nice. Nicer than I expected. If I wanted to pick holes I could say it wants about another 40-50hp, but that would be nitpicking. It was quicker than I expected it to be.
Clutch is light, very light. Brake pedal felt firm and progressive. Throttle very responsive. Small deadzone in the first part of the pedal though. Lovely gearbox, snickety with a short throw. Felt odd having reverse in the upper left though, but thats just because I'm used to it being bottom right.
The steering is fantastic. light at low speeds, weights up nicely, good feedback. If I hadnt known it was electric PAS I'd not have guessed. As such the car feels very light and nimble. Chassis is wonderful, very balanced. Reminded me of my friends RX7 in terms of feel. Impressed.
It's small, and low. Smaller than I thought it would be. Looks far better in the flesh than in pictures. Interior is nice. Doesnt feel cheap. Reminds me of the MR2, i.e. nothing fancy, but you know it'll wear it's miles well.
The car had the optional leather seats which were very nice looking and a nice to sit in.
Overall, very impressed. Despite my comments on here previously I expected not to like it. I could see myself driving one and the criticisms being laid at it are unfounded in my view. Sure the looks are totally subjective, but go drive one, it's impressive. Definitely more than the sum of it's parts. Would very much like to drive one on track with the TCS disabled.
Initial impressions...
It's not fast, but it's by no means slow. It has enough torque to bimble around in 5/6th at low revs and not struggle. Engine sounds nice. Nicer than I expected. If I wanted to pick holes I could say it wants about another 40-50hp, but that would be nitpicking. It was quicker than I expected it to be.
Clutch is light, very light. Brake pedal felt firm and progressive. Throttle very responsive. Small deadzone in the first part of the pedal though. Lovely gearbox, snickety with a short throw. Felt odd having reverse in the upper left though, but thats just because I'm used to it being bottom right.
The steering is fantastic. light at low speeds, weights up nicely, good feedback. If I hadnt known it was electric PAS I'd not have guessed. As such the car feels very light and nimble. Chassis is wonderful, very balanced. Reminded me of my friends RX7 in terms of feel. Impressed.
It's small, and low. Smaller than I thought it would be. Looks far better in the flesh than in pictures. Interior is nice. Doesnt feel cheap. Reminds me of the MR2, i.e. nothing fancy, but you know it'll wear it's miles well.
The car had the optional leather seats which were very nice looking and a nice to sit in.
Overall, very impressed. Despite my comments on here previously I expected not to like it. I could see myself driving one and the criticisms being laid at it are unfounded in my view. Sure the looks are totally subjective, but go drive one, it's impressive. Definitely more than the sum of it's parts. Would very much like to drive one on track with the TCS disabled.
As promised an update after a test drive today. The drive was about 90 mins and took in a mix of A and B roads so I got quite a good feel for it, and the car was manual.
So;
Ride;
- was a little choppy on broken road surfaces
- on the whole I thought it was pretty good, and balanced ride comfort well
Handling;
- very good, the car is light and feels very smally and pointy when driving, just what I was hoping for
- overall I think Toyota had struck a really good balance between ride and handling
Driving it;
- the seats are good and driving position were first class for me
- controls are light making town driving a breeze
- 3/4 rear vision wasn't the best I have ever experienced but nor was it unacceptable
- I stand by my earlier comments about the quality of the interior, my neighbours Lupo knocks the GT86 into a cocked hat in terms of interior quality at about one third of the price
- on the open road it was easy to settle into a rythm and it has a really good flow about it
Power - the vexed question of is it fast enough/does it have enough power?;
- for open roads, either A or B then the answer is yes it does
- for roads with real traffic, then unfortunately the answer (for me) is no it doesn’t. It simply isn’t quick enough to nip past long lines of traffic either in multiple cars or by picking them off, it isn’t “point and squirt” enough
So for me, I will wait to try the Subaru BRZ STi rumoured for early next year with another 40/50 bhp. I for one couldn’t live with the lack of sheer overtaking ability which is unfortunately the cost of driving in the real world.
S
So;
Ride;
- was a little choppy on broken road surfaces
- on the whole I thought it was pretty good, and balanced ride comfort well
Handling;
- very good, the car is light and feels very smally and pointy when driving, just what I was hoping for
- overall I think Toyota had struck a really good balance between ride and handling
Driving it;
- the seats are good and driving position were first class for me
- controls are light making town driving a breeze
- 3/4 rear vision wasn't the best I have ever experienced but nor was it unacceptable
- I stand by my earlier comments about the quality of the interior, my neighbours Lupo knocks the GT86 into a cocked hat in terms of interior quality at about one third of the price
- on the open road it was easy to settle into a rythm and it has a really good flow about it
Power - the vexed question of is it fast enough/does it have enough power?;
- for open roads, either A or B then the answer is yes it does
- for roads with real traffic, then unfortunately the answer (for me) is no it doesn’t. It simply isn’t quick enough to nip past long lines of traffic either in multiple cars or by picking them off, it isn’t “point and squirt” enough
So for me, I will wait to try the Subaru BRZ STi rumoured for early next year with another 40/50 bhp. I for one couldn’t live with the lack of sheer overtaking ability which is unfortunately the cost of driving in the real world.
S
Had my test drive yesterday; agree with most of what's been written above.
I like the driving position, think it would be comfortable for two-up touring, however the rear seats have no legroom, and the boot opening is really narrow. Also, while I had comfortable headroom at 6 foot, I think it would be marginal with a crash helmet on.
Agree about it being small and wieldy, and nice gearbox. On the road, the steering seems to have a slight lack of intial feel/bite. Not sure if this is related to it being electric, or not. Saying that, it is precise, and I felt plenty of confidence entering a corner, the suspension set-up is pretty good in that regard. However, this does result in a fairly firm ride.
For me though, the deal-breaker is the lack of mid-range oomph. Let me be clear; I'm not saying the *car* needs more power, I'm saying I *personally* have come to love the way my 180SX leaps forwards in each gear, shoving me back in my seat, and the GT86 doesn't do that. It's easy to *think* that pure, linear response and a crisp induction noise are more important than all-out power in a driver's car; but the reality of that proposition just can't replace, for me, a big gushing rush of mid-range oomph.
Ultimately, on a quick test-drive that didn't include any on-limit cornering, I just couldn't find any way in which the GT86 was clearly better than my 18-year-old Nissan; not the steering, not the ride, not the handling, not the engine note. I would like to try a GT86 on track sometime, or on a good open NSL A-road, but even if it is amazing there, I doubt that would personally persuade me.
I still like the GT86, I like how small it is (nearly a foot shorter than my 180), I love that Toyota produce it, I will smile when I see other people driving them on the road, I hope it succeeds in the marketplace. But personally, I think I'll be sticking with my old Datsun, and waiting for the turbo verson of the neo-hachiroku.
A few other things I got from the dealer:
- fine to run it on 95 unleaded
- five-year warranty isn't affected by doing trackdays
- servicing would work out about £250 per year (or per 10k miles)
- if you order now, delivery should be in September
- you get the red stitching in the interior standard, but the red sections on the seat/wheel only come with the £1600 part-leather interior option. So with that and metallic paint, it's getting to around £27k.
Marf said:
Go look at the price of the TRD big brake kit on the Fensport website.
It's mental isn't it? How can they justify the cost of those brakes? I'm sure you could get a similar kit from Brembo for a third of the price! Does a 200bhp, 1250kg car even need 355mm and 345 rear disks?!Some interesting test drive comments. This car is not a point and squirt motor that's for sure. It is much more involving than a turbo motor but for me that is all part of it's charm.
Much as I enjoy driving turbo motors, and I am always impressed by their mid-range shove, there is something deeply satisfying about keeping a N.A. engine on the boil. And despite it's peak power output being comparable to a £20K hatch, it is a great engine.
All the group test results will be out over the next few weeks so it will be interesting to see how it compares to it's rivals.
Much as I enjoy driving turbo motors, and I am always impressed by their mid-range shove, there is something deeply satisfying about keeping a N.A. engine on the boil. And despite it's peak power output being comparable to a £20K hatch, it is a great engine.
All the group test results will be out over the next few weeks so it will be interesting to see how it compares to it's rivals.
Yeah, I asked the salesman, he went and checked for me and said that would be no problem.
I agree, I would want to see that in writing before signing on the dotted line.
I suspect though that the warranty covers parts failing unreasonably soon. So if you need new brake discs, and you've been using it heavily on track, you might have to pay for that, since discs are a service replacement part after a certain amount of use. OTOH if the brake calipers themselves siezed up (as my S13's did), I imagine you could get them replaced for free on your new GT86.
On the face of it, five years' worth of trackdays backed up by a manufacturer warranty is quite attractive
I agree, I would want to see that in writing before signing on the dotted line.
I suspect though that the warranty covers parts failing unreasonably soon. So if you need new brake discs, and you've been using it heavily on track, you might have to pay for that, since discs are a service replacement part after a certain amount of use. OTOH if the brake calipers themselves siezed up (as my S13's did), I imagine you could get them replaced for free on your new GT86.
On the face of it, five years' worth of trackdays backed up by a manufacturer warranty is quite attractive
Marf said:
LordGrover said:
Just received an email, my order originally quoted early August, now due September. 
Odd, when I asked the sales guy how long from order to delivery he told me two weeks! Guess that was just "sales patter". 
It's not much fun having to tell a customer that their new car has gone back by 2-4 weeks, and not have a good reason why....(on the flip side, they do often come forward with no explanation!)
I had my go in one on Saturday, albeit an Auto Box.
Driving position was good, very low to get into but that helps with these cars, certainly seemed lower than my 986 was. Quite nice cabin, especially considering some of the past Subaru/Toyota efforts.
Engine noise sounds good for a 4pot probably thanks to the scooby layout and the induction noise being piped in.
Autobox was good, responsive to kick down in drive, or manual override with paddles. In the paddle mode was pretty quick changing most of the time (seemed hesitant on occasion). Auto Blipped on downshifts which is nice but I prefer the option of doing that myself.
Visibility in front and sides was good, back not brilliant but you could live with it.
Ride was good, seemed to go over most bumps quite happily. My current ST220 on 18"s struggles much more with the roads I took it on.
Two drawbacks I had really was space. as the boot opening is tiny and the seats in the back look smaller than those in a 911. I also think the ST is probably quicker most of the time as there is more torque available at lower revs.
Having said that I can certainly see myself getting one for those nice drives into the Welsh roads which I used to enjoy more having a RWD car. And although purchase could be expensive you would likely save on servicing and other costs. Could be a everyday car with track potential if fun is what your after and a MX-5 is not your thing
Driving position was good, very low to get into but that helps with these cars, certainly seemed lower than my 986 was. Quite nice cabin, especially considering some of the past Subaru/Toyota efforts.
Engine noise sounds good for a 4pot probably thanks to the scooby layout and the induction noise being piped in.
Autobox was good, responsive to kick down in drive, or manual override with paddles. In the paddle mode was pretty quick changing most of the time (seemed hesitant on occasion). Auto Blipped on downshifts which is nice but I prefer the option of doing that myself.
Visibility in front and sides was good, back not brilliant but you could live with it.
Ride was good, seemed to go over most bumps quite happily. My current ST220 on 18"s struggles much more with the roads I took it on.
Two drawbacks I had really was space. as the boot opening is tiny and the seats in the back look smaller than those in a 911. I also think the ST is probably quicker most of the time as there is more torque available at lower revs.
Having said that I can certainly see myself getting one for those nice drives into the Welsh roads which I used to enjoy more having a RWD car. And although purchase could be expensive you would likely save on servicing and other costs. Could be a everyday car with track potential if fun is what your after and a MX-5 is not your thing
Popped down to my local bike shop earlier today to pick up some bits. The bike shop sits next to a toyota dealership, and I noticed a GT86 parked out front. Wandered over, and had a look round it. Not a bad looking car in person, was black with silver stripes. Not a fan of the stripes or the wheels to be honest. Thought I'd wander in and ask about price and options, and got offered a test drive there and then. Happy days.
Did a nice little route on roads I know fairly well so was able to give it some stick, toyota bloke was keen for me to as well. The car I drove had the optional seats which were really nice, and the sat nav. Really like the way it drove, handled really well and was nicely damped, wasn't ever crashy or too hard; that was driven on a few fairly bumpy B roads too. Steering was nice, good weight to it, but not quite as feelsome as I was expecting, perhaps this comes on more when pushing even harder.
The gearbox is great, really short nice throw on it, and its positioned absolutely perfectly on the transmission tunnel, and close to the wheel.
I was slightly disapointed with the engine, sounds great, especially in the mid range but I was expecting more of a vtec style kick which just never came, it felt as if it just runs out of steam at the very top end. I was expecting, and would much prefer it just picking up more and more pace nearer the redline.
Overall though I enjoyed it, really nice car to drive. Not sure I'll be getting into one though, at 24k I'd much rather an E46 M3 and some pocket money!
Did a nice little route on roads I know fairly well so was able to give it some stick, toyota bloke was keen for me to as well. The car I drove had the optional seats which were really nice, and the sat nav. Really like the way it drove, handled really well and was nicely damped, wasn't ever crashy or too hard; that was driven on a few fairly bumpy B roads too. Steering was nice, good weight to it, but not quite as feelsome as I was expecting, perhaps this comes on more when pushing even harder.
The gearbox is great, really short nice throw on it, and its positioned absolutely perfectly on the transmission tunnel, and close to the wheel.
I was slightly disapointed with the engine, sounds great, especially in the mid range but I was expecting more of a vtec style kick which just never came, it felt as if it just runs out of steam at the very top end. I was expecting, and would much prefer it just picking up more and more pace nearer the redline.
Overall though I enjoyed it, really nice car to drive. Not sure I'll be getting into one though, at 24k I'd much rather an E46 M3 and some pocket money!
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