Toyota GT86 review (21/11/2012)
Such was the emotion welling up in me when I handed back Toyota’s new GT86.
It was, I was in no doubt after my seven all-too-short days with it, an instant classic.
In years to come, petrolheads will wax fondly about the GT86, even though it is not a supercar. It is a car that allows ordinary mortals to explore classic elements of performance and handling like too few others these days.
Toyota, of course, has a track record with the classic front-engine, rear-drive layout and the ‘86’ designation has significant connections to earlier Toyota cars about which I will not bore you now, but, suffice to say, this car is imbued with elements writ large in the company’s sporting heritage.
This seems curious, as the GT86 is a co-operative venture with Subaru, whose version of the car is expected to be appearing in the not-too-distant future.
The main Subaru contribution to this project is their two-litre flat four ‘Boxer’ engine — and a very exciting piece of the jigsaw it is, too.
Other than that, Toyota says it has done its own thing in terms of the suspension layout and set-up, and, in this regard, it has done a truly excellent job.
The GT86 has a limited slip differential and a double wishbone rear
suspension and, believe me, these make the car one of the most truly fun machines to drive that I have
encountered in a long while.
The car’s low centre of gravity, the 53:47 front/rear-weight distribution, the amount of power, as well as the LSD and the suspension design, and the engine’s earthy, free-revving nature, all add up to a combination in which it is hard to pick holes.
The engine is, naturally, a focal point and the decision to eschew
turbocharging — in the interests of simplicity and to be in keeping with the legendary GT2000 of days past — is an interesting one.
These days, the expedient of strapping a big turbo onto your engine is an easy way of finding performance, but this is a route the designers have ignored.
Instead, they have gone for a normally aspirated unit and this has
presented its own challenges.
But the engineers have come up with Toyota’s D-4S direct injection system and this means that there is plenty on offer across the rev. range.
That said, you only really begin to feel things heat up at the upper end of the power band.
Between 5,000 and 7,250rpm, this 147kW (200bhp, that’s 100 per litre, by the way) really comes to life, and if some people might find this tiresome, I found it to be truly exhilarating. Mated with a really slick, six-speed gearbox, you have to work to extract the maximum from the engine, but, in truth, that is part of the joy of the whole thing.
If finding the limits of a car is your bag, then look no further than this.
Top speed is 226kph and the 0-100kph dash is achieved in what
appears to be a tardy enough 7.6
seconds, but that has to do with where the power is available, so don’t let that sway you.
Fuel consumption potentially stacks up at 7.8 l/100 km (36 mpg), which is not bad, but don’t expect that sort of return if you’re a keen driver.
I know it’s not necessarily recommended — or lawful, for that matter — but such is the application of power that it is really easy to get this thing sideways and then steer it on the throttle.
And, quite frankly, if that doesn’t get your blood flowing that little bit quicker, then you’ve no business even reading this.
