Toyota GR86 Review 2023

If you're someone who needs one car to be fun to drive, deal with everyday situations and make the commute more effortless, than the Toyota GR86 probably isn't for you. It's nowhere near as comfortable, spacious and refined as a good hot hatchback like a Volkswagen Golf GTI or even a Honda Civic Type R. 

Buying a Toyota GR86 as your only car is definitely one for the purists, who will revel in its sheer driver appeal. We suspect quite a few owners will have a second, more sensible car for mundane daily drives, however. 

There's only one Toyota GR86 - you don't even get trim levels to choose from. The only choice you need to make is between a manual and automatic gearbox. 

While we've not yet driven the automatic, and auto gearboxes are a lot more satisfying for keen drivers than they used to be, the point of the GR86 is that it's a pure, engaging driver's car. Unless you really can't be bothered with changing gear we'd point you in the direction of the extremely satisfying manual version.

The closest competitor to the Toyota GR86 is the Mazda MX-5, despite the former being a coupe and the latter being a convertible. Both are somewhat compromised in the desire for pure driving pleasure, so while the Mazda is more comfortable at a cruise the Toyota is more accommodating for taller drivers and passengers. 

The small coupe market is not massive these days, but we'd definitely include the Audi TT and BMW 2 Series Coupe in the rivals camp. Neither will be as fun to drive as the GR86, but both are easier to live with, more practical and feel noticeably posher.

When you accept the caveats that we just mentioned the GR88 is actually a noticeable improvement over the old GT86 - particularly the early versions of that car. 

As standard you get nice suede-like material on the doors and part of the dash top, plus some soft-touch material in areas that matter such as the armrests. The leather steering wheel feels of decent quality, and  nothing feels flimsy or easily breakable. 

We have to stop the compliments there, though: the majority of the cabin is still made up of hard plastics that aren't especially nice to touch (even the door handles feel cheap), while our car had a glovebox that rattled over bumps. If you come to terms with the fact you're getting Toyota Yaris levels of finish here it's fundamentally okay, however.

Toyota has never been a front-runner in infotainment systems, but the screen in the old GT86 was pretty hopeless even by those standards. It just about did the job, but the small and dated display with fiddly menus meant it wasn't exactly user-friendly. 

You might sigh when you see that the Toyota GR86's central screen again looks pretty aftermarket. But it's actually a half-decent screen this time: there's a bigger 8.0-inch display, it's reasonably responsive and intuitive and you get features such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. Again, the system in an Audi or BMW is far slicker, but you get what you pay for.  

As standard you get a digital instrument panel, but again if you're expecting anything like Audi's cool, configurable Virtual Cockpit you'll be disappointed. What matters more to enthusiasts is that it's very clear and easy to read, looks quite sporty and has a big, simple button to change the trip displays. 

A pleasant surprise is that the speakers have clearly been upgraded over the old car. They were pretty pathetic-sounding in the GT86, but now have a decent stab at letting you enjoy music and drown out the road noise. 

The Toyota GR86's dimensions make it 4265mm long, 1775mm wide and 1310mm tall. That's bigger in every dimension than a Mazda MX-5 but still pretty tiny compared to most modern cars, and smaller than the average family hatchback. 

That extra space over an MX-5 translates to a front cabin that is plenty big enough even for broad or tall drivers - the Mazda is a bit tricky if you're over six foot and almost undrivable if you're more than four inches taller than that. You also get nicely supportive sports seats in the Toyota, too.

Fold the front seats forward and you'll find a pair of small seats separated by a central tunnel. You could technically fit two adult back there - great for quick lifts back from the pub, for example - but really they're either for children or (more likely) for some shopping or luggage when the boot is full.

Speaking of the boot, the Toyota GR86 has 226 litres of space behind a fairly narrow opening. An Audi TT has more space and a more practical hatchback-like boot lid, but the Toyota trumps the tiny space you get in an MX-5. Also handy is the fact that the rear seats fold by pulling straps in the boot. If you removed the front wheel you could probably squeeze a bike in the space left with them folded.

Storage is okay, with a decent-sized bottle holder and smaller area for oddments in both doors, a pair of cupholders in the centre console, a decent glovebox and some space below a flip-up centre armrest. 

There's one engine available in the Toyota GR86 and it sounds like a pretty humble one at first. With 2.4-litres and no turbocharger to help it along you don't get the instant shove of turbo rivals, but the fun is in working it to extract every ounce of performance it has. 

And actually, with 235PS and a 0-62mph time of 6.3 seconds it will get a shift on. That's 35PS more than the old GT86 and there's 50Nm more torque, too (up to 250Nm).

The actual torque figure doesn't matter as much as where the torque comes in. In the old GT86 there was a huge yawning gap in the rev range where nothing much happened at all, with a surge of power right before you hit the rev limiter. In the GR86 it gets into its stride from 4,000rpm, with a distinctively snarly boxer engine tone building with the revs.

That means you won't get out-dragged by a diesel hatchback if you're in the wrong gear. But it also makes the GR86 a lot more effortless on a motorway, with far less of a need to change down a cog or two to get moving. Happily it'll still give you more the harder you rev it, which is a big part of the appeal. Push it up to the 7,500rpm redline and it even beeps to tell you to change up.

Other than the firm ride the biggest obstacle to doing long distances in the Toyota GR86 is the amount of cabin noise. The din kicked up by the tyres on the road surface and the wind isn't unbearable but it is very noticeable. On concrete road sections, for example, you might well develop a headache after a while. 

Drowning it out with the stereo is possible, but not everyone wants pumping tunes for their whole journey. Something you won't want to drown out is the hard-edged engine noise which is helped by a (natural-sounding) boost from the speakers. 

That's great when you're revving it, but at lower speeds there's quite a bit of noise and vibration from the engine when you're just pottering about - at certain low revs it'll buzz the cabin plastics. Fun it may be, refined it isn't.

Don't be put off by the fact that the Toyotas GR86 won't meet upcoming 2024 safety regulations: it should be perfectly safe with a roster of airbags and active safety features such as blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-trafic alert and and of course tyre pressure monitoring. 

Interestingly, though, you don't get automatic emergency braking unless you go for the automatic model, which also brings lane keeping assistance. That'll hardly be a deal-breaker for enthusiasts but it's probably the only real argument for going for the automatic model. 

The Toyota GR86 has yet to be tested by Euro NCAP and isn't likely to be given the small volume of cars being built.

We can't give you a really precise assessment of the GR86's long-term reliability given its so new. What well can say is that Toyota has an excellent reputation for building long-lasting, problem-free cars earned over many years. 

Toyota finished a strong 8th place in the latest HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index. It's far from the brand's best performance in the survey but owners are generally very happy with their cars. 

As a sports car known to be driven by enthusiasts it probably won't surprise you that the Toyota GR86's insurance groups are pretty high. If you're a young driver, or have previous accidents or points on your licence, expect some pretty hefty quotes to come back. 

Officially the Toyota GR86 sits in group 50 in manual form, although interestingly the automatic model is five groups lower at 45. Those are significantly higher than a Mazda MX-5, perhaps due to the GR86's rarity and parts availability.

Another sting in the tail with the Toyota GR86 is its high emissions, which translates to expensive road tax (VED) relative to its cost. 

Whether you go for the manual or automatic model it sits in one of the highest tax bands, meaning a painful £1420 first year rate - higher than key rivals. At least the GR86's low list price means you're not stung by the 'premium' car tax, while the standard rate after the first year drops to £165. 

There's only one version of the Toyota GR86. Standard equipment includes 18-inch black alloy wheels, adaptive LED headlights, a limited-slip differential, auto wipers and lights with auto high beam, heated and power-folding door mirrors, lane departure warning, an eight-inch touchscreen media system, a reversing camera and heated front seats.