The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Hoon-ready handling
- Near-perfect steering
- Great power-to-weight ratio
- Lots of safety tech, just in case
Dislikes
- Practicality be damned
- Meh fuel economy
- So-so interior design and materials
Buying tip
The 2025 Toyota GR86 is for true enthusiasts.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Toyota GR86? What does it compare to?
The GR86, or simply 86, is Toyota’s reasonably priced, rear-wheel-drive sports coupe. It’s a near-twin to the Subaru BRZ, and it’s also worth comparing to the costlier Ford Mustang and Nissan Z.
Is the 2025 Toyota GR86 a good car?
It’s a gem. We (and we’re speaking for all car enthusiasts here) probably underestimate just how great the GR86 is. We score it 6.2 out of 10 on the TCC scale thanks to its impressive handling and excellent overall value. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2025 Toyota GR86?
A rather attractive new Hakone Special Edition brings with it green paint, bronze wheels, and a brown-and-black interior. Otherwise, the GR86 sees mild revisions like tweaks to its shocks and steering as well as its throttle mapping.
The GR86 checks most classic sports car styling boxes: long hood, short deck, sinewy details. It’s pretty, if not Jaguar E-Type gorgeous. (Though the Hakone’s green paint is downright divine, let’s be honest.)
Inside, it’s practical with a dab of passion — exactly what we expect from a Toyota-Subaru mashup. This partnership is about engineering, not design.
To that end, the GR86 has a 2.5-liter flat-4 rated at a reasonable 228 hp, which goes rearward through either a fantastic 6-speed manual gearbox or a surprisingly adept 6-speed automatic. The GR86 rides on somewhat narrow tires, but that’s no accident. It is designed to be a delight to drive right up to its grip threshold, after which it is ready to let loose. Few cars are as genuinely fun to drive as this one, and the best part is that the modest power output means you can enjoy this car without going absolutely crazy.
The GR86’s fuel economy is acceptable but not as great as its modest power output suggests. Figure between 22 and 25 mpg combined.
The GR86 is no family car, but it has comfy front seats and decent cargo space, so long as you consider its comically small rear seats a mere extension of the cargo hold. It’s nice enough inside for the price, too.
The NHTSA and the IIHS have only provided some crash-test data for the GR86, but this small coupe doesn’t skimp on features. It comes with adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and active lane control, while blind-spot monitors are available.
How much does the 2025 Toyota GR86 cost?
Figure about $30,500 for the base GR86, which isn’t a bad overall value. It comes nicely outfitted with safety tech, an 8.0-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility, and a number of other niceties. We’d consider spending up for the Premium with its heated front seats wrapped in synthetic leather, its better audio system, and its extra safety tech — not to mention its Michelin Pilot Sport tires. It’s $2,500 more.
Where is the 2025 Toyota GR86 made?
In Japan.
2025 Toyota 86 Styling
The 2025 Toyota GR86 is a sleek-looking coupe.
Is the Toyota GR86 a good-looking car?
It’s very nice, with its long hood and short deck, plus its curvy details. We’re not as enthralled with the Toyota GR86’s interior, though. It’s a bit bland in comparison. The GR86 earns a 6 out of 10, accordingly.
The GR86’s classic rear-drive proportions tie it in to the automaker’s GT 2000, at least to a degree. It’s a lot cheaper, though. But we still like the GR86’s big front intake, its high-mounted reptilian headlights, and the way its roofline arches back dramatically toward its pert tail. Somewhat chunky wheel arches give off a purposeful look, too.
We’re more than enamored with this year’s GR86 special edition, the Hakone. Its green paint and bronze wheels are simply sublime.
The GR86’s cabin puts function ahead of style, with easy-to-reach controls and little in the way of flair. It is not unattractive, but it is not very interesting, either.
2025 Toyota 86 Performance
Few new cars offer the thrills-per-dollar you’ll find in the 2025 Toyota GR86.
The 2025 Toyota GR86 is genuinely fun to drive in just about any situation — we’ve even blasted one around a snow-covered road and enjoyed every bit of the ride.
It’s a 9 here thanks to its brilliant handling, snappy steering, overall poise, and just-enough power. It’s not ultra-fast, but at around 6.1 seconds to 60 mph at the hands of a trained driver, it’s quick.
Is the Toyota GR86 4WD?
Oh definitely not. The GR86 is unabashedly rear-wheel drive. It relishes letting its tail go loose — something encouraged by its somewhat narrow rear tires.
How fast is the Toyota GR86?
The GR86 uses a Subaru-designed 2.4-liter flat-4 that musters 228 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque, which doesn’t sound like a lot — and it’s not. But the GR86 also only weighs around 2,800 pounds, so that engine isn’t tasked with moving all that much vehicle.
It builds power fairly quickly and then revs rapidly toward redline. Torque peaks at a reasonably low 3,700 rpm, which is good for a non-turbo vehicle. While not a harsh engine, the flat-4 can sound wheezy and grumbly; it lacks the snarl of an inline-6, for instance.
The 6-speed manual gearbox that comes standard is a joy to operate. The lever’s weight is just perfect, and the clutch is a perfect dance partner. If you opt for the 6-speed automatic transmission, you’ll find firm, quick shifts and paddles for some extra fun, but the manual is definitely the way to go here.
More impressive is the GR86’s handling. It’s just so balanced, even though there’s little in the way of fancy tech going on here. You’ll find struts up front and a multi-link setup at the back, plus somewhat narrow tires. The rear end happily slips out, but in a predictable, manageable way. There’s not a better car for carving canyons at legal speeds than the GR86.
The standard brakes are great, and we imagine the optional Brembos will be even better. Note that we’ve yet to drive a GR86 with the available Sachs dampers, though.
2025 Toyota 86 Comfort & Quality
The GR86 is somewhat practical for a sports car.
While no sports car will ever rival a Honda Ridgeline for practicality points, the 2025 Toyota GR86 does pretty well. It’s a 4 here thanks to its comfy front seats, which are canceled out by its bite-size rear seats and itty-bitty trunk.
Those front thrones have good support and can be had in one of three upholstery options. They’re not power-adjustable, but that weight-saving measure is actually appreciable here. The lack of a telescoping function for the steering wheel can be a bit annoying, though.
The rear seats are not really seats, except for kids who have aged out of a child seat but have yet to graduate into shopping at Gap rather than Gap Kids. They’re useful for pets, or as an extension of the small 6.3 cubic-foot trunk since the rear seats fold down. The GR86 has been specifically designed so that drivers can lug a set of track wheels and tires as well as a jack to track days, so it’s actually somewhat useful. Priorities.
2025 Toyota 86 Safety
The 2025 Toyota GR86 has a good crash-test record.
How safe is the Toyota GR86?
It should be a safe choice, at least according to what testing has been performed by the IIHS. That agency rated it a Top Safety Pick+ in the past, though the GR86 hasn’t been evaluated in some of the latest tests. The NHTSA hasn’t looked at it, either, so we don’t assign a score here.
The Toyota GR86 comes with an impressive array of crash-avoidance features, though, including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and active lane control, while top versions add blind-spot monitors.
2025 Toyota 86 Features
The 2025 Toyota GR86 is a sports car bargain.
For right around $30,000, the 2025 Toyota GR86 is a stellar buy for car enthusiasts. It’s outfitted reasonably well in base form, it comes with a good 3-year/36,000-mile warranty with two years of free maintenance, and its 8.0-inch touchscreen has good software and standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s an 8 on the TCC scale.
The base GR86 is a good enough buy on its own with its cloth upholstery, 7.0-inch instrument cluster display, limited-slip rear differential, and impressive array of driver-assistance tech. It also includes a one-year membership to the National Auto Sport Association including a high-speed track day.
Which Toyota GR86 should I buy?
We’d probably spend up for the Premium trim that costs around $2,500 more and adds synthetic leather, heated front seats, more speakers, and 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin performance rubber. The Performance Package adds Sachs dampers and Brembo brakes for a totally reasonable $1,500 more.
How much is a fully loaded Toyota GR86?
Toyota has yet to price the new Hakone Edition, which is named after a scenic toll road near Tokyo. It’s a pretty choice, though, with its special green paint, 18-inch wheels finished in bronze, and combination leather/synthetic suede upholstery. It also includes the Performance Package content, and Toyota says just 860 will be built.
2025 Toyota 86 Fuel Economy
The 2025 Toyota GR86’s fuel economy is just OK.
Is the Toyota GR86 good on gas?
It’s fine, but not as thrifty as you might think. With the 6-speed automatic, the GR86 is estimated at 21 mpg city, 30 highway, 24 combined. The manual gearbox checks in at a comparatively modest 20/26/22 mpg.
Those figures are a 2 on the TCC scale.
