Thanks to Toyota, sports car buyers need to re-boot their calculators. Starting at $29,990, the all-new 2012 Toyota 86 rings alarm bells even for the top-selling Hyundai Veloster which is priced at $23,990 and $27,990.
Car Showroom first drove Toyota’s ground-breaking all-new sports car at the Mount Fuji race circuit in Japan late last year and - along with other analysts - we expected a starting price north of $35,000 and a range-topper perhaps sneaking under $40,000. In our defense, at today’s Toyota 86 national media launch in Canberra, Matthew Callachor, Toyota’s sales and marketing chief did concede recent currency movements and last minute negotiations with head office both played a part in the remarkable prices of the two-model lineup.
But equally, Tetsuya Tada, the Toyota 86’s ebullient chief engineer said ‘affordability’ was one of the not-negotiable planks which underwrote development of the historic vehicle which is a shared product with Subaru BRZ.
Toyota 86 Overview
A ‘2+2’ sports car (the two rear seats realistically only useful for toddlers or very limited short trips for agreeable adults), the Toyota 86 is the production version of a concept which dates back to the Toyota FT86G concept car from the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. The journey to production and co-development with Subaru is convoluted and would not have happened without the enthusiastic support of Toyota president Akio Toyoda.
‘Toyoda-San’ is first and foremost a car enthusiast in an industry increasingly populated with finance types. He’s hands-on, races at Nurburgring, personally tests new models and tellingly says of new car development: “Attractive character lines (of new vehicles) equal attractive bottom lines.” Translation: if a car is inspirational, people will be easily persuaded to buy it.
So his chief engineer colleague, ‘Tada-San’ (in Canberra to launch his car) proudly says the Toyota 86 is: “Built by passion, not by committees”.
The full 2012 Toyota 86 range is:
GT six-speed manual $29,990
GT six-speed automatic $32,490
GTS six-speed manual $35,490
GTS six-speed automatic $37,990
Over the well-equipped GT model, amongst the extras in the Toyota 86 GTS are an upgraded audio system with 6.1-inch LCD touch-screen and satellite navigation with live traffic updates, 17-inch alloy wheels, limited slip differential, HID headlights with DRLs, leather/Alcantara-trimmed interior with contrasting red stitching and heated front seats, alloy pedals, frameless interior rear-view mirror, upgraded carbon-look instruments and some exterior styling changes.
Toyota 86 Engine
As we know, one of the headline-grabbers for the Toyota 86 is that it’s a dual-model with the Subaru BRZ (Toyota owns more than 16 per cent of Subaru’s parent company Fuji Heavy Industries). Both are powered by Subaru’s 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder Boxer engine with Toyota’s D-4S direct fuel-injection system and drive through Toyota-Aisin six-speed manual and automatic transmissions (in fact they are the world’s only application of a boxer engine front-mounted and driving the rear wheels).
Maximum power is 146kW at 7000rpm and peak torque of 205Nm is delivered between 6400-6600rpm. As those figures suggest, this engine loves to rev and the specially-tuned exhaust note is unlike any other boxer engine when it gets north of 4000rpm.
Unusually the Toyota 86 automatic returns the best combined cycle fuel consumption of 7.1l/100kms (an outcome related to gear ratios).
Toyota 86 The Interior
Toyota’s Matthew Callachor echoed the words of Toyota 86 chief engineer Tetsuya Tada when he said of the interior: “It’s an enthusiasts car, the rear seat is really only for hand luggage, the front seats are mounted low (hip point just 400mm) and the steering wheel isn’t complicated by buttons”. Tada-San went further – fold the rear seat flat and you have just enough space to store four spare wheels so your Toyota 86 is ready for Track Days (or you can store two full-size golf bags) and even the door handles have been positioned for easy installation of a racing roll cage.
So you get the picture – the Toyota 86 is a real sports car and meets two design criteria in looking purpose-built and providing just enough space. The simple, three-spoke sports steering wheel is Toyota’s smallest with a diameter of 365mm and adjusts for rake and reach and the centre console design leaves clear elbow space for unencumbered gear shifts.
The seats not only look great, they also offer excellent support even without the multi-adjustment configurations of pricier European sports cars. Instrumentation is again pure sports car with a large central tachometer surrounded by other gauges with both digital and analogue readouts.
Toyota 86 Exterior & Styling
Tetsuya Tada calls the Toyota 86;s design “Neo Functionalism” – a performance statement from the very first glance. It’s compact (4240mm in length), low (1,285mm) and wide (1,775mm) and the low-mounted, compact boxer engine was a crucial component in delivering these dimensions (and the low centre of gravity for ride/handling).
Some cues even recall the legendary Toyota 2000GT from the 1960s (the side window layout and flared wheel-arches).
Toyota 86 is also aerodynamic (sculptured bonnet, under-body panels and rear diffuser) with a drag cD of just 0.27. Toyota says the aero concept called ‘Aerodynamic Sandwich’ (channeling air over the top and along the sides) is part of the story and also contributes to the 86’s high-speed stability without the need for add-ons like spoilers and wings.
The large front grille is the current Toyota style but adopts 86-specific T-mesh.
From the rear, the Toyota 86 looks terrific with a pure sports car look that is wide and low.
Toyota 86 On The Road
Oh the joys of a light, agile rear-wheel-drive sports car! As we said when we first drove the Toyota 86 in Japan, this is the ‘real deal’ - a legitimate sports car driving enthusiasts will love – and during Car Showroom’s first local drive, in both models, we took in some high-speed rural roads surrounding Canberra and enjoyed some motorsport challenges (drifting, dirt rally roads and high-speed road sections) at the Sutton motorsport and driver training complex near Queanbeyan.
Front suspension uses an interesting reverse position L-shaped lower arm (to accommodate the low-mounted engine) while the rear is a double wishbone design. As expected, ride is sports car firm but not in an unrefined way.
Balance is the thing – the Toyota 86 has a lower centre of gravity than the Porsche Cayman and Nissan GTR and the front/rear weight distribution is 53:47. And in this context the low-mounted boxer engine plays a crucial role.
Turn-in is brilliant and the Toyota 86 responds brilliantly to throttle inputs during cornering. Gearing is critical in the high-speed stuff as the 2.0-litre boxer does its best work with more than 4000rpm on-board.
Toyota 86 Challenges
Toyota got us here. Expecting a starting price north of $35,000 we were going to say the Toyota 86’s flaw was value for money.
But now, as we know, the $29,990 tag kicks our one potential criticism into touch.
Toyota 86 Verdict
Akio Toyoda, Tetsuya Tada and your teams, take a bow, thanks to its affordability, the Toyota 86 brings the enjoyment of a genuine rear-wheel-drive sports car to enthusiasts and indeed a whole new range of buyers.
Toyota 86 The Opposition
Hyundai’s innovative three-door 1.6-litre Veloster (turbo model coming) is sharply priced at $23,990 and $27,990. Dynamically the Veloster isn’t in the same league as the rear-drive Toyota 86.
Mazda MX-5 is rear-drive and is a sports car icon. But starting price is now $44,265.
Toyota 86 Likes:
Sensational value; 2.0-litre a proper sports car engine; great rear-wheel-drive chassis
Toyota 86 Dislikes:
You might have to wait a few months as Toyota is only getting 250 86s per month from the stretched-to-the-max factory
