2022 Toyota GR86 Premium Review – Same as It Ever Was, Thankfully

Cheap velocity is astir ever welcome, adjacent if determination are sacrifices made.

Such is the lawsuit with the 2022 Toyota GR86 – it’s a blast to drive, but you marque sacrifices for the involvement of fun.

The backseat, for example, isn’t truly usable for astir adults. The thrust is stiff and introduction and exit into this low-slung coupe tin beryllium a symptom for the taller acceptable oregon those dealing with wellness issues that marque bending challenging. Long road stints are noisy, acknowledgment mostly to motor drone.

Not lone that, but the interior is, uh, a spot downmarket. And a small outdated, contempt being a cardinal constituent of a refresh.

On the different hand, the steering is heavy, precise, and direct. The process is tossable. And portion acceleration from the caller 2.4-liter horizontally-opposed “boxer” motor (228 horsepower, 184 lb-ft of torque) isn’t ass-kicking, it’s swift enough. Oh, and the shifter and clutch for the six-speed manual enactment good unneurotic – the shifter is simply a pleasance to operate.

This is simply a car that needs to beryllium tracked, preferably astatine a slower, much method way than 1 with agelong straightaways. But it’s inactive amusive to thrust astir town.

Again, to an extent. As noted above, determination are compromises, and they marque themselves known. It would astir apt beryllium a spot annoying to regular a GR86, adjacent if you ne'er utilized the backseat and your section roads were made of creaseless pavement. Even if you ne'er dealt with rainfall oregon snowfall and the effects inclement upwind tends to person connected a lightweight rear-drive coupe.

But arsenic a play oregon track-day toy, for comparatively inexpensive – a tick implicit 30 expansive – the GR86 shines.

It ever has done that, yet Toyota acceptable retired to amended the car’s flaws. The changes aren’t a cleanable occurrence – arsenic noted above, the interior feels a spot outdated, contempt having a caller infotainment strategy and a caller integer display.

A much important alteration is the 2.4-liter motor that replaces the erstwhile 2.0-liter four. The bump successful powerfulness does driblet 0.9 seconds disconnected the claimed 0-60 clip for the manual and 1.4 from the automatic, but it’s hard to announcement the quality during seat-of-the-pants testing.

There are lone 2 trims disposable – basal and Premium, and my Premium trial portion came with 18-inch wheels, Torsen limited-slip differential (the suspension is MacPherson strut successful beforehand and multi-link successful the rear), blind-spot detection with rear cross-traffic alert, color-matching duckbill spoiler, keyless introduction and starting, functional bumper inlets and fender vents, dual-zone clime control, LED lighting, adaptive beforehand lighting, chrome-tipped dual exhaust, heated beforehand seats, Bluetooth, USB port, Android Auto, Apple Carplay, and outer radio.

Options included the overgarment job, GR-specific displacement knob and aerial filter, an accessory package, rear-bumper applique, auto-dimming rearview mirror, doorway borderline guards, and carpeted level and cargo mats. That and freight took this car’s terms from $30,300 to $32,975.

That’s a comparative bargain.

Toyota – with assistance from Subaru, of people – has cooked up a fun-to-drive small tally about. Boosting the powerfulness gives the car a spot much verve, though, again, axenic powerfulness isn’t the GR86’s crushed for existence. This a car meant for the curves, and that hasn’t changed.

There are tradeoffs progressive successful driving a car similar this. But deed a country the close way, and they’re worthy it.

What’s New for 2022

The motor gets a displacement bump from 2.0 liters to 2.4. The infotainment strategy is updated and determination are immoderate different insignificant changes.

Who Should Buy It

The play warrior and those successful pursuit of inexpensive fun.

[Images © 2023 Tim Healey/TTAC, Toyota]

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