Toyota GR86 drive review - new affordable sports car tested on track - Autocar

The Toyota GT86 was one of our favourite sports cars of the last decade, and now there's a successor for it. The GR86 becomes Toyota's third Gazoo Racing 'halo' performance model after the GR Yaris and the GR Supra, and will also be its cheapest. The car goes on sale in the UK in December 2021 before appearing in showrooms in May 2022, and it's expected to cost from less than £30,000. Like the GT86, the GR- is powered by a front-mounted 'flat-four' petrol engine and has a low-slung rear-wheel drive chassis. Engine capacity has risen from 2.0-litres to 2.4-, and peak power and torque outputs have jumped by between 15- and 20 per cent; while body rigidity has been improved by 50 per cent, and kerbweight cut by 20kg. Both manual and automatic gearboxes will be offered, and range-topping versions of the car will roll on 18in alloy wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres. If that reads like the makeup of a more serious sports car than the super-accessible and ever-entertaining GT86 was, so it should. But that needn't mean the new GR86 can't really entertain when let loose on track, as Autocar Road Test Editor Matt Saunders found out in a GR86 prototype tested around Castelloli circuit in Spain. New videos are uploaded to Autocar each week. Don't miss a single one. Subscribe now: http://smarturl.it/autocar Visit our website at http://www.autocar.co.uk Autocar, the world's leading motoring magazine and website, delivers industry-leading news, the most in-depth car reviews and opinion from our team of experts. Our presenters include some of the world's top motoring journalists who have unrivalled access to the world's fastest, rarest, most exotic and most exciting cars on some of the world's best roads and race tracks. Follow AUTOCAR here: LIKE Autocar on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Jzyvh1 FOLLOW Autocar on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2JzABgT FOLLOW Autocar on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2TIgvFI Check out our full video catalog: https://bit.ly/1UfAOCH For car reviews you can trust, subscribe to Autocar: http://smarturl.it/autocar

Added 21 Jun 2026