2022 Toyota GR86 review: Cheap(ish) and very cheerful

Right now, Toyota boasts three manual-transmission performance cars. Naming other carmakers who can claim the same is a depressingly short task. Porsche fits a stick to the Boxster, Cayman and 911, albeit to a minority of buyers. Ford sells a pair of hot hatchbacks alongside the Mustang muscle car. Then there’s Caterham, if you dare designate its expansive selection of Sevens as different models. But whichever way you slice it, one of the humblest manufacturers finds itself in exclusive company.

It’s all thanks to president Akio Toyoda being an insatiable enthusiast who prioritises the positive aura of a bunch of proper driver’s cars over maximum profit, perhaps to the chagrin of those counting the yen that rolls in. Why else would the 31-grand GR Yaris get a completely bespoke body shell? And why does the GR Supra now offer a uniquely developed manual transmission that a small sliver of buyers will actually opt for?

We’re driving the entry-level Gazoo Racing car here, though, the £29,995 GR86. It’s the follow-up to the much-hyped GT86, which arrived a decade ago claiming to reinvent the attainable sports car but split our collective opinion asunder as it did so. Its naturally aspirated boxer engine felt tame in a world of turbo hot hatches while fitting budget Michelin Primacy tyres, to exaggerate its loose-hipped nature, didn’t make it the best of companions in the everyday reality of British weather. It was a nice idea, but subsequent special editions with ‘proper’ rubber – as well as aftermarket offerings with the addition of superchargers – proved that for all the car’s noble aims, more power and grip are rarely a duff move.

Toyota says the GR86 offers ‘motor sport for everyday driving’ which, coming from the reigning WRC, WEC and Dakar champions, is a claim to be taken seriously. The car is almost completely new, a subtle name change neatening its place in the Gazoo line-up while signifying this is no mere facelift.

Meticulous changes to its structure see torsional rigidity rise 50%, while boring the flat-four engine out from 2.0 to 2.4 litres has helped bring more power and torque, peak outputs now 231bhp at 7000rpm and 184lb ft at 3700rpm. The latter is the most vital of all the GR86’s stats; torque has risen 20% while peaking 2900 revs earlier. It means the 0-62mph time has skydived from the GT86’s 7.6 to 6.3 seconds. Then there’s the deliciously nerdy stuff; a 10mm suspension drop goes hand in hand with a 5mm lowering of the driver’s hip point to chip further away at an already low centre of gravity. Making the roof aluminium helps cancel out the extra few kilos the car has gained with the addition of newer safety equipment. To chat to the engineers behind this car is to talk to people who just get what a sports car should do and how it should feel. Marketing fluff is absent from their to-do list.

“Few cars get as close to perfection at this sort of money”

Where some markets can still choose a 17in wheel with the Primacy tyre if they wish, the UK solely gets 18s wrapped in Michelin’s brilliant Pilot Sport 4. With all that extra low-down torque, I can’t imagine the car working anywhere near as well with less-committed tread. And this car works very well indeed.

Its suspension and steering feel spot on; it’s a mite stiffer and more alert than its forebear, but this is no hyper-aggressive set-up. Its reactions are progressive and predictable and there are no flaws or quirks to mess your inputs around, the old 2.0’s obscure torque curve banished. Point it at your favourite road and you could easily leave the gearbox in third the entire way, so broad is the powerband. But that would mean ignoring its increasingly rare position as a new manual sports car. While it doesn’t beg for rev-matched downchanges, it’s exceedingly appreciative when you give it a go; unlike either of the Gazoo cars above it, the ‘iMT’ rev-matching software hasn’t made it here. Mostly to save cost, but partly because 86 owners are the sort to turn such assists off.

As luck would have it I’ve driven the GR86 on the same roads I reviewed the Ferrari 296 GTB on a few months ago. The modest little Toyota proved no less fun. It’s as sweetly judged as road cars get, possessing the perfect footprint and power for you to wring its neck without unduly bothering anyone else. On track it’s arguably even more magical, though good luck getting through your local track evening without bothering the folk waving the flags.

Here a hard, deep brake unshackles the rear axle, the car up on its toes at the faintest whiff of your own enthusiasm. You’ll not make a whole track evening without at least one ticking off from a marshal. Not if you’re driving your GR86 with commitment. There’s a sense of wicked mischief coursing through it but its nerve endings feel close to yours, the directness of its steering betraying both the modesty and perfect distribution of its weight.

The GT86 was a fantastic idea executed in a slightly flawed manner, but by maturing into a Gazoo product it’s been honed into one of the best driver’s machines at any price. It just happens the price is almost embarrassingly small and, to no real surprise, Britain’s modest 430-car run sold out in an hour and a half. Yep, there had to be a flaw, and alongside a wheel that doesn’t quite extend close enough to your chest and some augmented engine noise in the cabin that could do with being a decibel or two lower, the fact you can’t currently buy one of these is its Achilles heel.

Even Toyota uses the phrase “last of the last” when referring to its trio of manual performance cars, and sadly the GR86 will live the shortest of them all, with just a two-year shelf-life in Europe owing to looming crash regulations that its slender body simply can’t circumnavigate. Few cars get as close to perfection at this sort of money, so let’s pray that UK dealers can finagle a few more examples from less appreciative markets while they’re still allowed. I might see you in the queue.

Toyota GR86 specifications

● Price £29,995
● Engine 2.4 litres, four cylinders, petrol
● Power 231bhp at 7000rpm
● Torque 184lb ft at 3700rpm
● Weight 1276kg
● Power to weight 181bhp per tonne
● Transmission Six-speed manual (auto optional), rear-wheel drive
● 0-62mph 6.3sec
● Top speed 140mph
● Economy 32.1mpg
● CO2 243g/km
● Verdict The manual hero we all need