Toyota GT86: Dynamic Temptation

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 05:39

Even after the facelift, the Toyota GT86 has not become a speed monster. But the sports coupé from Japan is not stingy with other attractions and an extremely fair price-performance ratio.

Not all Toyota customers will classify the GT86 as a vehicle of their brand. Users from other manufacturers tend not to think of ascribing the two-seater to the reasonable, but rather staid company. Although that is no longer true with the staid cars, even the middle-class offers Auris and Avensis look very smart after the last optimizations, not to mention Aygo and Yaris with their extroverted front sections or the new C-HR. And the thesis with the reason cars even fits a little on the GT86.

The GT86 sports coupé starts with a down-to-earth price of 29,990 euros, but offers an almost unreasonable engine output of an impressive 147 kW / 200 PS. Again, very sensible: For the equivalent, there are in addition to the things that are taken for granted today, such as air conditioning, radio and central locking, as well as features such as LED bi-headlights and a Torsen differential on the driven rear axle. In addition, there are well-designed sports seats - that sounds almost as if the light coupé is supposed to be an incredible corner robber.

The corners of the mouth go up in the Toyota GT86

The Toyota, which is rarely found in this country, should also offer this characteristic, because its two-liter boxer, which was taken over from Subaru, is a fine engine, but by no means a torque swank. So the ambitiously resounding heart under the hood wants to be cheered as high as possible so that it moves forward with full force. Since our first test drives of the modified model took place largely on snow and ice, this aspect was hardly fun. Equipped with one-millimeter spikes on the tires, the budget athlete should show how impressively he can precisely prance around the corner with the rear. And it can do that even on non-slip asphalt.

Rear-wheel drive is an important keyword - because such cars are missing in the overcrowded model programs that have the right front-wheel drive SUV for every occasion, but are stingy with enjoyable and affordable good-mood cars that you can also drive with the accelerator on occasion. Even after the first test seat in the revised Toyota, the corners of the mouth point upwards: Because here you sit down nice and low, as it should be for this type of car, so you can literally feel the road and are in your element in the hunt for lateral acceleration without being too tight the first row. The short (and also crisp to use) gear lever is ergonomically fine in the hand, which is important when it has to be done quickly. There is also a six-speed automatic converter for 1550 euros, but the GT86 is simply more honest as a switch.

Long leash for the Toyota GT86

For the new model year, the Toyota team has sharpened its affordable coupé - visually this can now be seen in the striking LED taillights, whose night design evokes associations with a boomerang and is therefore highly recognizable. Under the sheet metal, it is the chassis that, with changed spring rates and thus better coordination, should make you even more fun when the 1.3-ton truck rushes across the bend with smoking tires.

An additional track mode allows him to turn in a little further on the longer leash before the electronic stability control uses targeted braking to protect the erupting rear from the ditch. In order to meet the increasing demand for infotainment, there is now a four-inch display in the instrument cluster, which shows just about everything a motor sports enthusiast desires, from the G-force diagram to the oil temperature.

Suede in the interior of the Toyota GT86

The aesthetes among the sports car drivers can also enjoy a breath of fresh air: large parts of the dashboard are now covered with a suede-like fabric and various switches are embedded in carbon.

As expected, the slight aerodynamic fine-tuning, like the striking gills on the fenders, changes the look rather than the driving behavior. A fixed spoiler, now with a modified design, on the trunk lid still provides downforce when it comes to the race track. But at the end of the day it is similar with the sports car as it is with the off-roaders: Hard work usually only takes place in theory. A short, dynamic excursion on the country road beyond measured values and lap times is highly realistic. And that for 29,990 euros. It couldn't be more tempting, predicate: recommendable. (SP-X)