2019 Toyota GT86

MSRP: $26,655

Engine: 2.0 Liter Flat 4

Horsepower/Torque: 205 // 156

Text and Photography: Richard Maneen

 A tuner icon, the AE86 “Hachi Roku” inspired tons and tons of car enthusiasts. Toyota took this car’s legacy and spun it into what we now call the Toyota 86 GT. Nimble and exciting, the 86 shares a lot with it’s counterpart, the Subaru BRZ. With it’s 2.0 liter Boxer engine producing a mere 205 horsepower, the 86’s main selling point is being a fun to drive sports car. The debate around this vehicle has always been that it needs more power. After driving the 86 GT for a few days, I’ve come to the conclusion that 205 horsepower is just the right amount for this chassis.

Toyota’s idea for this vehicle was to cement it as the “modern version” for the Initial D icon, the AE86 Corolla. With it’s sport tuned suspension, lightweight body and 4.30:1 gear ratio, the 86 is a blast to drive. Sure, there’s no forced induction, and some people may say that 205 horsepower isn’t enough to propel it’s 2,776 pound chassis. That’s all beside the point. Toyota designed this vehicle to be a well rounded mountain carver, and they did just that. We were given a test vehicle with the six speed manual transmission, which really makes the 86’s limited power truly shine. Shifts are as smooth as butter and the clutch feels very lightweight. The only qualm I had with the gearbox was that you really have to get into the throttle in order to rev match, most likely due to a somewhat heavy flywheel. Other than that, keeping the vehicle above 4,000rpm really makes it come alive. 

For the price point of $30,000, I expected a little more from the interior. Toyota lined the dash, door panels and most of the seats with Granlux trim. This trim material looks out of place in the mostly outdated interior. From my understanding, there hasn’t been much change to the interior since this car was sold as the Scion FR-S. I believe the gauge cluster was updated, along with some fake carbon fiber looking material being applied to some places in the interior. To be honest, the FR-S interior was better looking than the 86 GT’s. It had a much more “racier” feel to it than the more laid back setup of it’s redesign. Inside you’ll find driver and passenger heated seats, along with a touchscreen audio and navigation system, which is terribly laggy and slow. The speakers sound decent and the seats are comfortable. I’m interested in seeing how the interior improves over it’s coming model years.

There’s no reason why I wouldn’t buy one of these vehicles…used. Toyota hasn’t changed much overall since the Scion FR-S was around. Used Scion’s are going for around half of what a new 86 GT will cost you. Even used 86’s are around $8,000-10,000 off a 2019’s MSRP. My recommendation would be to find a secondhand copy, modify it with the difference in savings and have a fantastic car that is sub 30k. These vehicles may have some miles on them, but with Toyota’s wonderful engineering this shouldn’t be considered an issue. 

Although it’s sales numbers seem to be falling since 2012, Toyota seems confident in keeping the 86 GT in it’s lineup. I used to own a Honda s2000 and the 86 was without a doubt quite lovely compared to my s2k. Sure, there’s no 9,000rpm redline or VTEC, but for what the 86 stands for it’s a nicely well rounded coupe with quite the legacy behind it’s name.