200 replies to this topic

[fluffyskg]

For those who think the GT86 is a good looking car, it just got a bit better... Shame the performance is unchanged though. http://media.toyota....d-its-official/

[techieboy]

Now it really is all show and very little go and well over £30k to boot.

[turbobob]

When I saw trd I thought it was going to be a diesel.

[ChrisS1]

Think I prefer the standard over the TRD Am I turning old? Or just OEM JG...

[rob999]

If you want to spend loads with no additional power increase... http://www.racecarsd...e_race_car.html

[JG]

i prefer the standard one chris... saw another brz on the way home this evening. still really really want one.

[ChrisS1]

i prefer the standard one chris...

saw another brz on the way home this evening. still really really want one.

I was pricing one up and trying to justify it this afternoon

[jonnyboy]

It may help to kmow that Litchfield do a Rotrex charger kit for 3k. Iwould run it standard for 18 months then go crazy.

[dw1]

For those who think the GT86 is a good looking car, it just got a bit better... Shame the performance is unchanged though.

http://media.toyota....d-its-official/

I like the GT86 a lot, it's look and whole ethos. I'm not a fan of the trd, the nose makes me think of this..

[fluffyskg]

The more I look at it, the more I actually think I agree with you guys and prefer the standard one. Certainly the nose is nicer!

[p13]

I test drove two toyotas.
One was an auto because they didn't have a manual yet. Wasn't very good. Pretty pokey. The chassis felt right though, and i could tell it had a lot of potential. They are raving on about how "quick" it's slushbox is but trust me on this ... it's not. It's a bit like old people crossing the road, slow ... when you honk at them, they might go a bit faster ... but it's just very rude.

The manual was a lot better. The gearchange on this thing is PERFECT. There is no other way to describe it. It felt very right. Easily in the top5 of every car i've ever driven. Reacts well to throttle input. Everything just feels like it works very well. The car is light and nimble. It's a very "playful" little car.
The steering is great. Amazing feel for a "full size" car. I've never felt such good power assisted steering. My M car didn't even come close.
Pedals are 75% right. I'd look for a set of alu pedals with maybe just a bit wider pedals.

I had the privilege of it raining during the second part of my test run in the manual. It's f*ucking epic in the rain. This thing comes standard with autodrift. If you can't get this sideways in the rain, buy a golf and get a new hobby.

It's practical and comfortable. Interior is nice on the touch points and plastic fantastic on everything else. It's cheap, but it isn't nasty. The seats are very good. The trunk is generous for the kind of car it is and the seats fold flat ... which is their only real purpose in life ... to serve as an interior trunk lid ... a leather covered interior trunk lid.

Now on to the not so good.
The engine sounds nasty. It's very rough at idle. It doesn't sound like a boxer should. It sounds a bit like a civic but without the nicer sounds at high rpms.
The back seats are useless.

Now on to the bad.
It doesn't really rev very freely, at least it doesn't feel like it wants you to rev it, but you HAVE to because there is NO torque. None.
It felt a bit like the z22se with no torque. You need to rev the balls of it, but the engine kind of wants you to leave it alone. Maybe it was still tight and/or hadn't been run in properly, i don't know ... but it felt the same on the auto (well worse, actually, thanks to the slushbox).
It's slow. There's no denying it. I really wish people would stop trying to make things up about how it's "right for the car" and such. It's slow. That doesn't mean it NEEDS more power, maybe it just means it's not a very fast car ... like an mx5.
Could it use more power? Yes. Would i use it? I don't know.
As a DD I think it has enough power. As a track car? Depends on what you want out of it. If you want to go out and slide it around a bit, then yes, it has more than enough. If you want to be fast, then no, it doesn't nearly have enough.

Now on to the Good, dare i even say almost perfect.
The balance of this car is perfect ... for it's intended use. This is a car that is clearly meant to be driven every day. It's not about the numbers, it's about the laughs.
It handles very well, the steering is very, very good for a normal-ish road car, and ... crucially ... it has a great sense of humor.
It is tons of fun.
Grip levels are low enough so that you can have fun on your commute (roundabouts, u-turns, etc) at low speeds. It will break free at 30 kph if prodded the right way. The diff works well with the tyre package. Everything is just very progressive.

Conclusion
It's not for everyone ... even though you might think it is. A lot of people have put this car on quite a high pedestal, hoping for many things. And then the hoping turned into demanding.
If you go drive one expecting it to be quick, you'll be disappointed. It's not really any quicker than a 120d.

This car is about the chassis. Just a shame about the engine.
It's a better mx5 than the mx5 ever was.

Tbh, i was impressed and also quite disappointed. I thought i could live with the lack of power, but i can't. It's just too pokey.
I just prefer a diesel as a DD. Something that is effortless and fuss free. Makes me appreciate my other cars a hell of a lot more.
The GT86 just isn't special enough to be in my "other cars" list.

Hope this was useful to you.

Edited by p13, 14 February 2013 - 03:55 PM.

[Whiteboy]

I have finally got round to test driving one and now I wish I had not!! The last time I got out of a car like this, all I could do was to raid all my savings and buy one. I am not going to be so irrational this time, but as soon as my mortgage is paid off, (two years now) I will be buying one of these. I really do not believe you could buy a better road car, for the money. I really love it and it had the rust orange paint and black strips, I would really like the red. I even prefer it to the M135i and that really is a monster. Steve

[Mangham54]

Isn't it weird how it splits opinion so distinctly. The two test drives cited above just highlight it. I'd have one without hesitation and so would Chris Harris it would appear.

[MellowYellow]

I'm going to try to line one up as a courtesy car when the company hack goes in for its next service, came past a black one (in the VX) over the Thelwall Viaduct on Friday and it did look the part.

[p13]

Isn't it weird how it splits opinion so distinctly. The two test drives cited above just highlight it.

I'd have one without hesitation and so would Chris Harris it would appear.

Well ...

I want to be clear on the fact that i think it is quite a good car. It's lots of fun to drive, etc, etc.
There's not much to dislike ... however ... the engine is what lets this car down.
I like the looks, i like the handling, i like the interior (somewhat). I like the way it feels to drive. I like the gearbox. I even like the silly retro center console.
I just don't like the engine at all. It feels like someone's taken a run of the mill econobox engine and raised the rev limiter.
I know that's not the case at all, but it feels like it.

[Whiteboy]

Isn't it weird how it splits opinion so distinctly. The two test drives cited above just highlight it.

I'd have one without hesitation and so would Chris Harris it would appear.

Well ...

I want to be clear on the fact that i think it is quite a good car. It's lots of fun to drive, etc, etc.
There's not much to dislike ... however ... the engine is what lets this car down.
I like the looks, i like the handling, i like the interior (somewhat). I like the way it feels to drive. I like the gearbox. I even like the silly retro center console.
I just don't like the engine at all. It feels like someone's taken a run of the mill econobox engine and raised the rev limiter.
I know that's not the case at all, but it feels like it.

I drove one with 5000+ miles on the clock and it donot feel that bad to be honest. I would try one with moew miles if are was you. I found that from 6000 rpm upwards it gets a little thrashy, but again not unbearable and I really enjoyed the note from 4-5000rpm.

Steve

[techieboy]

Beginning to look like a cut down F type or XK Jaguar to me now. Not sure whether it's nice or not but don't think they shoud have bothered with the rear seats.

[Goosenka]

I like that

[JG]

me too, very much.

[techieboy]

me too, very much.

You just want the pimp white interior.

Looks a lot better for not having the silly Toybaru rear wing on it.

I fear it will have put on a fair chunk of weight added (or it'll flap about like the Celica convertible I once drove) and will further blunt the performance.