# My car of the day, Toyota GT 86 Aero



## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

The Toyota GT 86 has been around for a while now so Toyota have decided to give the GT 86 special styling updates. With it's brash new rear wing and pumped up body kit the car certainly has road presence. In an attempt to boost interest and sales again, Toyota has dropped the price and added two special additions to the range which are yet to be announced. The GT 86 Aero will certainly turn heads and the Aero is £2,500 more than the standard GT 86( and £5,000 more than the entry level Primo model) with the Aero you get new front,side and rear skirts as well as a huge Subaru WRX - style rear wing and a set of bigger 18 inch wheels. Some of you would consider £27,495 expensive especially as they are no changes to the performance.

Key specs:

Price £27,495
Engine 2.0 litre 4 - cyl boxer
Power/Torque 197 BHP/ 205 Nm
Transmission six speed rear wheel drive
0-60 in 7.7 seconds
Top speed 140 MPH

Like it?


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## Ric (Feb 4, 2007)

And i thought the supra's TRD spoiler was big, thats ridiculous lol


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## ITSonlyREECE (Jun 10, 2012)

They are nice to look at, but to me they lack any kind of 'punch'. 0-60 in 7.7 secs isn't the slowest but for the price, appearance and today's performance standards I expected better levels of power and performance. My old '03 Cooper S had better performance specs than this. 

All show and no go IMO.


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## polac5397 (Apr 16, 2014)

i like it..........not sure of red though


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

That ruins it for me and looks out of place. 

They are fun little cars otherwise, far more than the 0-60mph time suggests. It's quicker on the move than than 0-60mph time suggests too.

Just without that wing.


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## Grommit (May 3, 2011)

I like it, but the engine and performance doesn't match the looks of the car sadly.


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## pez (Jun 7, 2014)

Looks nice its a shame there's no performance upgrades like a gt 86 TRD or something.


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## Captain Duff (Sep 27, 2013)

The wing is very Marmite. I'm in the hate it camp myself (as a GT86 owner), but there are plenty out there that love it. Incidentally, the pics are from a pre-production version I think as it has the standard 17" wheels, whereas the Aero comes with some very nice 18" Oz Ultraleggera's (which is the best thing by far about that version in my view).

If I was buying again today (and I would) I'd either go again for the standard model or the other current special edition, the Giallo - http://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/gt86-specs-prices - although you'd have to like yellow!

When the car was designed it was with a concious nod to the agelessly beautiful Toyota GT2000 (apparently they got one in the design studio to help the modern designers along), and while the GT86/BRZ does fall short in many ways in terms of those looks (although you can see how they have tried), things like a giant wing just destroy the lines completely in my opinion - but as I say it's a Marmite thing


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## R7KY D (Feb 16, 2010)

I see one of these the other day on the road , I thought WOW !! That looks wicked and very fast 

So then when I got home I looked up the specs and was very unimpressed


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## bradleymarky (Nov 29, 2013)

Its a head turner but the power is sadly lacking for the looks.


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## Steve (Mar 18, 2014)

Yes but the engine is pants .

2jz. Required !!


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

Still too slow, i sat in a GT86 this morning and its feels plasticky inside and the little clocks etc look about 10 years out of date !, it was 28k too !


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## Captain Duff (Sep 27, 2013)

Steve said:


> Yes but the engine is pants .
> 
> 2jz. Required !!


No, it's not actually, the non-aspirated low slung boxer gives a very smooth and immediate power delivery and it is torquey enough in my experience. I've owned faster cars myself in the past, but this car is not about traffic light drag racing (although I've never found it too slow myself), but rather the handling and enjoyment you get going around corners and twisty roads that is very hard to find elsewhere at the price. I've certainly never smilled as much in other cars (including the faster ones).

As to the internals and build, the seats and seating position is excellent, but its made in the Subaru factory so not everything is what you would expect in terms of normal Toyota quality, but there again the concept was a return to a basic 1960s sports coupe with some improvements. It's not for everyone and it's a niche market I agree, but in my eyes at least it does what it is meant to very well indeed.


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## Oldsparky (Jun 18, 2014)

All show and no go!


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## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

Lovely looking car, but as others have said it's quite lacking in performance. You'd want at least 250bhp to justify the appearance - As it stands it'll get beaten in the traffic light GP by a Seat Leon 1.8 FR, Ibiza 1.4 ACT FR amongst many other warm hatches (nevermind the hot versions!).


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## muzzer (Feb 13, 2011)

Who thought a massive great spoiler was a good idea? It looks like one of those push along things for kiddies you see in places like Lakeside and Meadowhall, its ridiculous


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

A guy at work swapped his 535D for a gt-86 about 3 weeks ago, he was back in the BMW showroom @ the weekend looking to trade it in! Said it was gutless. Reading the reviews made it sound like they were ideally suited to the low power engine, just not for him he said.

Also, this one with the wing reminds me of the Gen 7 celica GT.


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## alan hanson (May 21, 2008)

Crossed the line with design in terms of yeah that looks cool but more wow look at that stupidly big spoiler why!

As said ober 200bhp should be a minimum these days for hot hatches etc....... so much more out there for you rmoney find it hard to see why you would choose one tbh


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## Clancy (Jul 21, 2013)

People don't see the idea behind this car saying it's gutless 

It's specifically designed to be tuned, there are masses of tuning packages available that bolt straight on, you can get substantial power for minimal money out of these 

Look at the price of bolt on turbo or super charger kits for these, massively cheaper than any other car as it was designed for this in mind

On its own, no not particularly quick. But small investment in tuning you can have a very quick, great looking car for relatively little money 

I like it


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## Mike! (Jul 3, 2010)

This is a Jap car, if you want more power the options are endless, and it's only been out a few years!

I'm pretty sure there are plenty of these about now with plenty of punch to go with the looks.

I think they're cracking looking cars, and love the look of the Aero kit.


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## Captain Duff (Sep 27, 2013)

alan hanson said:


> Crossed the line with design in terms of yeah that looks cool but more wow look at that stupidly big spoiler why!
> 
> As said ober 200bhp should be a minimum these days for hot hatches etc....... so much more out there for you rmoney find it hard to see why you would choose one tbh


Because a) it isn't a hot hatch; and b) but if you can show me where else you can get a RWD 'hot hatch' with similar handling, that's tail happy and great for drifting and track use and for £24k list then I would be very interested :thumb:


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Ignoring the 0-60mph time, it's no slower than other 200bhp cars. It goes like it should. 

I wouldn't buy a new car with the aim to tune it. Most people usually only go as far as a remap. The thought of supercharging or turbocharging is too much and will be a rare addition. 

I can't see many people paying the hefty top up for the styling on that car. I just don't get why they'd do that.


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## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

Kerr said:


> I wouldn't buy a new car with the aim to tune it. Most people usually only go as far as a remap. The thought of supercharging or turbocharging is too much and will be a rare addition.
> 
> I can't see many people paying the hefty top up for the styling on that car. I just don't get why they'd do that.


I agree, it makes no sense to invalidate the warranty unless you were to wait for the warranty to expire. But who'd do that when you could get a top spec 370z for around the same money as a tuned GT86?

Just had a quick look and it's £3500.00 plus VAT for a supercharger kit which takes it to 280bhp - Still quite a significant investment and surely you'd need to look into brakes, suspension etc so the cost could get silly quite easily.


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## cole_scirocco (Mar 5, 2012)

I know someone on a different forum who has supercharged theirs and changed all sorts on it. Sounds and goes well, but I wouldn't have one.

A lot of money for not a lot.


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## Thebill (Mar 20, 2011)

I did see these a while back and though they looked nice and guessed they would be quick, i was quite disappointed when i saw the BHP !


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## alan hanson (May 21, 2008)

Captain Duff said:


> Because a) it isn't a hot hatch; and b) but if you can show me where else you can get a RWD 'hot hatch' with similar handling, that's tail happy and great for drifting and track use and for £24k list then I would be very interested :thumb:


Sorry if i were looking at the GT86 id also be looking at VXR, ST, Golf & Seat etc.... similar size so to me it comes in that cat.

24k good drifting car and track use i'll remember the next opportunity i get to use that going to work or doing the shopping. Each to their own for uses if i wanted a track car i wouldnt spend 24k id buy something cheaper like a 182 and mod it tbh and then have a everyday car.

All imho of course 

not forgetting the megane RS surely the best of both worlds and quicker than the GT86 (appreciate not RWD)


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

I like it and it's nice to see someone getting away from the endless power and speed contest !


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## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

alan hanson said:


> Sorry if i were looking at the GT86 id also be looking at VXR, ST, Golf & Seat etc.... similar size so to me it comes in that cat.
> 
> 24k good drifting car and track use i'll remember the next opportunity i get to use that going to work or doing the shopping. Each to their own for uses if i wanted a track car i wouldnt spend 24k id buy something cheaper like a 182 and mod it tbh and then have a everyday car.
> 
> ...


I actually don't think any of those cars you've mentioned are anywhere near the size or category of the GT86 however I do agree with your point about the power.

Couple of things. The actually figure for the horse power is not that bad. Corsa VXRs etc are down on this figure but will accelerate quicker so it'll be down to torque. I imagine once you get them singing they will be quite nippy. Same principle as the VTEC type r if you will.

And I never get the idea of a general road going car and people saying oh well it handles well and it's great when it's tail happy. Who the hell wants that on the way to tesco? Nothing will make up for that lack of whack in your back when you come off a roundabout for me! Great if your car does that handling well but I'd want the go too!


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

B17BLG said:


> I actually don't think any of those cars you've mentioned are anywhere near the size or category of the GT86 however I do agree with your point about the power.
> 
> Couple of things. The actually figure for the horse power is not that bad. Corsa VXRs etc are down on this figure but will accelerate quicker so it'll be down to torque. I imagine once you get them singing they will be quite nippy. Same principle as the VTEC type r if you will.
> 
> And I never get the idea of a general road going car and people saying oh well it handles well and it's great when it's tail happy. Who the hell wants that on the way to tesco? Nothing will make up for that lack of whack in your back when you come off a roundabout for me! Great if your car does that handling well but I'd want the go too!


I do! Have you never got sideways with some fruit and cream in the back? 

That spoiler is a bit lame though.


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## Frothey (Apr 30, 2007)

Take the standard car at 23k and you've got probably 10k you could spend compared with some of the 'competition' on tuning if you felt the need - and none of those standard cars would handle anything like the GT.

Why drive a eurobox with a turbo slapped on the engine when you could buy a proper sports car? Most of the people that comment about lack of power, etc, on the GT have never driven one down a twisty road. People saying 'what's the point getting the back end out on the way to work/tesco's' - but then what's the point of 250bhp to get you up to 30mph around town? Getting to 60 in less than 6 secs? Racing away from lights? To me I know which is 'real' driving......

The spoiler is a bit tragic tho - think it's been out in Aus for a bit if the amount of them I saw out there is anything to go by!

Probably seen before, but Fensport GT vs McLaren.....

Fensport GT vs McLaren


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## PyRo (Oct 25, 2014)

looks to me as if it drove through a car styling catalogue and everything stuck?
In the days of less is more, its far too busy for me.


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## rf860 (Jul 24, 2011)

These could be so much better. 

My Golf diesel is faster! Not round corners though to be fair....


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## Deniance (Jun 28, 2008)

Up yours toyota, doesnt look anything like the concept and the aero version is poo, spoiler is higher than the roof, standard gt86 alloys are worse than the old escort finesse triangles with spokes, kudos for 3 doors tho


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## Frothey (Apr 30, 2007)

rf860 said:


> These could be so much better.
> 
> My Golf diesel is faster! Not round corners though to be fair....


A new standard Golf GT-TD is £3k more expensive and .2 sec quicker 0-60......


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## Thebill (Mar 20, 2011)

Frothey said:


> Take the standard car at 23k and you've got probably 10k you could spend compared with some of the 'competition' on tuning if you felt the need - and none of those standard cars would handle anything like the GT.
> 
> Why drive a eurobox with a turbo slapped on the engine when you could buy a proper sports car? Most of the people that comment about lack of power, etc, on the GT have never driven one down a twisty road. People saying 'what's the point getting the back end out on the way to work/tesco's' - but then what's the point of 250bhp to get you up to 30mph around town? Getting to 60 in less than 6 secs? Racing away from lights? To me I know which is 'real' driving......
> 
> ...


I have not seen that before, it did lead me to the video below, i guess you can make anything fast if you throw a few pounds at it .


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## Frothey (Apr 30, 2007)

That's the point tho isn't it. Just because it's quick, doesn't make it a sports car......


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## Thebill (Mar 20, 2011)

I think my point is if you strip a car bare, uprate the suspension, brakes, and put a big turbo on it then you can make almost anything quick, reminds me of this classic little clip.


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

Frothey said:


> A new standard Golf GT-TD is £3k more expensive and .2 sec quicker 0-60......


And sounds like a tractor  Oh and looks as bland as and drives as bland as...


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

Frothey said:


> A new standard Golf GT-TD is £3k more expensive and .2 sec quicker 0-60......


Now I'm no massive Toyota fan boi, but Id much rather have the nippy little Jap over the euro box dullard offering from vw there....


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## Kirkyworld (Jan 12, 2014)

Love it


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## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

Frothey said:


> Take the standard car at 23k and you've got probably 10k you could spend compared with some of the 'competition' on tuning if you felt the need - and none of those standard cars would handle anything like the GT.
> 
> Why drive a eurobox with a turbo slapped on the engine when you could buy a proper sports car? Most of the people that comment about lack of power, etc, on the GT have never driven one down a twisty road. People saying 'what's the point getting the back end out on the way to work/tesco's' - but then what's the point of 250bhp to get you up to 30mph around town? Getting to 60 in less than 6 secs? Racing away from lights? To me I know which is 'real' driving......
> 
> ...


Driving properly is not getting the tail out. Possibly the slowest form of cornering.

I take it we are all assuming it has enough power to actually get sideways.

Going back to your point though, I'd bet my house that more people have accelerated quickly on the way to food shopping than get the car sideways. One is a regular occurence and sometimes is actually safe to do so.

As per my initial point, no doubting on track it's epic fun and I think it looks really good in standard form


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## Frothey (Apr 30, 2007)

I didn't say there was more point in tail out fun, just no less point than accelerating quickly.
It might be the slowest form of driving, but it's the most fun. Which surely it's all about.....
It has more than enough power to drift, it's what it was designed for. Which, as you had to ask, also proves my point that most people that comment on the GT haven't driven it! You can't have even read or seen many reviews, as pretty much across the board everyone praises it's handling and drive. They might want a bit more torque, but on balance it doesn't need it on the road. But hey, it's the internet - why let facts get in the way of a good argument.
It's not everyone's cup of tea, but considering Toyota are always slated for bringing out dull, boring cars, credit where credits due. And I know what turns more heads and I'd rather own compared to all the cars mentioned in this thread!


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

B17BLG said:


> Driving properly is not getting the tail out. Possibly the slowest form of cornering.
> 
> I take it we are all assuming it has enough power to actually get sideways.
> 
> ...


Driving properly is not the fun way to drive and I'd bet it's pretty easy to get sideways, it really doesn't take much power.


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## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

RisingPower said:


> Driving properly is not the fun way to drive and I'd bet it's pretty easy to get sideways, it really doesn't take much power.


Again who has "fun" driving to work or into town?

Again my initial point is that you can't even begin to put this car into the same category as a hot hatch. A) most hot hatches have different wheels driving them B) it's not really that hot C) the designs are not even comparable.

I'm not saying a Golf R or a Seat Leon Or Megane are better cars, they are simply different cars doing different jobs.


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

B17BLG said:


> Again who has "fun" driving to work or into town?
> 
> Again my initial point is that you can't even begin to put this car into the same category as a hot hatch. A) most hot hatches have different wheels driving them B) it's not really that hot C) the designs are not even comparable.
> 
> I'm not saying a Golf R or a Seat Leon Or Megane are better cars, they are simply different cars doing different jobs.


I do, when there's little traffic. Handling factors more than pace.

The point is, hot hatches, what difference does 5-6 seconds make in traffic?

Hot hatches are a bad compromise.


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## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

RisingPower said:


> I do, when there's little traffic. Handling factors more than pace.
> 
> The point is, hot hatches, what difference does 5-6 seconds make in traffic?
> 
> Hot hatches are a bad compromise.


Again point missed. The cars are not comparable and are completely different to drive. To get the best out of the GT you'd need to get it on track unless you wish to get the tail out on public roads.

Hot hatches are probably at their best accelerating away from slow speeds or standing starts which you wouldn't be at a track doing. They are a good compromise in that case.

As I said I'm not debating which is the better of the cars but it's completely subjective which makes the point even more obvious that they are different all together.


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

B17BLG said:


> Again point missed. The cars are not comparable and are completely different to drive. To get the best out of the GT you'd need to get it on track unless you wish to get the tail out on public roads.
> 
> Hot hatches are probably at their best accelerating away from slow speeds or standing starts which you wouldn't be at a track doing. They are a good compromise in that case.
> 
> As I said I'm not debating which is the better of the cars but it's completely subjective which makes the point even more obvious that they are different all together.


So, where do you do standing starts in traffic which aren't stopping again within metres? I could get a lot more out of the GT on country roads than a hatch.

Maybe you think that caning a clutch in traffic is a good idea.

Hot hatches are made for practicality primarily. Personally, i'd rather have a practical dull hatch and something fun.


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## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

RisingPower said:


> So, where do you do standing starts in traffic which aren't stopping again within metres? I could get a lot more out of the GT on country roads than a hatch.
> 
> Maybe you think that caning a clutch in traffic is a good idea.
> 
> Hot hatches are made for practicality primarily. Personally, i'd rather have a practical dull hatch and something fun.


I don't understand your first point? Surely that's dependant on traffic volume? Clutch caning again im not sure on the point? Its a consumable item in a car just like the rear tyres in a GT.I'm not doubting that you could get a lot more from country roads but alas we back at the point of non comparison.

I'll make it really simple just for you. My first quote was somebody who said if they were looking at a GT they'd also be looking at hot hatches aswell when buying ( Golf, Leon, Astra and so on).

Truth is they wouldn't as they are different cars and your making my point for me here. You'd get the best from the GT out in the country and you'd get the best from hatches ( whether they are hot or dull in your opinion makes no difference here either) around town for the most part.

Would you agree or disagree?

The argument here is not where you have the most fun either because again it's subjective to each individual. Somebody in a 1000bhp supra may say they have more fun than somebody who could break lap records in a aerial atom for example.


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

B17BLG said:


> I don't understand your first point? Surely that's dependant on traffic volume? Clutch caning again im not sure on the point? Its a consumable item in a car just like the rear tyres in a GT.I'm not doubting that you could get a lot more from country roads but alas we back at the point of non comparison.
> 
> I'll make it really simple just for you. My first quote was somebody who said if they were looking at a GT they'd also be looking at hot hatches aswell when buying ( Golf, Leon, Astra and so on).
> 
> ...


There are very few roads which have little traffic volume on most commutes.

I agree, a hatch is far more practical around town and for the most part, most other roads.

Practicality is not something I associate with fun.


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## James Bagguley (Jul 13, 2013)

Well some controversial restyling has certainly got people talking about it again.

Love it or hate it, marketing job done.

Nice work Toyota, clever mofo's!


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## bigmac3161 (Jul 24, 2013)

Made it kinda look like a supra just forgot to make it go like a supra


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