A New Car Review: 2020 Toyota 86
A New Car Review by E-i-C Vince; Before you get too concerned for me, don’t worry, I didn’t go out and buy a new car…but I think maybe somebody should. Hang with me as I explain my logic. I’ve wanted to feature more “new” cars on DT, because folks like us hunker down and accept the Cubanization of the fleet, we are put by the OE product planners into a marketing category with bacteria, fungi and other microbial forms of life that won’t buy their cars. As a result, things like manual transmissions, rear-wheel-drive, limited slips (just read my grumpy old man 2020 top ten list) go into the “obsolete” bucket and self driving, disposable, electric pods become the norm. At first I tried to find a really cheap manual transmission car like the Chevy Spark or Hyundai Elantra GT N but I was so disgusted by the styling that I had to up the budget to something just shy of $30k before I found something you should consider owning. Find this 2020 Toyota 86 offered for $27,060 starting MSRP via Toyota Dealers across the USA.
First things; this is a good looking car. Even in the Frigidaire white of the press photos from Toyota, it looks good (Neptune blue is particularly scrumptious) — a much better looking car than the new Bavarian Supra. I almost went with the Subaru BRZ version, but Subaru already knows that people love fun cars and I think the guys at Toyota need to re-learn this from consumers. Plus the BRZ starts at $28,845 MSRP…so advantage 86.
The Toyota 86 shares its 2.0 liter boxer-4 with the Subaru BRZ (from 2012-2016 it was called the Scion FR-S) and it puts out 205 horsepower and 156 ft-lbs of torque. No, this isn’t going to compete with the newest Dodge Challenger Hellspawn Deathstar edition, but it will hit 60mph in the mid 6 seconds range. The FA20D is built and designed by Subaru but features both port and direct injection from Toyota. The square bore-stroke design means the engine is reasonable in low-end torque and willingness to rev….and the 12.5:1 compression ratio means you should rev it!
Where Toyota gets things really correct is that they ship this thing with a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard (yes, you can get an auto if you’ve lost a foot in a tractor accident, but you get 5 horsepower less with the slushbox — booyah!). Analog gauges complete a nice interior that is pleasantly old school — no stupid Tesla-esq iPad sticking up in the middle of the dash. It also uses a conventional e-brake, not a ridiculous button that won’t let you do j-turns. Traction control defeat button is right where it is easy to get to for everyday use. All things considered…there isn’t much I can complain about with this car. It even comes with a black fabric interior.
I’m not in the market for a new car — but if you are, buy one of these. Do it for the children.
I’m a grumpy old man, and I approve this message.
I believe we owe it to… ourselves! to buy one of these if we can. In the year 2020, a major car company is selling a car (not SUV) with a stick, no turbos and a proper handbrake, and it costs a reasonable amount of money, and it doesn’t suck. If we don’t buy one, no one will ever make anything like it again. They probably won’t even if we do.
So… Sold! Well, not to me yet. What am I waiting for? Money. If they discontinue the model I will be forced into action.
My plan is to keep it garaged, only drive it on nice days, and basically treat it like the last car I will ever be able to buy that’s the the kind of car I actually want. Because it very probably is.
Too bad there’s no orange paint option like what was on my neighbor’s brand new Datsun 240Z in 1971.
Yes — this is a great plan. The other part that still amazes me is that they kept the curb weight to 2600-2800 lbs depending on options (BRZ, FR-S, 86, big brakes etc). That is extraordinary with today’s requirements for safety.
Subaru did offer orange for the BRZ – in a very limited edition only in Australia.
I own a 1971 Datsun 240Z(my 4th 240Z). It, and for all the reasons you so eloquently listed above, were the very reason I bought my 2013 FRS.
I went and sat in one the other week. I was worried about the fit, yet optimistic, knowing Toyota. Good result.
As a dyed-in-the-wool DT depreciation appreciation adherent, I still don’t love the price, though. Buying used makes sense, and I suppose supporting the secondary value still sends a positive message to Toyota, although I’m sure they’d rather sell me a new one 😉
It’s completely appropriate to include this car here (in the opinion of this other curmudgeonly old man).
The BRZ/86 is one of those ‘new old cars’ that so many people (at least old-school hard-core gearheads) lament they wish they could buy. It’s a car that keeps the spirit of the old sports cars of the 1960’s/1970’s, but modernized with contemporary safety, emissions, and heating/air conditioning equipment. In a time when everything is moving to character-free turbo engines that all kind of feel the same, silly video-game paddle-shifters instead of proper 3-pedals and a stick, and even more soulless ‘electric’ cars, the BRZ/86 is about pure, plain-old fun. A naturally aspirated engine with linear power delivery (instead of a turbo’s rubber-band on-off slingshot), a real handbrake, a mechanical limited slip differential (instead of electronic gimmicks to ‘simulate’ one), and most of all, a genuine manual transmission… these are all things we used to take for granted in the past, but are increasingly hard to find and going extinct today.
I’m 60-something, and grew up driving sports cars of the 60’s/70’s. To me the BRZ/86 feels like a modern incarnation of the Opel GT or MGB-GT, but with double the power they had, heat and A/C that actually work, and far better handling, reliability, and safety than those cars could ever dream of. I wanted to take one more trip down nostalgia road, with a sports car that reminded me of the cars I used to have so much fun with as a teenager, but without the headaches of owning an old car. The first time I drove a BRZ, it felt right.
It’s not a “numbers” car. So many people care about the ‘numbers’, 0-60, 1/4 mile, Nurburgring lap times, etc. that they pull out of magazine road tests to brag about at their local gym or bar (back in pre-pandemic days when we could actually go to a bar). I suggest, forget about the ‘numbers’ and instead focus on how a car actually *feels* to drive, how much fun it is to be in the seat and humming along down a twisty road. To me that’s what matters, and where the BRZ shines above most other cars. I couldn’t resist, and bought a 2019 (mostly because I wanted one in red).
The Nissan 370Z is another new old car, a wonderful analog anachronism in an increasingly digital world, also the kind of car gearheads wish they could buy. Yet they don’t, and reviewers complain about the ‘dated’ infotainment system. Is that really what should matter most in a sports car? The graphics on the user interface to connect an iPhone?
Subaru/Toyota can’t be making much money with the BRZ/86 (and neither did Nissan with the 370Z). The total number of BRZ/86’s sold in a year is about the same as the Camry’s sold in one day. It’s a gift to enthusiasts that they make this car at all.
Subaru/Toyota have announced a next-generation BRZ/86, but with the ongoing pandemic and slow-moving global recession, all bets are off as to when, or even if, it might actually be produced. If you like the BRZ/86, I suggest running out and buying one while you can. It will be missed once it’s gone.
You had me at your user name and 100% agree with your sentiments. Everything nowadays is so digital — so on or off — fun or not-fun. Viral or not-viral. Subtlety and uniqueness are not the result of 21st century marketing folks.
I haven’t been in a new 370Z, but my biggest complaint about the 350Z was the cheesy plastic interior. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want a bunch of fake wood, but the Nissan interiors just felt like it was on the inside of an industrial dozer or something that needed to be hosed down at the end of the shift. I do think the new ND Mazda Miata is a car for old-school enthusiasts, but I don’t really want a convertible and wish the semi-hardtop version was an actual hardtop.
-Vince
Vince, I completely agree with you on the 1980’s Kia-grade interior plastics in the 350Z. The 370Z was no better, and was (IMHO) one of the low points of the car. But you can’t have everything. I think the 370Z, with 332 hp, a meaty, torquey old-school naturally-aspirated V6, and a manual transmission, for around $30k new, is/was a bargain.
The new Nissan Z (400Z?) looks like it will have improved quality interior materials. It still keeps the all-important manual, but it trades the old-school NA 3.7 liter V6 for a twin-turbo 3.0. While the new engine will likely make the same 400 hp as the Infiniti Q60 and ‘more power’ is almost always better, I personally will miss the linear response and feel of the old VQ naturally aspirated engine.
Be nice if Toyota made a Japanese Sport’s car that is not a BMW powered overpriced pos and the 86 with the Subie rebadge of the BRZ. But that is the cold covid reality of the world today. Oh what a feeling is gone gone.
Yes, it seems strange that the company that could create a 4A-GE, 2JZ-GTE, 1LR-GUE, and 2ZZ-GE is now outsourcing the interesting engines to other OEMs.
I can’t help but wonder if these would be more appealing as a hatch rather than coupe’ with useless back seat and trunk.
Oh yeah. https://www.automoblog.net/2013/01/09/toyota-gt86-shooting-brake/
This thing is a hot little car. But I am not into flashy little new cars. I would love driving it, but wouldn’t like the flash of it. Maybe 15 years down the road a beat up used one will attract me more. For new car choices, I want to throw out another VW plug. The 2019-2020 1.4l golf in 6 speed is a damn fine little car that almost meets all our grumpy old man needs. The 1.4 is quite torquey and fun for how tiny it is. 147hp and 184 ft/lbs. Direct injection, and 36-40 mpg highway. If I didn’t love my mkiv tdi wagon so much I would switch in a heartbeat. The partner was thinking of one, so we drove a few, but she ended up with an Alltrack to my chagrin. At least its a 6-speed. She had great reasoning: ‘only so much longer I will actually be able to buy one.’
Can I delete this comment. I don’t like it anymore. Don’t know what I was thinking when I posted it. No comparison.
Your comment, your data. I can ninja delete if you want — just send me a note to vince@dailyturismo.com
DT commenters — I am super happy that this article got as many comments as it did, I’m always happy when we get engagement and this article got the creative juices of the commenters running. Keep it up!
-Vince