The Toyota 86 goes by many names, all of them alphanumeric. It’s the Subaru BRZ. It once was the Scion FR-S. It may soon be called the GR86. You could affectionately refer to it as the Toyobaru. But whatever you want to call it, the 86 is an affordable sports coupe that technically seats four people.
Like Toyota’s halo sports car, the Supra, the 86 is a rebadged offering: it uses a Subaru engine, and Subaru manufactures it. It has a bit more than half the six-cylinder Supra’s horsepower (about 205 hp), and it starts a bit more than half the Supra’s price (around $27,000).
Tyler DuffyI spent about 24 hours with the more expensive GT trim, which sadly did not have the Hakone Green paint. There’s much to like about the 86: it offers a purist’s dream driving experience, rivaling enthusiast favorites like the Mazda MX-5 Miata; it looks fantastic; and, unlike most track-focused cars, it comes at a very accessible price point.
But the 86 feels dated after an eight-year model run. Comfort-minded features and amenities are lacking. And alternatives like the Volkswagen GTI are far better at comfortably transitioning to real-life driving.
