TOYOTA GR86

There are two flavours available, interestingly offering manual or auto for the same price in both models. You can opt for the quintessential GT that has everything you’d need or up spec to the GTS for a little more individuality and indulgence. You’ll gain those Samurai inspired 18-inch alloys over the standard 17”, the front pews are covered in Ultrasuede with premium leather accent trim and heated for those crisp, cool Sunday morning drives along winding back roads. Aluminum pedals complete the racy ambiance of the cockpit.

As for our test GTS 86’s interior, restrained it ain’t, audacious and in your face would be a more accurate description.

Unlike the reticent, all black interior of the GT, swing open the door on the bold brassy GTS to reveal bright red carpets and door inserts, plus highlighted red stitching on the seats, the manual hand brake lever, steering wheel and gear shift boot.

Oh, and they added a red strip to the seat base- just in case you didn’t notice.

Was it a surprise? Yep. Did it elicit a stunned facial expression? You bet.  Did I like it? Well…

A sexy exterior, scintillating dynamics and a sassy interior to match; I didn’t just like it… I loved it!

Every time I got in, I felt special, and that’s what this vehicle is all about, the special factor.

For creature comforts, a large 8.0-inch touchscreen display in the centre provides DAB radio, Bluetooth connectivity for phone and audio, with Apple CarPlay3 and Android Auto4 compatibility. Coupled to a six-speaker sound system, the mid-range units have been strategically mounted high in the cabin for improved sound quality. What I really appreciated was the retention of physical shortcut buttons and knobs for volume and tuning, very handy when wearing driving gloves.

Below the screen are three large rotary dials for left and right temperature settings and AC fan speed in the middle. But the cool factor gains serious points for the red LED readouts in the middle of each of them, and the row of large chunky toggle switches for AC and heating functions. It’s just so easy to use. Nothing gets in the way, meaning you never have to fumble past the gear lever to operate them.

I liked the small design touches as well, the concealed coffee cup holders just below the Thunder Birds split trap door styled console lid, and the thoughtful increase in glovebox dimensions to carry those larger items like a phone or an iPod–yep there’s a retro aux port next to the two USB connections. Sony Walkman anyone?

Convenience, there’s plenty of that. The nicely leather-wrapped three-spoked steering wheel has buttons for audio, phone, active cruise control and vehicle settings operations. With good seat adjustment and the tilt and reach steering wheel, it’s easy to get comfortable.

Practicality isn’t often one of the attributes of a good sports car, so let’s just say the rear seat mainly resides behind the front seats for decorative aesthetics. Although, if you want to shoehorn in a yoga instructor or gymnast, be my guest.

For a naturally aspirated engine, that’s brisk in any language.

Keep in mind our GR86 manual has a kerb weight of only 1,291kg, so you don’t need a hefty increase in power to alter the vehicle’s driving characteristics. 

Some would say, why no turbo? I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase absolute power corrupts absolutely. And for the GR86, I think they’re right. The earlier version felt as though it wasn’t giving its best unless you pedalled it firmly. Certainly, great fun, but in city traffic, not so much. Does that make it bad? No, not at all. I’d still have an earlier 86 in a heartbeat.

But you’ll notice the torque delivery of the larger 2.4, thanks to Toyota’s specific tuning on the intake, exhaust and the D-4S direct fuel injection system where they have achieved enhanced performance and sharpened the GR’s throttle response. 

It’s more aptly applied in the lower to mid-range response, making it feel stronger in lower rpm situations, allowing you to build speed and acceleration earlier and more consistently over the rev range. 

Are the differences huge? Not really, but they are enough to be noticeable and allow this new GR86 to demonstrate a greater willingness and flexibility over a broad range of driving conditions.  The result is you put in less effort to achieve the same, if not better, outcome.

With a bigger, beefier tail shaft and drive shafts to ensure robust reliability with the added torque surging through the driveline, there are also chassis improvements to achieve a 50% greater torsional and 60% lateral rigidity improvement.

Combined with new spring and damper rates for greater dynamic control and ride comfort over smooth and rough surfaces, this new GR86 delivers the goods for an even more rewarding and engaging driving experience.

Standard across both GT and GTS are seven airbags, reversing camera with dynamic guidelines, ABS brakes, vehicle stability control, tyre pressure warning and front/rear seatbelt warnings. However, only automatic versions receive pre-collision braking capable of recognising cyclists during the daytime, and pedestrians, day and night. Adaptive cruise control, with pre-collision throttle management and reverse parking support brake, which can apply the brakes in the event that a collision is likely. Obviously a problem in a manual which would stall without the physical driver intervention of clutch disengagement. But the auto also gains lane departure alert and automatic high beam. Why can’t Toyota include the latter two in the manual version, given how it misses out on so many other safety features?

And why do you have to upgrade to the GTS to gain rear cross traffic alert and rear blind spot monitor regardless of transmission type?

In my mind, these aren’t luxury items but important driver safety features. I figure your safety and that of your occupants should be at the forefront of each manufacturer’s design brief, not a nice to have luxury item exclusive to the vehicle with the flashiest trimmings.