The future for the car enthusiast has looked increasingly fraught since the start of the decade. Whether it’s the cost-of-living crisis, the tightening of emissions controls globally, and the push to electrification, multiple factors have conspired against the development of affordable performance cars.
Despite the headwinds, a handful of auto manufacturers are still producing some absolutely fantastic enthusiast vehicles.
Remarkably, four credible options are made by Toyota. Two in the form of hot hatches, the GR Yaris and GR Corolla, and with two sportscars, being the GR86 and the outgoing Toyota Supra.
Those wanting to experience a lightweight, naturally-aspirated, 2 door, rear-wheel drive sportscar for less than 6 figures are left with only two options: the Mazda MX-5 and the Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ.
Anyway, how does the GR86, one of the final bastions for affordable performance vehicles, still fare entering 2026? And, should you get one over an MX-5?
What We Like and Dislike About The 2025 Toyota GR86
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Fun and engaging driving experience Enhanced engine performance Excellent handling Decent ride quality Driving position and cabin layout Practicality for a 2-door | Automatic gearbox performance isn’t great Can be thirsty An MX-5 is a better weekend car |
What’s In the 2025 Toyota GR86 Range?
You can have your GR86 in one of three ways: either as a manual, an automatic, or as a Subaru.
Alright, I’m joking about the latter, but it’s another way of describing that the GR86, like the GT86 before it, has a twin under the skin in the form of the Subaru BRZ.
| Model | Price |
| Toyota GR86 (Manual) | $59,990 |
| Toyota GR86 (Automatic) | $59,990 |
For this new vehicle, the Toyobaru BR86 (geddit?), uses a larger 2.4-litre 4-cylinder boxer engine, outputting 174kW of power and 250Nm of torque. The engine drives the rear wheels, via either a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic with a Torsen limited-slip differential.
The GR86 can be had with six different exterior colours, and two different interior colours.
- Midnight Black
- Spark Red
- Ice Silver
- Crystal White
- Magnetite Grey
- Sapphire Blue
Interior colours can be had in black, or black and red.
For more information about the Toyota GR86, check out the Toyota New Zealand website.
How Does The 2025 Toyota GR86 Compare To Its Competition?
Like we’ve mentioned, the pickings are slim for affordable sportscars in 2026, with the only two real options being the Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ and the Mazda MX-5.
For similar money, you can venture into the hot-hatch segment, but you’re fundamentally going after quite a different vehicle at that stage.
Either way, both options are fantastic.
| Make/Model | Engine | Power/ Torque (kW/Nm) | 0-100km/h (seconds) | Fuel (L/100km) | Boot space (litres) | Price |
| Mazda MX-5 Roadster GT | 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine | 135/205 | 6.3 | 6.8 | 130 | $60,490 |
| Mazda MX-5 RF (Hardtop) | 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine | 135/205 | 6.4 | 7.2 | 127 | $61,990 |
| Toyota GR86 | 2.4-litre boxer 4-cylinder engine | 174/250 | 6.1 | 9.8 | 226 | $59,990 |
| Subaru BRZ | 2.4-litre boxer 4-cylinder engine | 174/250 | 6.1 | 9.8 | 226 | $59,990 |
First Impressions of The 2025 Toyota GR86
I’ll admit, I did inadvertently tell a few people that I was testing a BRZ instead of GT86, when we had this vehicle.
Personally, I blame this blue paint work. It’s not that the colour is bad (it’s actually gorgeous), but mentally, I associate blue with Subaru as their flagship colour. In the same way, Mercedes has silver or Ferrari has red.
Despite this confusion, the GR86 looks like a modern version of the GT86. It’s slightly larger, the beltline is higher, and the curves and angles are more accentuated.
Basically, it’s a GT86 with more drama and with a bit more “designed to adhere with modern crash safety standards”, without going too overboard.
Either way, the GR86 is a sharp-looking machine.
What’s The Interior Like In The 2025 Toyota GR86 ?
There’s a strong sense of Subaru inside this cabin, even though the steering wheel has a Toyota badge on it.
For example, the controls and the switchgear utilise the classic bold Subaru font. The infotainment system uses a Subaru interface, instead of software from Toyota. It even uses Subaru’s “eyesight” cameras for the active safety systems, which can be seen from the outside of the front of the car.
So yeah, this cabin was definitely designed and made with the Subaru parts catalogue.
Of course, some of you will already know that the GR86/BRZ was developed by Subaru with Toyota’s backing, which explains the Subaru flavour.
Regardless of whether Toyota or Subaru was responsible, both will get credit for having designed a functional and driver-focused interior for the GT86/BRZ.
For starters, the driving position is superb. You’re slung low in the cabin, with a well-bolstered seat cradling your sides. The transmission tunnel is at the optimal height, with your arm falling naturally to the gearstick. The steering wheel is the right size, and the pedal box is nicely spaced (this is more applicable for the manual, which we’ve also tested!).
In terms of controls, everything is right at your fingertips. Using the infotainment or climate controls is more of a flick of the wrist, rather than being a long reach away. Even the water bottle holder is in the ideal position. Sure, that’s an odd thing to point out, but it just is!
Speaking of infotainment, the system in the GR86/BRZ is basic. As mentioned, it uses Subaru’s interface, which is easy to understand and interact with. Of course, it won’t provide you with any thrills if you’re a techie, but that’s not the point of a car like this. All you need to know is that it has Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Also, the factory stereo is decent.
Despite being a 2-door coupe, the GT86 is actually quite practical. If you collapse the rear seats, you’re provided with quite a large amount of boot space. It’s easily large enough to get another set of four wheels with tyres in there, for sure.
That said, you mightn’t be able to get a person with legs into the rear seats, but you could get your best friend with four legs back there.
So, the GR86 is well-designed and surprisingly practical from an interior perspective. Although, this interior isn’t quite as well-screwed together or as nicely appointed as its closest rival, the Mazda MX-5.
This becomes a factor when you consider your use case for these cars. For regular use, I’d value the practicality of the GR86, but as a car for the weekend, I prefer the tactility and overall quality of the MX-5.
This theme will come up quite a bit in the next section.
What’s The 2025 Toyota GR86 Like To Drive?
When reviewing cars, you spend plenty of time behind the wheel of “commodity” vehicles. These are the cars that are marketed to the masses or the non-enthusiast. Usually, they’re abundant in features, but bereft of character or driver engagement.
To the owner, they’re a device to get them and their families from A to B, and to everyone else, they’re just traffic.
The two-door sports car segment is the polar opposite. It is one of the few segments through which enthusiasts can truly experience how engineers differentiate the ‘feel’ of their cars.
Sadly, only the GR86 and the Mazda MX-5 are left competing against each other in this segment, but the pair are arguably some of the best drivers’ cars of their time. This is good news for anyone shopping in the segment, because you won’t make a bad decision.
Yet, deciding which one to buy is challenging, because even though both are fundamentally following the same principles of being a lightweight, naturally-aspirated, 2-seater sports car with sharp handling and excellent dynamics, both the GR86 and the MX-5 feel quite different to each other.
And no, it’s not only because the MX-5 has a folding roof.
First, the GR86 is quite a lot more powerful than the MX-5, producing 174kW of power and 250Nm of torque from its 2.4-litre ‘boxer’ 4-cylinder engine, which is 39kW/45Nm more than the MX-5’s 2-litre inline 4-cylinder engine.
It’s also a significant bump over the GR86’s predecessor, the GT86, which produced only 152kW of power and 212Nm when it ended production. More importantly, the GR86 reaches peak torque from 3,700rpm compared to the old car’s 6,400rpm.
It’s the latter that is transformative to the driving experience of the GR86. Previously, you really needed to wring out the 2.0-litre of the GT86 to get it to really move, and with a redline only at 7,500rpm, the performance at the top-end wasn’t especially rewarding. Comparatively, the GR86’s bump in performance addresses the mid-range dead-spots which the old car had.
Altogether, the GR86 feels gutsier, and now, feels genuinely quick. Fully depress the accelerator, and you’ll feel like you’re flying compared with the old car.
Better still, there’s more than enough power to overwhelm the rear tyres when it’s a little greasy underfoot. This is partially because Toyota has left the tyre sizes unchanged from the GT86 (215/40/R18), although equipped with stickier Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres as standard.
Even in the dry, you’ll get an occasional ‘shimmy’ from the back-end when you stomp on it, adding a sense of liveliness and fun to it all.
Of course, Toyota has tuned this chassis beautifully, meaning that the GR86 seldom loses its poise when you’re on the limit. In other words, you aren’t going to ever lose the rear-end unless you’re being a proper drongo.
Sadly, the 6-speed automatic gearbox does blunt the experience, and isn’t as well-optimised to the GR86 as the manual is. It would’ve been nice if Toyota/Subaru had also developed a sharper automatic gearbox, such as the dual-clutch transmission from the GR Corolla, to also work with the GR86.
Still, I can appreciate that opting for a manual might be impractical for some. Fortunately, there’s still a lot to enjoy about the driving experience if the automatic is your preferred choice.
This brings us on to the primary purpose of cars like the GR86, which is its handling.
It shouldn’t surprise anybody that the GR86 handles brilliantly. Its chassis is beautifully balanced, and it feels keen to rotate. Its inputs feel very neutral, yet they convey plenty of feel. Similar things can be said about the steering feel too.
Yet, you might be surprised by how different the GR86 feels compared to an MX-5.
From behind the wheel, the GR86 feels stiffer, more planted and direct, whereas the MX-5 feels more playful, the chassis yaws when pushed, and it’s even keener to rotate compared to the GR86.
Some of the differences can be attributed to the engineering choices between cars. For example, the horizontally-opposed ‘boxer’ engine helps lower the GR86’s centre of gravity, which contributes to that feeling of stability.
Although, the placement of its engine is further forward compared to the MX-5 (which is a front-mid engine layout), and with the GR86 being around 170kg heavier than the MX-5, it probably explains why it isn’t as light on its feet as the MX-5.
If we were to boil it down to technical ability, the GR86 can attack a corner faster, but you’d probably enjoy that same corner slightly more in the MX-5.
Also, while we’re comparing them, the MX-5’s manual gearbox is better than the GR86’s manual gearbox. The MX-5 has a shorter throw and crisper action, compared to the GR86’s which is longer and less precise. The automatics, however, are roughly on par with each other.
I’d also say the MX-5’s inline 4-cylinder powerplant is more refined, but the coarseness of the boxer provides the GR86 with its own character. That said, neither engine produces a particularly inspired exhaust note. The GR86 does pump in some artificial noise, which is an acquired taste.
Regardless, both the GR86 and the MX-5 are excellent drivers’ cars, and it really comes back to how you drive them and what you use them for that may be the deciding factor.
If you like having more power, want more tail-wagging action and want faster out-of-the-box lap times, the GR86 would be the right call. Whereas the MX-5’s playful chassis and the feel of its inputs, takes it for me when going for a weekend blast.
That said, I really wouldn’t say there’s much in it. Both cars will make you grin ear-to-ear whether on a road or a track.
Instead, the daily-ability of the GR86 might swing it for some. The GR86 obviously has more space, but its ride quality is also ahead of the MX-5.
However, boxer engines also tend to be a bit thirsty, which is a mark against daily-ability. The GR86 isn’t an exception, with us achieving a fuel economy result of 9.8 litres per 100kms. Admittedly, this is right on Toyota’s claimed fuel consumption figure, but it is quite a bit thirstier than the MX-5, which we got 7.8 litres per 100kms out of the last time we drove one.
2025 Toyota GR86 – Specifications
| Vehicle Type | 2-door sports coupe |
| Starting Price | $59,990 |
| Price as Tested | $59,990 |
| Engine | 2.4-litre horizontally opposed (boxer) 4-cylinder engine |
| Power, Torque (kW/Nm) | 174/250 |
| Transmission | 6-speed automatic |
| Spare Wheel | Repair kit |
| Kerb Weight (Kg) | 1,297 |
| Length x Width x Height (mm) | 4265 x 1775 x 1310 |
| Boot Space (litres) | 226 |
| Fuel tank capacity (litres) | 50 |
| Fuel Economy (L/100km) | Advertised Spec – Combined – 9.8 Real-World Test – Combined – 9.8 Low Usage: 0-6 / Medium Usage 6-12 / High Usage 12+ |
| Towing Capacity (Kg, unbraked/braked) | N/A |
| Turning circle (metres) | 10.8 Small: 6-10m / Medium 10-12m / Large 12m+ |
| Warranty | 3-year/100,000km new vehicle warranty |
| Safety information | ANCAP Rating – Not rated Rightcar.govt.nz – 5 Stars – RGH799 |
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