2021 Toyota 86 GTS track test & performance review
Despite featuring tyres from the Toyota Prius, the 2021 Toyota 86 GTS still packs punch at the track. It may not be super quick in a straight line, but it'll carve up a race track while putting a smile on your face. We put the CarExpert professional race driver, Chris Atkinson, behind the wheel to set a lap time and see where it places on our leaderboard.
Compare lap times: https://www.carexpert.com.au/lap-times/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=review&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=other-video
More Toyota content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/toyota
More Toyota 86 content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/toyota/86
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Acceleration and braking figures: 00:42
Initial impressions: 01:00
Hot lap (no talking): 03:11
Hot lap debrief: 04:22
Atko's verdict: 06:56
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#toyota #review #86
Compare lap times: https://www.carexpert.com.au/lap-times/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=review&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=other-video
More Toyota content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/toyota
More Toyota 86 content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/toyota/86
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Acceleration and braking figures: 00:42
Initial impressions: 01:00
Hot lap (no talking): 03:11
Hot lap debrief: 04:22
Atko's verdict: 06:56
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1
You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.
Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!
Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!
CarExpert:
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Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au
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#toyota #review #86
Category
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MotorTranscript
00:00 Hey guys, Chris here from Car Expert,
00:01 and we're back at Queensland Raceway, our test track.
00:04 Today, we've got the Toyota 86 GTS.
00:06 Been excited to test this car
00:07 and see how it goes on the track.
00:09 Now, it's not renowned for its levels of grip,
00:11 but it is renowned for being fun to drive.
00:13 152 kilowatts and 212 newton meters of torque,
00:17 rear wheel drive, six-speed manual,
00:19 driven a lot of boxer engines, mostly turbocharged,
00:21 so this is a bit different.
00:23 We'll be interested to see how it compares
00:24 to say the Mazda MX-5 and then the hot hatches.
00:27 Can it catch those cars, being rear wheel drive
00:30 and a little bit under tired?
00:32 It's gonna be hard, but we're gonna have fun trying.
00:35 First, we'll do the zero to 100 and then the braking test,
00:38 then we'll do the lap times and see how she goes.
00:40 (car engine roaring)
00:43 (tires screeching)
00:46 All right, initial impressions.
01:03 City position's pretty good.
01:05 Nice, small, compact wheel as well.
01:08 Everything is just user-friendly,
01:10 easy to get to, gear shifts.
01:13 Pedal position seems nice and tight as well,
01:16 so it should be easy to heel and toe.
01:18 Seating-wise, I feel like I can go a little bit lower,
01:21 which I will, there we go.
01:23 That feels actually really good.
01:24 I'm in a nice, low position,
01:26 on a good angle and just a good level.
01:29 Don't like being too on top of the car or too low.
01:32 It's pretty important to have a good feeling.
01:35 That gives you a good vibe for the car as well.
01:37 If you're sitting, you feel like you're in it,
01:39 you feel like you can really drive the thing.
01:42 Now, as we build up a little bit of speed,
01:44 I like the steering.
01:48 It's nice and precise,
01:49 and it's also linear with what I'm asking,
01:51 so I can feel what's happening
01:52 and it's responding how I expect,
01:55 which is just a little bit of a confidence-inspiring thing.
01:58 Now, as you expect, the engine doesn't feel crazy,
02:02 but it's more about funness car than outright performance.
02:10 Let's test out the brakes and see how the pedal feels.
02:13 Feels pretty good, actually.
02:16 Nice and consistent, nice and firm,
02:20 and I can modulate it as well,
02:21 which is unfortunately a rare thing in modern road cars.
02:26 A lot of them want to do it for themselves
02:29 rather than letting you control the brake pressure.
02:32 Suspension doesn't feel bad.
02:34 It feels quite progressive.
02:38 Like, there's a fair amount of roll there,
02:40 but there's also support.
02:41 It's not falling over and it's not too hard, so.
02:44 Feel like I can manipulate the car myself,
02:50 like I can add steering and load the car
02:54 rather than it falling over,
02:55 and then I can add some rotation to it, which is nice.
02:59 Now, I've got traction control off,
03:02 and let's try and do a lap time.
03:04 (car engine revving)
03:08 (car engine revving)
03:11 (car engine revving)
03:14 (car engine revving)
03:17 (car engine revving)
03:28 (car engine revving)
03:38 (car engine revving)
03:43 (car engine revving)
03:46 (car engine revving)
03:59 (car engine revving)
04:06 (car engine revving)
04:12 (car engine revving)
04:15 So there you go, the Toyota GTS 86.
04:26 Not the quickest car out here, that's for sure.
04:28 104.74, so off the pace a little bit,
04:33 but there's reasons for that.
04:35 This is a car that seems happy to live
04:37 with a little bit of yaw.
04:38 It wants to be sliding.
04:40 Everything encourages you to want to yaw the car a bit,
04:43 and I got my best times with a slight bit of yaw
04:46 off the corners as well.
04:47 It's just where it wants to be,
04:49 and the cool thing is that it achieves it in two ways.
04:52 You can either ask a little bit of the throttle
04:54 and get the car to yaw,
04:56 or ask a little bit of the steering
04:58 and build up the front grip and get the rear to yaw.
05:01 So you can achieve it sort of whenever you want,
05:04 which is so cool.
05:05 Gear shifts were nice and crisp,
05:07 never had any issues with them.
05:09 Heel towing was good.
05:10 I was able to match the revs pretty well.
05:14 It is hard to actually hear the engine with this helmet on,
05:17 so a couple of times I hit the limiter
05:20 just revving the engine right out,
05:22 trying to get the most out of it,
05:23 and ran into the limiter,
05:24 but fortunately not on the fastest lap.
05:27 Nice how it's got the little gear shift light,
05:29 the little red dot, comes on when you're right up there.
05:32 I'd actually like it a fraction earlier,
05:34 just to give me a bit more of a warning as well.
05:39 Steering, again, really good.
05:42 Everything's just connected,
05:43 so you feel what's happening across the four wheels,
05:47 the chassis, everything's connected together,
05:49 and that's what makes it enjoyable to drive.
05:51 Like, forget about the lap time,
05:53 that's not what it's here for.
05:54 It's a connection to the driver, the steering,
05:58 everything's direct,
05:59 and you can feel the bumps in the road, feel the grip.
06:02 You can manage the limit, which is always nice.
06:06 I never had a big moment.
06:07 Like, whenever I had a moment,
06:08 I could catch that moment, control it, slide it.
06:12 I'd say the engine's just a little bit underwhelming,
06:15 and I know it's packaged to the smaller tyres,
06:19 and definitely on the first few laps,
06:20 I overdid it with the tyres.
06:22 I just went in and just had no lateral grip,
06:25 and then I had to dial it back in my mind,
06:27 bring it back, and try and control the car
06:30 into the corner a bit more.
06:31 But just especially when you shift gears
06:34 and look for it to pull,
06:35 it just is a little bit slow in revving out.
06:39 And I thought it might've been a bit closer,
06:41 lap time-wise, the MX-5.
06:42 It is a bit hotter day-to-day,
06:44 so that's hurting it a little bit.
06:45 But the MX-5 is a couple of hundred kilos lighter,
06:47 which is massive as well.
06:49 And I felt that that just got going.
06:51 Even though it had a little bit less power,
06:52 I felt like it just got going a little bit quicker.
06:55 (upbeat music)
06:57 So there you go, guys, the Toyota 86 GTS,
07:00 our first go out here in this car.
07:02 And it's an interesting one.
07:04 As you leave pit lane, you feel like
07:05 you're at the limit of grip.
07:06 The tires are small, there's not a lot of power,
07:09 and overall, it's a bit of a challenge,
07:12 but that's a great thing,
07:13 'cause the car's actually really fun to drive.
07:15 It teaches you a lot about your driving.
07:17 You're really at the limit all the time,
07:19 and it's down to you what happens.
07:21 You choose the level of oversteer,
07:22 you choose the understeer.
07:23 It's all down to you.
07:24 The car's not doing anything, which is so much fun.
07:27 My three top tips for this car.
07:29 One, really control the balance.
07:31 Walk the fine line on the way into the corner.
07:33 If you're under committed, you won't carry enough speed.
07:36 If you're over committed, you'll waste time.
07:38 So be really focused on that balance release
07:41 of the brake pedal.
07:42 Then once you get to the middle of the corner,
07:44 it's down to the fun part.
07:46 This car loves to slide and just yaw off the corner.
07:48 The quickest times I did was actually
07:50 sliding this car a little bit.
07:51 So I used the throttle, drift a little bit,
07:54 and use that momentum off the corner.
07:56 You can really enjoy the car like that.
07:57 And finally, with this car,
07:59 you can learn a lot about your driving.
08:01 So you gotta think about what you're doing.
08:03 It gives you so much feedback.
08:04 So listen to what the car has to say
08:07 and use that to improve your driving skill.
08:09 Overall, fun car, not the quickest out here,
08:12 but really enjoyed the 86 on the track.
08:14 So I hope you guys enjoyed the video.
08:16 If you did, hit the like button
08:17 and don't forget to subscribe to the channel.
08:19 Plenty more videos to come.
08:20 Give us some feedback as well.
08:22 We'd love to hear what you'd like to see
08:23 out on the track next.
08:24 Thanks for watching.