RE: The Toyota GT86 is more relevant than ever: TMIW
Discussion
I like the GT86, they just got the price wrong. It should have been late teens to £20k including all the spec that are extras. Back in 2013 I loved it but the M135i was a similar price and the GT86 didn't feel like value for money in comparison. Power isn't everything. My MR2 with 146bhp
Is much more fun than my Seat Cupra 290. Different cars that offer different things.
Is much more fun than my Seat Cupra 290. Different cars that offer different things.
DoubleD said:
irish boy said:
Funny how everyone is posting up about lack of power yada yada yada, yet all the actual owners are posting up seemingly having an absolute blast!
So what you are saying is those who like them bought one and those who didnt like them chose to buy something else?On the subject of straight-line performance vs generic repmobiles, am I right in thinking this idea that a sportscar necessarily has to be faster than an equivalent saloon is a relatively modern one, possibly engendered by the hot hatch and rally homologation special boom of the 80s/90s? Going back to the 70s and earlier, there were a wide range of sportscars which weren't noticeably quicker than their peer saloons, in fact they were basically the saloon engine thrown into a more entertaining but not necessarily lighter or more aerodynamic body: see MG-almost-anything, TR-almost-anything, Alfa GTs and Spiders, Fiat 850 Sport, 124 Coupe, X1/9, etc, etc. You certainly COULD buy a sportscar which would outrun your average saloon, but it was going to cost you.
Distraxi said:
On the subject of straight-line performance vs generic repmobiles, am I right in thinking this idea that a sportscar necessarily has to be faster than an equivalent saloon is a relatively modern one, possibly engendered by the hot hatch and rally homologation special boom of the 80s/90s? Going back to the 70s and earlier, there were a wide range of sportscars which weren't noticeably quicker than their peer saloons, in fact they were basically the saloon engine thrown into a more entertaining but not necessarily lighter or more aerodynamic body: see MG-almost-anything, TR-almost-anything, Alfa GTs and Spiders, Fiat 850 Sport, 124 Coupe, X1/9, etc, etc. You certainly COULD buy a sportscar which would outrun your average saloon, but it was going to cost you.
Pretty much. The nurburgring lap times generation. The GT86 tries something different, maybe not new, maybe an older/classical formula. Most people aligned to that generation just can't understand that. MORE P'WAR!Let's face it, honestly. Nurburgring times are only coo'ed over by people who don't and probably will never own the car. That and forum bragging rights. Yawn. If you own the car and it's bring you smiles per mile the ring time is useless. I'll be having run at legal speeds on a B road or track while you swoon over ring times in your bedroom wishing you could own an car with a fast ring time that you may never be able to afford.
Seriously go and take a GT86 for an extended test drive and push on it a bit before you exclude it.
MR2 Steve said:
I like the GT86, they just got the price wrong. It should have been late teens to £20k including all the spec that are extras.
So, less than an equivalent 2.0 MX5, which has a much smaller boot and fewer seats? Honestly, this whole price thing is nonsense. They sold the Primo for £22.5k. It wasn't, as someone suggested earlier, poverty spec - all it lacked was cruise control, HIDs, and keyless, and it had smaller (alloy) wheels and no spoiler. In every other respect, it was just like the regular version. And Toyota registered 28 of them. They've sold more of the Giallo (83 @ £27.5k) and Blanco (67 @ £28.5k) special editions, and the TRD (164 @ £31.5k!!!) and Aero (200+ @ £27.5k), all of which had no performance upgrades.Distraxi said:
Pretty much. Though there's a third group, those who like them but don't think they're worth the money compared to other options. And given the much larger market share the GT86 has in US/Oz/NZ where it's priced lower, that group would appear to be substantial: Toyota GB have missed an opportunity there.
The difference in those markets is not just price. Look at Aus/NZ - Toyota is the market leader. The US is also far more accepting of Japanese brands and Toyota in particular; take out trucks and not only was the biggest selling car in the US last year was the Camry, but Toyota sells more cars than anyone else. Whereas in the UK last year, Toyota were 9th, behind BMW, Mercedes, and Audi. We're obsessed with German brands, and will pay massively over the odds for them. There's substantially more to it than price.NickCQ said:
Lots of discussion on this thread, mostly highly technical and not covering what's driving disappointing sales in the UK.
It's just ugly, isn't it?
Clearly subjective, but no.It's just ugly, isn't it?
When I first drove mine in September 2012, people would stop and stare - at petrol stations strangers would ask me what is it and what's it like. It was genuinely well received and loved by most. Skewed by the obvious factor that people don't generally walk up to you and say 'crap car mister', but I was amazed by the amount of good will and interest from many people.
Clearly, they're just part of the background now, everyone's seen them.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I make it another cm in bore. Couldn't be done with the current block, I don't think, looks to me as if you'd lose about half the wall thickness. 
They have a 2.5 litre FB engine, but it's longer stroke and makes about 170bhp. I guess the FA20 was designed with an eye on the other applications they use it for (turbocharged versions in Legacy, Forester, Impreza and Levorg). Economics of developing a 2.5 maybe didn't stack up.
designforlife said:
I love the styling, and RWD is a plus...but once the "handling" novelty wears out, it's going to feel underpowered, much like the MX5s of old.
I always felt the MX5 could carry off not having much power - i used to love buzzing about with the roof down in an MX5.Maybe my performance expectations of a convertible arent as high as of a coupe.
daemon said:
designforlife said:
I love the styling, and RWD is a plus...but once the "handling" novelty wears out, it's going to feel underpowered, much like the MX5s of old.
I always felt the MX5 could carry off not having much power - i used to love buzzing about with the roof down in an MX5.Maybe my performance expectations of a convertible arent as high as of a coupe.
That slightly asthmatic performance was excusable in the 1.6....in a modern 2 litre i would have expected better, especially when honda did so well with the k20.
designforlife said:
daemon said:
designforlife said:
I love the styling, and RWD is a plus...but once the "handling" novelty wears out, it's going to feel underpowered, much like the MX5s of old.
I always felt the MX5 could carry off not having much power - i used to love buzzing about with the roof down in an MX5.Maybe my performance expectations of a convertible arent as high as of a coupe.
That slightly asthmatic performance was excusable in the 1.6....in a modern 2 litre i would have expected better, especially when honda did so well with the k20.
Yes, the latest 2.0 variant could do better...
venquessa said:
Guys, VTEC is dead. What other 2 litre engine produces 100hp/l today?
None, because there is no market for it. It's not really the USA sort of thing, which is why they never got the EP3 CTR over there. And the S2k was enlarged to 2.4 litres.Europe and Japan were the markets, but times and trends change.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff