Buying a used Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ (2012-2017)

Model sharing is nothing new in the motor industry. Going back to the 1930s, Holden was assembling cars with ostensibly the same body panels but different grilles and sometimes engines. BMC did the same throughout the 1950s and Ford with its local Laser consistently outsold Mazda's almost-identical 323 in the early 1980s.

When Toyota and Subaru pooled their resources to develop a low-slung and low-cost sports coupe there was no compulsion on either party to produce identical cars. However the quality of the initial design didn't leave much creative wriggle room.

The 86/BRZ design originated as a 'Future Toyota' concept car in 2007. All it needed to become a production reality was a lightweight, low-slung engine of the type Subaru had been building for decades. In 2008 and with Subaru by then part-owned by Toyota, the process started and a year later an FT-86 concept car was displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show.

After involving Toyota's North American offshoot Scion as a source of extra sales volume, production began during 2011 at Subaru's Gunma plant. Of the initial production run, 7000 cars were built with '86' badges – in honour of Toyota's AE86 Corollas from the 1980s – and around 3500 were allocated to Subaru. Scion would get in on the act in 2013.

Australia saw its first arrivals early in 2012; Toyota with typical marketing savvy paring back on equipment to price its entry-level 86 GT at a very surprising $29,990.

That was the manual version, with the automatic costing $2500 more and GTS versions beginning at $35,490. These brought into play larger 17-inch wheels, climate-control air-conditioning and heated seats with suede inserts. An Aero Package was optional at $3000 and added to the 18kg weight penalty already being carried by the GTS.

The BRZ was launched by Subaru Australia during July 2012 as an MY13 model. It was designated 'Z1' and came in just one level of trim at a basic cost of $37,150. Buyers wanting a six-speed automatic paid $39,730.

The Z1 sat on wheels identical to those used by GTS Toyotas and also included dual-zone air-con. The standard seats were finished in cloth but an extra $1500 bought slinky heated items with leather bolsters and alcantra inserts to prevent sweating and chafing while harassing Porsches on winding roads.

A few months after joining its almost-identical twin in the sales race, the BRZ was sitting alongside the 86 lapping up limelight as the duo snared various awards including a major magazine's 'Car of the Year' trophy.

Late 2014 brought a Special Edition BRZ with a range of cosmetic upgrades but no response to calls for more performance. The basic price rose by $3500, however Subaru claimed the extras in its SE package to be worth $9000. They included STI-spec alloys, an STI body-kit, push-button start and special shift lever for the automatic.

Toyota toyed with the idea of breaking ranks and issuing a turbo-engined version of the 86, however it relented and left the provision of more power – up to 225kW in some applications – to after-market suppliers.

The engine is the thing that sets an 86 or BRZ apart from other models of similar size and price. Subaru has been building flat-four motors for longer than most buyers of their sporty coupes have been alive but not since almost the dawn of time had Subaru made a car with rear wheel drive. No surprise that the 86/BRZ design was benchmarked against Porsche's Cayman to ensure they were getting it right.

The flat-four engine even without a turbocharger pushes out 147kW and building the car as a rear-wheel drive not only reduced weight. The characteristics of the platform enhanced the experience available to keen drivers and offered sensations that might well be different from those normally experienced by traditional (All Wheel Drive) Subaru and (front Wheel Drive) Toyota owners.

Strangely, for a car of this kind, automatic examples of the 86 were found to be slightly faster to 100km/h than the manual.

Nose-to-tail comparison on winding and bumpy roads showed the Toyota with its softer spring settings more eager to step out at the rear while the Subaru stayed neutral but sent road-shocks more readily into the cabin.

Both cars have plenty of room for two occupants and a nice dark space in the back for shopping or the dog. People will only ride in the rear of these cars voluntarily when the alternative is a long walk on a cold night.

The other elephant which needs to be mentioned is noise. That visceral howl that comes through your speakers when watching a gaggle of 86s blasting across your TV screen really embodies the character of the cars. It just might take Toyota people a while to get used to the infectious throb of a Subie 'Boxer' four.

Safety could concern buyers stepping into an 86/BRZ from a larger performance vehicle, but fear not. These are strong little cars with your survival in a crash a high priority in the minds of the engineering team. Looking at video of local ANCAP crash testing, the cabin of a BRZ in a nasty offset impact test stayed completely intact, with airbags popping up from everywhere. No problem at all for the Toyota/Subaru duo to score ANCAP Five Stars for occupant protection.

Luggage capacity is tight and one reason is the space allocated to a full-sized spare wheel. OK, in the GT it's only a steel rim, but others give you an alloy. If only other manufacturers showed more concern for this aspect of buyer convenience there would be fewer people stranded somewhere inhospitable with a totally shredded tyre and a useless can of puncture sealant.

Fuel economy probably isn't going to be a big issue with people who buy these cars, but those who care are in for another surprise. The notional economy figure for the 86 automatic is 7.1L/100km, against 7.8L/100km for a manual. You might put that down to owners wanting to exploit the performance and taking intermediate gears in manuals to the red-line but you can also do that by manually over-riding the auto.

>> A recall also occurred in 2016 involving virtually every BRZ/86 sold in Australia up to that time. An electrical fault had the potential to affect safe operation of the vehicles' steering and needed to be fixed immediately. Making sure this has happened is a must prior to buying a pre-2016 car.

>> While not causes of imminent danger, several other issues afflict some but not all of the flat-four engines. They include clogging of lubricant passages in the cylinder heads, fuel pump noise, starting difficulty due to problems with a camshaft position sensor and tapping noises from the valve train.

>> Any BRZ/86 you consider buying must have a full pre-purchase report undertaken. In addition to the endemic defects, these are cars that encourage spirited driving and the issues that might create.

>> Low-slung cars like these fall prey to speed bumps and other road hazards, so get down low with a torch and look for scraped sills, marks on low-set suspension components, the sump and exhaust.

Used vehicle grading for Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86
Design & Function: 13/20
Safety: 16/20
Practicality: 12/20
Value for Money: 12/20
Wow Factor: 15/20
Score: 68/100