Toyota GR Supra<\/a> and was impressed by its high level of refinement. My Porsche-owning friend also praised it highly, so I started this test drive with high expectations for the 86.<\/p>\n![\"Interior](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/53673EC6-E73B-429F-9E7B-45C09F4C5FE7-1280x853.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
First, stepping inside, the interior smell is quite different from the Supra, which was made in a European factory. It has that distinctive domestic car scent, similar to my own Swift at home. It\u2019s a mix of the seat upholstery and volatile adhesives \u2014 basically that typical new car smell.<\/p>\n
The seats are neither particularly good nor bad; the shape is nice, but the cushion firmness is uniform and feels a bit monotonous. Perhaps the seats are designed with the assumption that owners will replace them with aftermarket options like Recaro.<\/p>\n
When I started the engine, the idling was very quiet, and the idle vibrations were minimal.<\/strong> I shifted the AT lever into D and began driving.<\/p>\nStarting off in the parking lot, it felt like a perfectly normal car. The engine and exhaust sounds were a bit louder than average, but the driving was easy and didn\u2019t feel harsh at all.<\/strong><\/p>\nExiting the parking lot and accelerating, the engine power felt strong for 235ps, and there was no dissatisfaction in normal driving. The AT felt like it had slightly more drivetrain loss compared to the latest transmissions, but the upshifts in D mode were smooth.<\/p>\n
![\"Toyota](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/4E693F02-681D-43B6-ABCA-A56C69401DFE-1280x853.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/span>Ride Comfort and Handling<\/span><\/h4>\nAs I increased speed, I noticed something: the damper\u2019s vibration damping was very poor.<\/strong> Not just a little poor.<\/p>\nIt was bad.<\/p>\n
Not to the level of an old street racer\u2019s modified car, but there was a low-quality lingering oscillation. Even in situations where modern sports cars would settle immediately, the vertical bounce continued two or three times.<\/p>\n
This particular car was completely stock with no specially stiffened suspension, yet every time the suspension received a somewhat strong input, a faint vertical oscillation lingered. Also, there was quite a bit of rattling noise inside the cabin, which might be a specific issue with this unit.<\/strong> It made me feel a bit nauseous, and I never got used to this suspension\u2019s ride comfort.<\/p>\nIf you\u2019re thinking of using this as a date car, you might want to reconsider.<\/p>\n
That said, this is a sports car. Putting ride comfort aside for a moment, I tested the handling.<\/p>\n
![\"Driving](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ECF19B0B-5E4E-48C6-8558-03CE8ABBB434-1280x853.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
The steering is light with little rigidity, making it hard to feel the road surface and grip. When turning into a corner, the car follows a nice arc through the first half. The problem comes later. As you approach the apex of the corner, you find yourself making slight steering corrections.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s like the arc of the corner becomes distorted midway.<\/p>\n
In other words, you need to make subtle steering adjustments halfway through the corner.<\/strong> Of course, this might be understandable at very high speeds, but it\u2019s disappointing to experience this even when driving at a moderately brisk pace on regular winding roads.<\/p>\nWhen accelerating out of the corner, whether due to the limited-slip differential (Torsen L.S.D.) or a lack of rear rigidity, there\u2019s a slight hesitation. Specifically, as you try to accelerate, there\u2019s a brief moment where traction seems to slip, making it difficult to smoothly exit the corner.<\/strong><\/p>\nIt might be reasonably quick, but from the perspective of \u201cdoes it feel good to drive?<\/strong>\u201d personally, I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s fun.<\/p>\n![\"Toyota](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/63B6CE80-323C-4EF4-A1A8-E73F75FC1DA3-1280x853.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Regarding driving feel, the body\u2019s overall rigidity is very high and solid, but the suspension lacks a sense of stiffness and somehow feels unreliable.<\/strong> It gives the impression that the suspension arms use very thin, weak parts.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s really a shame.<\/p>\n
I wonder if this car is designed with the assumption that users will customize it.<\/strong> If so, that would explain the deliberate tuning.<\/p>\n<\/span>Engine and AT<\/span><\/h4>\nThe engine is a 2.4L naturally aspirated flat-four, producing 235ps and 250Nm of torque. The power delivery was better than expected, and I never felt it was slow or underpowered. The way power and torque build with engine speed is very satisfying and definitely passes muster.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Toyota](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/67A482D3-E013-446D-AA49-94639696FB5B-1280x853.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
However, if you plan to drive this car for sporty driving, I\u2019d advise against the 6AT. For a modern sports AT, the shifts are far too slow, especially the downshifts.<\/strong><\/p>\nIn manual mode, when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd, there\u2019s about a two-beat delay after pulling the paddle before the shift happens. It\u2019s no exaggeration to say the delay is so long that you get impatient and just give up on the shift altogether.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the blipping on downshifts is just a lukewarm \u201cbrrr\u201d sound with no excitement or sportiness. Although it\u2019s unfair to compare given the price difference, compared to European sports ATs, this feels 10, or even 20 years behind.<\/p>\n
![\"Toyota](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/A411E3E9-3FAF-4E7C-AF90-8F18D197EFF8-1280x853.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
This time I drove the AT, but if it were an MT, my impression would be quite different. The engine\u2019s feel and power delivery are good, so I\u2019d definitely like to experience it with a manual.<\/strong><\/p>\nAlso, regarding engine sound, at low speeds it sounds like a normal passenger car, but once the revs rise, it produces a sporty and quite nice sound.<\/strong> This was one of the enjoyable points while driving.<\/p>\n<\/span>What Did My Porsche-Owning Friend Think?<\/span><\/h4>\nI\u2019ve been brutally honest so far, but as I mentioned at the start, my Porsche-owning friend was full of praise for this car.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cThis car is the reincarnation of the BMW 318is (E36).<\/strong>\u201d That makes sense. I\u2019ve owned a 318is myself, so I understand what he means. \u201cEspecially because the basic performance like body rigidity is high, if you customize it, it should become a really fun and fast car. This car has that potential.<\/strong>\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"Toyota](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/58CEC287-2A51-49BF-ABCD-31ADB2F7758F-1280x853.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
When I shared my honest impressions with him, he said, \u201cI get that, but with that car, you have to actively shape the car\u2019s posture at every corner while driving. Otherwise, you won\u2019t appreciate its strengths.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\nThat\u2019s a perspective I hadn\u2019t considered.<\/p>\n
I was evaluating it purely as a finished product from a top manufacturer, focusing on whether anyone could drive it fast, comfortably, and enjoyably. So I judged it based on how high-performance the car was and how faithfully it responded to the driver\u2019s intentions, assuming it would be driven by ordinary people who aren\u2019t expert drivers.<\/strong><\/p>\nIt\u2019s also true that I hadn\u2019t thought about its potential after customization.<\/p>\n
![\"Toyota](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/87955402-D899-4E8D-A0AC-6F7440D4ECC0-1280x853.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Also, although the price range is different, this car is often compared in the media to the Porsche Cayman, so I unconsciously compared it to the Cayman,<\/strong> judging it on driving feel, sound, stability, and rigidity.<\/p>\nThe GR86 is a car that\u2019s not easy to evaluate with a simple approach, but in a word, it might be described as a \u201crough diamond that shines when polished.<\/strong>\u201d While it has shortcomings if left as-is, it has the potential to become an irreplaceable beloved car by customizing it with various aftermarket parts to your liking. The 86 is a car whose true charm emerges through polishing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve written many blog posts before, but when it comes to reviewing domestic cars, I honestly don\u2019t want to write anything negative because domestic car fans tend to get overly defensive. However, that would defeat the purpose of an independent personal blog, so I\u2019ve decided to write candidly this time as well. Toyota GR86 This time, I had the chance to test drive the new Toyota GR86 (RZ\u30fb6AT). Just before this, I had driven the...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":30829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=30638"},"categories":[72],"tags":[186,284,313,314],"yoast_head":"Test Drive of the New GR86 (RZ\u30fb6AT)\uff5cHow Does a Porsche Owner Feel? - \u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An honest test drive review of the Toyota GR86 (RZ\u30fb6AT), covering ride comfort, handling, engine, and AT feel from the perspective of a Porsche owner.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/gr86\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Test Drive of the New GR86 (RZ\u30fb6AT)\uff5cHow Does a Porsche Owner Feel? - \u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An honest test drive review of the Toyota GR86 (RZ\u30fb6AT), covering ride comfort, handling, engine, and AT feel from the perspective of a Porsche owner.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/gr86\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/panameralife\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-28T22:00:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-01T00:22:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/72A9C17D-7C64-4ED6-836D-8569B2BB3002.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2304\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Test Drive of the New GR86 (RZ\u30fb6AT)\uff5cHow Does a Porsche Owner Feel? - 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