ABDC: Toyota 86 GTS

Toyota’s 86 coupe is something of a ‘wunderkind’ in the affordable four-seat coupe market, and with its front-engine, rear-drive chassis, it is something of a rarity among its overwhelmingly front-drive peers. But sacrifices had to be made during the 86’s that tend to mar its initially beguiling image.

Toyota’s 86 is by now a pretty well-known entity: with a before on-roads entry price below $30,000 it represents cheap entre into the sports coupe segment and delivers a remarkable on-road experience in which road grip and handling take precedence over power.

An agile rear-drive chassis, supported by a vocal, non-turbo and relatively mild Subaru-sourced 2.0-litre boxer engine, is the basic foundation for a car that exhibits remarkable restraint on Toyota’s part.

In the hands of a competent driver who can fully exploit its exceptional, if tricky-to-access, abilities, it rewards by being a quick point-to-point car. Driven by someone less skilled, it can be frustrating.

But, like the two-seat Mazda MX-5 that preceded it by a quarter of a century and has remained faithful to the original brief ever since, the Toyota 86 looks after its customer base with a sort of refreshing – if somewhat calculated – purity.

As part of our Australia’s Best Driver’s Car (ABDC) entourage, the 86 stands out as one of just three atmo participants and, in doing so, underlines both its inherent strengths and weaknesses.

From the moment the 86 is asked to deliver some engine response, its character becomes evident: There’s no mid-range turbo surge here, and the driver becomes quickly aware that the only way to stir the pot is to focus on the upper limits of the rpm band.

Although the square-configuration, direct-injection and VVT-equipped boxer engine looks statistically healthy for its 2.0-litre capacity (147kW developed at 7000rpm), the respectable non-turbo 205Nm torque figure doesn’t come on board before 6400rpm, indicating a sliver-thin power band.

And that’s the way it feels in practice, where simply keeping pace with the rest of the group is a busy process involving plenty of up-down shifting and an eye fixed on the tachometer’s 7400rpm red line.

As one of our testers observed: “You have to drive it; you can't be lazy, or you'll be slow.”

The gearbox’s six ratios are thankfully closely matched so you can maintain a steady, if not impressive pace of acceleration, or find the ratio you need when building up the G forces in bends.

A couple of testers noted that the shift can be a bit tricky and I found some difficulty on the change between fourth and fifth which resulted in occasional fumbling trying to find the correct gear. Maybe it was just me.

Similarly to the Ford Fiesta ST, but in an effective reversal, the recorded acceleration figures didn’t really indicate the 86’s real-world behaviour. Its zero to 100km/h figure, which was virtually identical to the Fiesta, was deceptive because it failed to reveal the lack of the mid-range torque that was so effective at punching the Ford out of corners.

The counterpoint to the 86’s tardiness is the raspy, artificially enhanced in-cabin engine note – liked by some, disliked by others – and the wonderfully precise electric power steering that is not just well-weighted and wonderfully accurate but also quick, with a ratio of 13.1:1 that means just 2.5 turns are required to go from lock to lock.

The MacPherson Strut/double wishbone suspension provides a sweet balance but errs on the firm side, tending towards a harshness that can lead to some waywardness when the road surface takes a turn for the worse.

As it was in the beginning, the Toyota 86 still tends to be conservative on tyre specification, wrapping the 17x7 alloy wheels with 215/45R17 rubber front and rear. This shows up in a lack of grip that limits the cornering speeds, particularly in wet conditions. Find a dry, grippy surface however and the 86 can generate and hold a pretty high pace thanks to the fundamentally well-balanced chassis.

Although some sogginess and a lack of initial bite were noted, the brakes do the job, too.

All this helps compensate for the power shortfall and is a constant reminder that this rear-drive coupe is still capable of delivering on a number of fronts. Driven in normal circumstances – that is, conservatively – the engine note is constant enough to keep you connected with the car and suggests the 86 is going faster than it actually is, while the controls are generally light and easy to use when pottering around the suburbs.

Generally noted downsides to the 86 were the built-to-a-price cabin, slightly narrow seat backrests and a tendency for squeaks and rattles. There was also some intermittent driveline NVH to accompany what some of us termed “slightly excessive” road and wind noise.

However if you can find that mystical, winding country road, dry, free of traffic and not involving any major hills to stress-out the powertrain, the Toyota 86 is a pretty good place for a committed and enthusiastic driver to be.

It may be intent on sticking with a principle, and doing a pretty good job of it, but the 86 still comes across as a sports coupe that has not yet come anywhere near realising its true potential.

2015 Toyota 86 GTS pricing and specifications:
Price: $35,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 147kW/205Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 7.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 181g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP