2023 Toyota GR86 GT Automatic Review

Debuting in 2012, Toyota had a big hit on its hands with the 86 sports coupe. In Australia alone, more than 20,000 of them were sold – not huge numbers in our market, yes, but for a small and impractical car? Huge – and clearly a sign that some buyers still want them. Toyota is no stranger to making a two-door sports car – think Celica, Supra, Paseo, MR2, 2000GT and lastly the 86 to see what we mean. For 2023, Toyota have replaced the iconic 86 sports car with its predecessor: the GR86. We tested the 2023 Toyota GR86 GT to see if it is a worthy successor to Toyota’s legendary sports car.

Although it uses the same body and chassis as the 86, the GR86 is a new model which wears the new badge of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing performance sub brand and if your new Toyota wears this badge, then you know you’re in for a good time as cars like the GR Corolla, GR Yaris and GR Supra have proven. Aside from the Subaru BRZ, of which was co-developed with the GR86, the only real rival for the GR86 at the moment is the Mazda MX-5, which shares the same lightweight, rear wheel drive ethos as the Toyota. But which small Japanese small sports car do you choose? Let’s find out.

Price & Equipment: 8/10

There are just two models in the GR86 range: the entry-level GT that we’re testing here and the upper-spec GTS. Pricing for the 2023 Toyota GR86 starts at $43,240 plus on road costs (roughly $48,000 drive away) for the GT and steps up to $45,390 plus on-road costs for the GTS. In great news for automatic buyers, it costs the same as the manual – but that’s not good for manual buyers because the auto adds important safety kit like AEB and lane departure warning. We think the manual should cost less until it is given the same amount of equipment.

Despite being an entry-level model, the 2023 Toyota GR86 GT is nicely equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels, dusk-sensing automatic LED headlights, LED taillights, dual-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry and start, power-folding and heated exterior mirrors, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, a six-speaker sound system, a 7.0-inch digital driver’s display, cloth upholstery, a leather steering wheel and leather gear knob and a limited slip differential.

Safety kit offered on the manual GR86 includes seven airbags, a hill holder, stability control a reversing camera and an alarm – but, disappointingly, that’s it. Oddly enough, choosing the automatic transmission adds autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, auto high beam, rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring system and reverse auto braking. The GR86’s Subaru BRZ twin is due to add important safety features like AEB for the 2024 model year, but Toyota is yet to confirm the same for the GR86.

We would like to see the addition of more safety equipment to the manual variants as it seems a little silly to leave them exclusively for the automatic, especially in a sports car. Parking sensors, front fog lights, auto-folding mirrors and navigation wouldn’t go amiss either. Stepping up the GR86 GTS adds larger 18-inch alloy wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert, cornering headlights, leather and alcantara upholstery, heated seats, faux leather door inserts, sports pedals, courtesy lamps, scuff plates. Is it worth the extra $2,150 spend? We think so – for the better tyres alone. Do it!

The only standard colours available on the 2023 Toyota GR86 GT are ‘Apollo Blue’ and ‘Spark Red’. For an extra $575 you can choose from ‘Storm Black’, ‘Rapid Blue’, ‘White Liquid’, ‘Magnetic Grey’ and our test car’s ‘Ice Silver’ paintwork. There are no optional extras on the GR86.

The main competitor for the 2023 Toyota GR86 GT is the Mazda MX-5, which costs $44,770 plus on-road costs in six-speed automatic form. It’s also a rear-wheel drive sports car, though it has a manual convertible top – the folding hard top targa MX-5 RF starts from $45,370 as an auto. The Toyota, however, adds some equipment over the Mazda, though the MX-5 still features safety kit like AEB.

Performance & Economy: 8/10

New to the GR86 is a 2.4-litre naturally aspirated boxer four-cylinder petrol engine that was co-developed with Subaru. The engine is mounted low in the engine bay for a lower centre of gravity. It produces 174kW of power at 7,000rpm and 250Nm of torque at 3,700rpm, which is a full 27kW and 45Nm more than the outgoing 86. The engine is definitely the biggest improvement over the 86 and makes the GR86 feel significantly faster than its predecessor. Its 6.8 second 0-100km/h sprint time (for the automatic) is almost a second faster than the 86, but it feels faster than that in real life – peak torque hits a full 2,700rpm earlier in the GR86 than in the 86, and there’s 45Nm more to play with at that point.

The new engine is a lively and eager unit, and we weren’t expecting it to feel so different to the 86’s smaller 2.0-litre unit. It loves using the rev range to get going and is happiest at higher revs, where its fake engine noise pops off, but doesn’t subtract from the experience. It shouts when accelerating and gives a satisfying surge in power at higher revs – peak power hits at 7000rpm – makes you feel like you’re driving something special. We much prefer this new engine over the outgoing unit as it feels like it suits the personality of the GR86 much better.

The standard transmission on offer is a close ratio six-speed manual, though for no extra cost, you can opt for the transmission we have here: a six-speed torque converter automatic. It doesn’t feel very performance oriented and feels like it’s been taken out of a mid-2010s Camry and not been tuned for a sports car as its shifts aren’t massively intuitive and it can be slow to shift. We much prefer the manual and think that cars like this should be paired with manual transmissions, though it is frustrating that the manual misses out on all the safety tech the automatic features.

The claimed average fuel consumption of the 2023 Toyota GR86 GT automatic is a relatively thirsty 8.7L/100km and in our time with it, we achieved 9.8L/100km, which was closer than expected. The GR86 requires that its 50-litre fuel tank with 98RON premium unleaded fuel.

Ride & Handling: 9/10

The 86 quickly gained a reputation for its sublime handling and great ride quality, and the GR86 has improved this slightly with even greater sharpness and yet, more maturity. As a daily driver that you can take to the track as well, it’s difficult to think of doing better in today’s market than the GR86 – let alone for the (relatively) modest price that Toyota is asking for it. Like its predecessor, the GR86 is a very rewarding car to drive – but this time around it’s a touch sharper and more comfortable as well.

But if you’re looking at one, be sure to choose the GTS. As was mentioned in price and equipment, the modest up-spend to the GTS adds – among other things – larger wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, which are some of the best tyres on the market and a lot better than the Michelin Primacy tyres that you get on the smaller-wheeled GT. The more serious tyres make the GR86 a more serious tool on both the track and the road, with more grip making it ultimately faster and more involving.

Not that the GR86 GT is anything but involving, however. As with the 86 it replaced, the GR86 is a seriously fun car to drive. It eats corners like Homer Simpson eating donuts – it just loves them so much. And when you’re driving one, so do you thanks to its meaty and feelsome steering, sublime chassis balance and added performance of its larger engine. Thanks to its slight dimensional changes compared with the 86, its centre of balance has actually lowered by 1.6mm and roll is non-existent. It’s a hoot.

On more sensible fronts, the GR86’s road noise levels are lower than the 86, though still nothing special, Its outward visibility is reasonable and if the automatic transmission is chosen, features likes auto emergency braking and lane departure warning are added over the manual. We felt that the active safety features fitted to automatic GR86s are not too bad but feel a bit last-generation compared to similar systems fitted to older Toyota models, like the Corolla. For example, it has lane departure warning – but not lane keep assist or lane trace assist.

Interior & Practicality: 8/10

The interior of the 2023 Toyota GR86 GT is a nicer place to spend time than its predecessor. The GR86 now has more tech and nicer materials than before, though those chasing more room will be left disappointed as it’s pretty much the same as the old car, but with a new dashboard layout. For example, the centre console and doors are almost identical to the old car but the dashboard is now more modern and has better materials like extra soft touch plastics dotted around. The thin steering wheel has also been, unfortunately, carried over from the old car – why can’t the wheel in the GR Corolla be used here?

There is still a decent amount of hard plastics in cabin, as you’d expect for an affordable sports coupe, though the door panels have some soft fabric and the top of the dash is soft touch also. The cloth seats in the GT are attractively covered and offer a fantastic amount of support. Storage is not something you usually associate with a two-door sports car, but in this case, it isn’t too shabby. There are two cup holders that also double as the centre console with a lid to hide valuables, a third cup holder or phone storage in front of the centre console, bottle holders in the front doors and coin storage next to the manual handbrake – but that’s all.

Ahead of the driver is a basic 7.0-inch digital display that isn’t as sharp or as configurable as we would like it to be. It’s fine in isolation but compared to the latest digital driver’s displays used in new Toyotas like the Corolla Cross, it makes the GR86’s cabin feel a bit dated and it has limited functionality: the rev counter and layout of the display changes when you put the car into track mode, but other than that, only the left side of the display can be changed between a lap timer, a G meter and a trip computer.

The 8.0-inch touchscreen features wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio and a reversing camera – but no inbuilt navigation. The screen quality is reasonable and it is very easy to use with the shortcut buttons to the side of the screen helping immensely. The six-speaker sound system is also better than expected – though we’d love a Bose or Harman Kardon unit to feature.

As you can imagine in a two-door sports car, the rear seats are merely just extra storage space. If you manage to fit there – which, according to Toyota, is easier now thanks to revised seat access – headroom is very limited and legroom is nonexistent. More happily, however, the seatback folds (as one) and according to Toyota, four tyres can be fitted with the seat down.

Opening the boot reveals a reasonable 237-litres of cargo space, which is far more capacious than an MX-5 but, thanks to its high floor and shallow opening, still nothing special. There is also no spare tyre in the GR86, but a tyre inflation kit in its place – strange when the BRZ has a full-size alloy spare.

Service & Warranty: 8/10

Just like all other Toyota models the GR86 comes with a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty. Unfortunately, the downside of Toyota’s aftersales package is that it does not offer any form of roadside assistance as standard. Mazda offers the same five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty with the MX-5, though it also offers five years of roadside assistance as well.

Servicing the 2023 Toyota GR86 occurs every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first, which is better than the 86’s odd nine-month/15,000km intervals. The cost to service the GR86 over five years or 75,000km is a reasonable $1,500 ($300 per service). By comparison, the Mazda MX-5 needs to be serviced every 12 months or 10,000km and will cost $2,077 over the span of five years/50,000km (or $415 per service).

2023 Toyota GR86 GT Automatic DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.3/10

Sports cars are sadly becoming less and less popular with the rise of the SUV and manufacturers not being able to justify the development that goes into them but Toyota (paired with Subaru for the BRZ) has given it a red hot go. It’s obviously not an all-new car, but compared with the 86 it replaces, the GR86 is more mature and yet also more fun, higher quality, better equipped and faster. Despite its price rises, it’s a very well balanced car that offers all the fun for a reasonable price.

Would we buy a GR86 or an MX-5? Sorry to Mazda but the GR86 would definitely take our case. The GR86 offers more interior space, more power, more modern amenities and in, our opinion, a better driving experience than the MX-5. Both are wonderful – and stay tuned for our incoming comparison between the two – but Toyota has upgraded the GR86 just enough to keep it at the top of its game.