RE: The Toyota GT86 is more relevant than ever: TMIW

[anonymous-user]

venquessa said:

M-SportMatt said:

Its not fast enough. Only last night on the way home from work I had one up my tailpipe on a bit of DC, I pulled in to take a slip, he then barrels past and forces his way in in front of me so as we both pull off the slip at around 35-40mph onto another DC I can see him itching to make progress but I get over to the right first and let him have it full throttle, so a side by side rolling start and he's left trailing by a good margin........in my 5 year old 320d with roofbars and bike on top, auto, not in sport mode.

Awww shucks, I'm sure he was upset and wish he owned a diesel barge like you. I bet he rushes to the dealership and buys one. No, I don't think so. The next time he gets to a roundabout he will be feeling sorry for you.

Thing is, a 320d is actually a lot of fun on roundabout too ;-)

[anonymous-user]

otolith said:

The significant question is "in what ways is the car compromised by the need to share componentry with models which have different design priorities?".

One example might be the 2.0 engine, which is now being used in other models. Would they have gone a little larger capacity if not? Maybe, maybe not.

It doesn't, though, have the transverse engine and front wheel / four wheel drive platform that some of its rivals have foisted upon them because that's optimal for the hatchbacks and small MPVs they share it with. That enables RWD, a low CoG and small moment of inertia, which are more important for a sports car than packaging or the cheapness of spinning off different model variants. The downside being that it can't amortise the development costs over more cars.

What really matters is "does the car sell?". The answer, in the UK, is 'not really'. The sad thing is, cases like the GT86/BRZ make it more likely we'll miss out on niche models in future.

[anonymous-user]

Are we saying the UK GT86 is overpriced compared to its competitors?

[anonymous-user]

daemon said:

In other markets, its competitors are the likes of the entry level MX5, ST Fiesta etc, so yes, Toyota UK have overpriced it (to suit themselves)

Seems odd. On one hand we're told the GT86 should be revered because it's on a bespoke platform and shouldn't be considered amongst the likes of compromised hatchbacks.

Now we're being told Toyota are wrong by charging more for a bespoke sports coupe with a dedicated chassis and engine than they might for a souped up Yaris.

How do you square that circle?

[anonymous-user]

culpz said:

daemon said:

culpz said:

daemon said:

Toyota AUS and Toyota JPN are able to price the GT86 at around the same price as an ST or an entry level MX5. Here Toyota UK have chosen not to.

So are we being asked to pay £6K more just because Toyota UK think people here will pay more?

That's a very black and white way to look at it.

3 completely different economies there. I'd say that there's probably much more to it than that but, then again, it's all an assumption.

Maybe there is more to it - however the fact still remains , for whatever reason we're expected to pay significantly more for a GT86 here relative to other cars than people in other markets are. Likewise, in those markets the GT86 seems to thrive in terms of sales.

Maybe Toyota identifies that Australia and Japan have a bigger marketplace and higher demand for sports cars. I can definitely understand this with the latter, anyway. So, in that respect, they lower the basic price to make it look even more attractive and boost sales.

If the UK isn't a strong market for the '86 and doesn't have the same fan-base as the other 2 markets above, then raising the price as standard is the only way to make up for the equivalent sales, knowing that they will not sell as many cars due to general lack of interest.

Again, that's just an assumption.

There is a 10% import duty applied to Japanese manufactured cars in the EU, that includes us.