Fordkoppie
///Member
Not mine, but an actual review, by me.
If you haven’t actually driven the car yourself, I am not interested in what the quoted numbers suggest or what your buddies’ hairdresser said about the car, or what value it has compared to a used BMW.
I went to drive one on Friday and my reference for comparison is my own 2011 MX-5 purely because there is not really any other competitor for the 86 in its market segment.
I have actually driven the "Low spec" model which have exactly the same running gear as the "Hi spec" which i also sat in inside the showroom.
I won’t say anything about the styling, simply because aesthetics are personal choices that no one can argue over. Personally, I still have to get used to it. It is far from ugly, but weird to me.
Dynamics:
The most important one – This little car would excite anyone who is a true petrol head and who is not ham fisted. It turns in, sans bodyroll at a rate which is truly unbelievable. You can kick the tail out with ease and it stays composed (even when the salesman is not anymore :rollsmile: )
The RWD setup is simply awesome in this car, and because it has less bodyroll than the MX5 it inspires more confidence. Steering feedback is sufficient. Not brilliant, but simply sufficient.
Body rigidity feels very taught. The suspension is quite firm without being harsh partly due to proper tyres. And a full size spare I might add.
One also immediately notices that the car is light within the first 100m of driving it. You can just feel that it doesn’t weigh the same as a dinosaur.
One bad thing is that the brakes are simply awful. Smoke was pouring out of them after just a few fairly high speed regular stops and the pedal effort to bring the thing to an actual halt is quite commanding. This was on the “Low”, but I did see that the “HI” comes with bigger brakes, so that alone would make me opt for the “HI” as the anchors are really substandard.
Performance:
Again this is how the engine goes about performance rather than how much it performs. It simply loves to rev. The 7500RPM cut out just begs to be hit every time before you indulge in the wonderful cog swopping experience.
Midrange torque – what is that? It is actually quite weird, since it feels quite strong (for a 2.0l that is) from idle up to about 3000. Then there is a slight dead zone up to 6000 and then from 6000 to 7500 it packs a nice punch with a really nice induction sound which is amplified into the cabin with tubes. Read up about ISE(induction sound enhancer). Still, it is better than the fake sound of the M5 through the audio system.
I wonder if the salesman was just used to the boring and grey Toyotas they are used to sell, because as the drive went on, he started encouraging me to drive it even harder and faster and as luck would have it, I landed up next to a 1.8T VW passat. He told me to give it all which I tried, but I got humiliated by the people carrier.
So yes, it is not fast, but who cares – it’s fun.
Ergonomics:
Everything is well placed in the cabin with a perfect driving position apart from the steering where I would have preferred some extra steering reach adjustment. Again this is personal taste, but I would have liked the steering to be a little closer to me.
Gearlever action is nothing short of perfect, with short throws, accurate and firm selection without being notchy.
The front seats are epic to say the least. In the “Hi” spec the additional suede/leather combo and seat heaters adds to the charm.
Rear seats are a joke, because even with the front seat adjusted for my own 1.78m/70Kg frame there are NO space in the back. There is literally like 50mm between the front and rear seats, so unless someone has no feet, they won’t fit. Period!
The designers really thought about the poor mechanics with this car, since everything in the engine compartment seems easy accessible. It looks as if one would be able to remove anything without first having to strip 1 million other parts off before reaching the actual part that needs to be worked on. I really like that it is so open and uncluttered with its absence of stupid covers.
Quality:
I agree with MSM that the initial perceived quality is not great especially in the low spec one. The Hi feels classy and the materials for the switchgear has a nice feel to it. The audio system is adequate.
Overall I think it is a very accomplished car and can be driven sensibly and efficiently every day if you are only 2 people traveling since it pulls smoothly even though it is not fast in any gear at any speed. The clutch action is light, steering assistance is light at parking speeds which firms up nicely as speed increases and even driven in max attack mode the avg consumption sat @ 9.1L/100km.
Compared to other “sportscars” it falls in the lower price bracket. Though R300k for a Toyota is madness, I think it might actually be good value when one considers new cars only.
Performance and “feel” between the MX5 and the 86 are remarkably similar with comparable impracticality. Both are just feel good cars that you have to experience yourself before you would understand. All in all a great little car.
So, would I swop/sell my MX5 for this? Not a chance.
PS - If moderators wants to move my post into the existing Toyota 86 thread it would be fine
If you haven’t actually driven the car yourself, I am not interested in what the quoted numbers suggest or what your buddies’ hairdresser said about the car, or what value it has compared to a used BMW.
I went to drive one on Friday and my reference for comparison is my own 2011 MX-5 purely because there is not really any other competitor for the 86 in its market segment.
I have actually driven the "Low spec" model which have exactly the same running gear as the "Hi spec" which i also sat in inside the showroom.
I won’t say anything about the styling, simply because aesthetics are personal choices that no one can argue over. Personally, I still have to get used to it. It is far from ugly, but weird to me.
Dynamics:
The most important one – This little car would excite anyone who is a true petrol head and who is not ham fisted. It turns in, sans bodyroll at a rate which is truly unbelievable. You can kick the tail out with ease and it stays composed (even when the salesman is not anymore :rollsmile: )
The RWD setup is simply awesome in this car, and because it has less bodyroll than the MX5 it inspires more confidence. Steering feedback is sufficient. Not brilliant, but simply sufficient.
Body rigidity feels very taught. The suspension is quite firm without being harsh partly due to proper tyres. And a full size spare I might add.
One also immediately notices that the car is light within the first 100m of driving it. You can just feel that it doesn’t weigh the same as a dinosaur.
One bad thing is that the brakes are simply awful. Smoke was pouring out of them after just a few fairly high speed regular stops and the pedal effort to bring the thing to an actual halt is quite commanding. This was on the “Low”, but I did see that the “HI” comes with bigger brakes, so that alone would make me opt for the “HI” as the anchors are really substandard.
Performance:
Again this is how the engine goes about performance rather than how much it performs. It simply loves to rev. The 7500RPM cut out just begs to be hit every time before you indulge in the wonderful cog swopping experience.
Midrange torque – what is that? It is actually quite weird, since it feels quite strong (for a 2.0l that is) from idle up to about 3000. Then there is a slight dead zone up to 6000 and then from 6000 to 7500 it packs a nice punch with a really nice induction sound which is amplified into the cabin with tubes. Read up about ISE(induction sound enhancer). Still, it is better than the fake sound of the M5 through the audio system.
I wonder if the salesman was just used to the boring and grey Toyotas they are used to sell, because as the drive went on, he started encouraging me to drive it even harder and faster and as luck would have it, I landed up next to a 1.8T VW passat. He told me to give it all which I tried, but I got humiliated by the people carrier.
So yes, it is not fast, but who cares – it’s fun.
Ergonomics:
Everything is well placed in the cabin with a perfect driving position apart from the steering where I would have preferred some extra steering reach adjustment. Again this is personal taste, but I would have liked the steering to be a little closer to me.
Gearlever action is nothing short of perfect, with short throws, accurate and firm selection without being notchy.
The front seats are epic to say the least. In the “Hi” spec the additional suede/leather combo and seat heaters adds to the charm.
Rear seats are a joke, because even with the front seat adjusted for my own 1.78m/70Kg frame there are NO space in the back. There is literally like 50mm between the front and rear seats, so unless someone has no feet, they won’t fit. Period!
The designers really thought about the poor mechanics with this car, since everything in the engine compartment seems easy accessible. It looks as if one would be able to remove anything without first having to strip 1 million other parts off before reaching the actual part that needs to be worked on. I really like that it is so open and uncluttered with its absence of stupid covers.
Quality:
I agree with MSM that the initial perceived quality is not great especially in the low spec one. The Hi feels classy and the materials for the switchgear has a nice feel to it. The audio system is adequate.
Overall I think it is a very accomplished car and can be driven sensibly and efficiently every day if you are only 2 people traveling since it pulls smoothly even though it is not fast in any gear at any speed. The clutch action is light, steering assistance is light at parking speeds which firms up nicely as speed increases and even driven in max attack mode the avg consumption sat @ 9.1L/100km.
Compared to other “sportscars” it falls in the lower price bracket. Though R300k for a Toyota is madness, I think it might actually be good value when one considers new cars only.
Performance and “feel” between the MX5 and the 86 are remarkably similar with comparable impracticality. Both are just feel good cars that you have to experience yourself before you would understand. All in all a great little car.
So, would I swop/sell my MX5 for this? Not a chance.
PS - If moderators wants to move my post into the existing Toyota 86 thread it would be fine
raise:
