RE: New Toyota GR 86 - official!

[MadDog1962]

The pricing promises to be spot on again.

From the pictures, it looks like they've improved the looks and probably the interior quality. The extra 38PS might be all that it really needs performance-wise. My memories of my own 2013 (Scion F-RS) are of a great driving position and handling, but not quite enough poke to be satisfying. The front end ground clearance could be an issue approaching car-park ramps etc. that made some city driving awkward (I doubt that's changed much). I hope the horn is improved from the horrid meep-meep they used to have (it's a lot of work to rectify!).

[s m]

MadDog1962 said:

The pricing promises to be spot on again.

From the pictures, it looks like they've improved the looks and probably the interior quality. The extra 38PS might be all that it really needs performance-wise. My memories of my own 2013 (Scion F-RS) are of a great driving position and handling, but not quite enough poke to be satisfying. The front end ground clearance could be an issue approaching car-park ramps etc. that made some city driving awkward (I doubt that's changed much). I hope the horn is improved from the horrid meep-meep they used to have (it's a lot of work to rectify!).

The performance should be close to a Honda S2000/E30 M3 EVO Sport given the figures but I guess we will see
It it still handles well and does have more go it should sell well being one of the few sports coupes with a manual left

[CABC]

s m said:

The performance should be close to a Honda S2000/E30 M3 EVO Sport given the figures but I guess we will see
It it still handles well and does have more go it should sell well being one of the few sports coupes with a manual left

as it's a makeover with new engine i'm confident it will be great, but it still won't sell in UK. price too high here, not that practical and not open top. enthusiasts should be grateful Toyota still choose to sell it here!

it is an odd car as Si says above. neither practical nor hardcore, its focus is either younger folk or those who want a bit of fun with a bit of practicality. a big compromise in other words, whereas a hatch does it all (actually they don't, but "the numbers don't lie").

[MC Bodge]

CABC said:

it still won't sell in UK. price too high here, not that practical and not open top. enthusiasts should be grateful Toyota still choose to sell it here!

As I've said before, there are a few around here and a couple in my works car park. They are not as rare as some might suggest.

[Pommy]

MC Bodge said:

CABC said:

it still won't sell in UK. price too high here, not that practical and not open top. enthusiasts should be grateful Toyota still choose to sell it here!

As I've said before, there are a few around here and a couple in my works car park. They are not as rare as some might suggest.

200,000 86's sold, 10,000 of which in UK.

Here in Oz they sold 20,000 yet have 1/3rd population of UK.

[MC Bodge]

Pommy said:

MC Bodge said:

CABC said:

it still won't sell in UK. price too high here, not that practical and not open top. enthusiasts should be grateful Toyota still choose to sell it here!

As I've said before, there are a few around here and a couple in my works car park. They are not as rare as some might suggest.

200,000 86's sold, 10,000 of which in UK.

Here in Oz they sold 20,000 yet have 1/3rd population of UK.

They must be concentrated around Manchester!

[Olivera]

CABC said:

it is an odd car as Si says above. neither practical nor hardcore, its focus is either younger folk or those who want a bit of fun with a bit of practicality.

I don't quite understand this.

Making it more practical would turn it into a bigger/longer/heavier car, or a hatchback, at which point you might as well go for one of the established hot hatches with the extra torque from a turbo engine to match.

As for it not being hardcore enough - what car is more hardcore at this price point? It's a bespoke drivers' RWD/NA/manual coupe, that is rare at any price point.

[Koolkat969]

s m said:

The performance should be close to a Honda S2000/E30 M3 EVO Sport given the figures but I guess we will see
It it still handles well and does have more go it should sell well being one of the few sports coupes with a manual left

The S2000 unfortunately never had a replacement since 2009 and I think the GR will appeal to that market and for me as a current S2000 owner, I'm quite happy with the power the std S2000 makes so quite happy with the specs of the GR except that my S2000 revs to 9k rpm and double wishbones all round compared.

Had the pleasure of driving the original gt86 up the Goodwood Hill during FOS a few years back and thoroughly enjoyed my very brief spell with it so looking forward to trying out the GR in the future and as a potential S2000 replacement.

[s m]

Pommy said:

MC Bodge said:

CABC said:

it still won't sell in UK. price too high here, not that practical and not open top. enthusiasts should be grateful Toyota still choose to sell it here!

As I've said before, there are a few around here and a couple in my works car park. They are not as rare as some might suggest.

200,000 86's sold, 10,000 of which in UK.

Here in Oz they sold 20,000 yet have 1/3rd population of UK.

What price are they in Oz out of interest?

[DuncanM]

Ma bootiful GT86

[cerb4.5lee]

DuncanM said:

Ma bootiful GT86

I really like that.

[DuncanM]

cerb4.5lee said:

I really like that.

Used it to move some stuff to my lads new home, surprisingly big boot with seats down

[JmatthewB]

Similar colour to mine. Although I went for one without the boot spoiler.

[SidewaysSi]

Olivera said:

CABC said:

it is an odd car as Si says above. neither practical nor hardcore, its focus is either younger folk or those who want a bit of fun with a bit of practicality.

I don't quite understand this.

Making it more practical would turn it into a bigger/longer/heavier car, or a hatchback, at which point you might as well go for one of the established hot hatches with the extra torque from a turbo engine to match.

As for it not being hardcore enough - what car is more hardcore at this price point? It's a bespoke drivers' RWD/NA/manual coupe, that is rare at any price point.

Something more hardcore would be an Elise or similar for the same cash if you didn't need the practicality. Appreciate it's not FE/RWD but it's a more engaging car.

If the rear of the Toyota was a bit bigger, it could be justified instead of a 4 Series for example as a do-it-all car. That's how I see it given its positioning.

[Pommy]

[MyV10BarksAndBites]

thewarlock said:

Galerion said:

I fear we have talked past each other because Im not talking about the actual performance. Im talking about engine character. The GT86 and the Nissan 370Z are two sports cars in particular that have engines that do their job but they feel and sound rough and not happy about doing it. They are not eager and characterful as you would expect from a sports car engine and I don't think the FA24 will be any different in that.

Edited by Galerion on Tuesday 6th April 17:01

What do you mean though by 'eager' and 'characterful'?

If you draw a straight line form 75bhp at 2k rpm, to 330bhp at 7200 rpm, that's pretty much the power curve of the VQ37. Which is exactly the sort of character and eagerness I want from an engine.

The sound? It sounds like a V6. I drove its older brother as a daily just now, and I've only ever had positive comments about the sound.

I get what he is trying to say but... the VQ is in a whole different league to that horrible GT86 engine..

Makes a hell of a difference... lol

[white_goodman]

spikyone said:

SidewaysSi said:

samoht said:

white_goodman said:

Does anyone know if this has a bit more interior space than the old one? I badly wanted a GT86 to replace my old MINI Cooper but ended up with a boring Golf instead because the GT86 was ridiculously cramped in the back, even for my small children.

I doubt it, since it's on the same platform. Possibly 5mm longer wheelbase (Autocar), 25mm longer total - a whole inch. Unless they've somehow saved space somewhere with thinner seats or something, I expect the interior will be exactly the same size as the original.

Yep nuts isn't it - I would happily have had this as an occasional family car but rear room was the killer. A real shame.

So after all the complaining that it's not fast enough in a drag race, we're now onto not enough space inside? People really have no clue what this car is about... It's a bloody sports car. You're lucky it has more than 2 seats!

I never complained about the performance of the old car! I think that there are a lot of family men/women who would love to drive a sporty coupe, hence the popularity of the Capri, Manta and Scirrocco in the 70s/80s, even into the 90s with cars like the Celica, Calibra, Puma, Tigra etc. I had a Corrado VR6 in the 2000s and that could accommodate 4 adults easily. Without the need of having to cart sprogs around occasionally, I'd probably be driving something like a Cayman. My bar was hardly high, if the rear space was comparable to my R56 MINI (far from being a limo in the back) then I would have gone for the GT86. I'm not expecting to drive 6 foot adults around in the back but if there was an affordable sporty coupe, that I could fit my 6 and 8 year old into the back of without chopping off their legs, it would be nice to have that choice over a regular hatchback.

[CABC]

Olivera said:

CABC said:

it is an odd car as Si says above. neither practical nor hardcore, its focus is either younger folk or those who want a bit of fun with a bit of practicality.

I don't quite understand this.

Making it more practical would turn it into a bigger/longer/heavier car, or a hatchback, at which point you might as well go for one of the established hot hatches with the extra torque from a turbo engine to match.

As for it not being hardcore enough - what car is more hardcore at this price point? It's a bespoke drivers' RWD/NA/manual coupe, that is rare at any price point.

maybe a better phrase would be that it's an odd niche.

i like it, i have one, because i can adjust to the compromise.
An MX5 is a convertible which broadens the appeal. An Elise is a proper weekend drivers car. A hatchback has 4/5 proper seats, power and lazy torque. A Cayman has costs in a different league. you have to be keen to want an 86 at UK prices, i am

[CABC]

Pommy said:

the 'vert will never work. it'll weigh 150kgs+ more and still lose stiffness. Be great if Toyota brought back the mr2, which like the mx5 has bracing right behind the front seats. 2 seaters are stiff.
the hatch is interesting, but even then it would need the 4 seats to be usable, and that can't work because the wheelbase isn't long enough to put the rear seats any further back. So you can't have that in same way you can't have a 4 seat mx5

[Leftfootwonder]

Always loved a Jap sports car. This is high on the want list.