First of all thank you for including the link to my articles. And secondly whatever you’ve said is completely right, Toyobaru cousins gave rear wheel drive fun at a cut price (as Jeremy Clarkson said in a TG episode about them)
I bought my GT86 in March 2013 and I have no intention of ever selling it. I bought it as a weekend toy and for road trips but it’s done service as a daily driver. The roads aren’t great where I live so I’ve kept it mechanically stock. I’ve put UHP summer tires on it to deal with the wet winters. Road tax and insurance are both much higher where I live now than where I was living when I bought the car, so even if the GR86 is sold here (and I have my doubts, because the 2.0 Supra isn’t) I don’t think I could justify the increased cost of ownership. So obviously I’ve gone looking for things that I think are better on the original model. Personally, I like a steering wheel without buttons. I sometimes use the back seats and it helps having front seats that you can get your feet under. I like the looks of the pre-facelift car — I think it’s much more striking than the new one. HID lights are still better than LEDs. I prefer the pull handles on the old doors. I might be imagining this, but I think the trunk access has gotten even smaller in the GR86. There’s not much in it, but the old car has got better fuel efficiency. Although the original head unit was terrible, it was easy to replace with a Kenwood unit that’s better than what the new car comes with. As an added bonus I have departure delay, lane departure and collision warnings in my manual car thanks to the integrated Kenwood dash cam I got. The integrated reversing camera also seems a lot better than the new one. The frameless rear view mirror looks cool. All the styling hints from the 2000GT. I could go on. I also had a lot of fun personalizing the car. Stubby antenae, replacement one-piece stereo fascia with contrast stitching, the head unit upgrade, OEM JDM armrest. I also like the fact that it doesn’t say Toyota anywhere on the interior. And I added a stylish GT86 boot screen to the head unit. Aside from tax and insurance, running costs including servicing have been very reasonable. I had one seal replaced under warranty and I had the dealer fit some aftermarket gaskets to the tail lights to fix the condensation issue. Had the recalls for the wiring harness (RHD issue) and the valve springs done without any problems. It’s also held its value a lot better than a similar vintage Audi TT would have. And people still stop me to ask about it (it’s much rarer where I live than in some parts of the world). If you can get a used bone stock one that hasn’t been thrashed, I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys driving.
Comments (6)
I really want to own a gt86/brz one day
Until then I'll just hoon mine in the virtual world
The BRS was the first car that got me into loving cars, when I was 6, then the BMWs came in lol.
But nobody can lie, the FRS/BRZ/GT86 is an awesome car.
I like the look, but not the engine. I would feel better if it had a Toyota engine.
Subaru has that weak head gasket reputation. Around here it's the 1st thing you ask when looking at a used Subaru.
First of all thank you for including the link to my articles. And secondly whatever you’ve said is completely right, Toyobaru cousins gave rear wheel drive fun at a cut price (as Jeremy Clarkson said in a TG episode about them)
I bought my GT86 in March 2013 and I have no intention of ever selling it. I bought it as a weekend toy and for road trips but it’s done service as a daily driver. The roads aren’t great where I live so I’ve kept it mechanically stock. I’ve put UHP summer tires on it to deal with the wet winters. Road tax and insurance are both much higher where I live now than where I was living when I bought the car, so even if the GR86 is sold here (and I have my doubts, because the 2.0 Supra isn’t) I don’t think I could justify the increased cost of ownership. So obviously I’ve gone looking for things that I think are better on the original model. Personally, I like a steering wheel without buttons. I sometimes use the back seats and it helps having front seats that you can get your feet under. I like the looks of the pre-facelift car — I think it’s much more striking than the new one. HID lights are still better than LEDs. I prefer the pull handles on the old doors. I might be imagining this, but I think the trunk access has gotten even smaller in the GR86. There’s not much in it, but the old car has got better fuel efficiency. Although the original head unit was terrible, it was easy to replace with a Kenwood unit that’s better than what the new car comes with. As an added bonus I have departure delay, lane departure and collision warnings in my manual car thanks to the integrated Kenwood dash cam I got. The integrated reversing camera also seems a lot better than the new one. The frameless rear view mirror looks cool. All the styling hints from the 2000GT. I could go on. I also had a lot of fun personalizing the car. Stubby antenae, replacement one-piece stereo fascia with contrast stitching, the head unit upgrade, OEM JDM armrest. I also like the fact that it doesn’t say Toyota anywhere on the interior. And I added a stylish GT86 boot screen to the head unit. Aside from tax and insurance, running costs including servicing have been very reasonable. I had one seal replaced under warranty and I had the dealer fit some aftermarket gaskets to the tail lights to fix the condensation issue. Had the recalls for the wiring harness (RHD issue) and the valve springs done without any problems. It’s also held its value a lot better than a similar vintage Audi TT would have. And people still stop me to ask about it (it’s much rarer where I live than in some parts of the world). If you can get a used bone stock one that hasn’t been thrashed, I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys driving.