Haven't driven Toyota's GR86? You're missing something

This review first appeared in the December 2022 edition of the Cruisin' News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news & marketplace."

To subscribe to the Cruisin' News, visit www.cruisinnews.com, call (916) 933-0949 or send an email request to subscribe@cruisinnews.com.  Mailed requests for information should be sent to Cruisin' News, P.O. Box G, Virginia City, NV 89440. 

Sacramento, California -- Now hear this: Toyota knows how to produce a car.

To which you might say: Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Well sure, but I was struck by this thought in my week in a 2022 Toyota GR86 Premium coupe.  I'm willing to bet that a good 75 percent of the motoring public isn't familiar with the car.  And I'd bet that a larger percentage couldn't name the model upon seeing it for the first time.

And that's too bad...because this sleek Toyota creation is a gorgeous sports car, from its aerodynamically sculpted grille to its beautifully smooth profile to its stylishly cut rear "duckbill" spoiler.

It's a head-turner.  A crowd-stopper, literally.  Several times folks came up to my parked, bright-red tester and wanted to know what I was driving. Verbal compliments came in a flood.

So that's kind of fun.

Some critics of the GR86 -- for the record, the GR designation is a reference to Toyota's Gazoo Racing motorsports program -- complain that the performance does not live up to the visual delight.

Power comes from a 2.4-liter flat-4 rated at 228 horsepower.  OK, it's not rated at 400 horsepower, but let me tell you, the performance characteristics of the tester got my heart racing double-time, thank you very much.

I powered the GR86 around everything on the road during an up-and-down trip through the Sierra Nevada.

Response was very good.  Steering was just-right firm.  And the sport-tuned suspension was top-drawer, which means that I could feel every imperfection in the road surface at all speeds.

For those who like paddle shifting, yeah, that's on the program too.

Simply put, the car is tuned to go fast and feels most comfortable in that mode.

I agree with critics that the interior is pretty much standard issue.  And as for those back seats, I'm not sure I'd try squeezing any adults into those cramped quarters.

While the critics are adept at finding shortcomings, here's the important thing to remember: The tested GR86 had a bottom line of $33,350.  Yes, that's sub-$35,000 for a car in the super-enjoyable sports car toy segment.  That's about half of what you would expect to pay for other sports cars that draw crowds in parking lots.

Toyota doesn't miss the point, touting its GR86 as "a track-ready, driver’s car made for pure fun."

So if you are looking for that coupe/toy guilty pleasure, should the GR86 be on your test-drive list with the Porsches, Jaguars and Corvettes?

Absolutely, positively.