The GT86 got top marks in our road test and is now priced from £7500 - is it time to snap one up?
Small, fun sports cars with rear-wheel drive and a proper manual gearbox are a rarity in new car showrooms these days, and prices of second-hand examples are holding strong as a result.But one of the best of the breed from recent times still looks like sensible value, so now’s the time to get in before it attains full-on collectible status.With its lightweight chassis, communicative steering and responsive, naturally aspirated engine, the athletic Toyota GT86 is a proper driver’s car, but one that remains eminently suitable for everyday use, as proven by its five-star Autocar road test verdict.You have to work the 197bhp 2.0-litre boxer engine quite hard: with peak power coming in at 7000rpm and (a not very whopping) 151lb ft of torque delivered at 6400rpm, 0-60mph takes 7.4sec, so it looks a bit undernourished next to the hardcore hot hatches and baby GTs you could have for the same money.But outright pace is not the aim here: this is characterful and accessible performance that you can deploy in the real world at will.The free-breathing boxer delivers a throaty punch all the way to the 7400rpm redline and, if you keep it on the boil, it has no trouble hustling this sub-1300kg coupé along at pace.If you want more gusto, turbos, superchargers and intake kits are widely available, but if you’re buying a used one that has already been given a boost, check the parts have been sourced and fitted by a reputable company – and watch out for lairy bodykits and wings, a telltale of a life well lived.It’s these cars, along with leggy, well-used examples, that prop up the GT86 market at around the £7500 mark. If you can stretch to around £11,000, you’ll find a more pampered car with reasonable miles and a low owner count.Snap up a manual car and thank us later, because that slick, six-speed stick-shift is a big part of what makes the sweet-handling GT86 so engaging and tactile to drive. There is a six-speed auto, but it will sap some of the driver appeal.The GT86 is probably best known for the willingness of its rear end to break traction and slide around, thanks to its skinny, Prius-spec Michelin tyres.Despite the limited grip, though, it never feels uncontrolled, remaining balanced and secure when you pilot it briskly down a country road, and it’s easy to straighten out when things head sideways.This is a lightweight sports car so you can forgive it for not feeling quite as well isolated as rivals. And although it isn’t the plushest ambience, the cabin offers more than enough creature comforts for daily living, with many GT86s having heated seats and sat-nav.Plus the driving position is excellent and all the controls are exactly where you would want them.A post-2017 facelifted car, which has revised styling and an updated interior, will cost you closer to £20,000, and it feels no different, despite some tweaks to the steering and dampers.With the newer (but tellingly similar) GR86 now off sale in the UK – and not much on offer by way of a direct alternative – the GT86 is looking like a nailed-on future classic.Our advice would be to pick one up before the clean examples are all scurried away into hermetically sealed bubbles and prices head northwards.Just make sure you drive it like it’s meant to be driven.
