2023 Toyota GR86 Review

Name: 2023 Toyota GR86 Review
Brand: Toyota

Price Range: $26,997 - $36,998

+173

The 2023 GR86 is a back-to-basics sports car in the best way. It's fun to drive whether you're a novice driver or a seasoned pro. It's also reasonably priced and somewhat practical. The GR86 can be a bit noisy and stiff-riding at times, but those downsides are easy to live with considering all of the car's other outstanding attributes.

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2023 Toyota GR86 Review

by the Edmunds Experts

12/6/2022

What's new

A limited-production Special Edition model debuts
Part of the second GR86 generation introduced for 2022

What is the GR86?

A sign from the car gods that manufacturers still care about vehicles that are not SUVs and pickup trucks. The GR86 is also the sibling car to the Subaru BRZ, which was named the Edmunds Top Rated Sports Car in 2022. The two share similar guts, including a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 228 horsepower. You also get a six-speed manual transmission — so, no, the GR86 isn't just nice to look at. It's an earnestly fun car.

It's got competition, though. The Mazda MX-5 Miata has long been a favorite of cash-strapped enthusiasts, but the Hyundai Veloster N and Volkswagen Golf GTI are also solid contenders in the small, feisty sports car category.

New for 2023, Toyota introduces a GR86 Special Edition. Based off the GR86 Premium trim, the Special Edition sits at the top of the GR86 lineup. It features a bright orange Solar Shift exterior, 18-inch black alloy wheels, a cat-back performance exhaust, and special graphics and badging that distinguish it in the lineup. Like all Premium trims, it will feature a duckbill rear spoiler, six-way adjustable front seats with heating, and an upgraded eight-speaker audio system. Limited to just 860 units, this Special Edition was built, in Toyota's words, to "celebrate the pure fun of sports car driving."

Toyota is extending a complimentary one-year memberships to the National Auto Sport
Association (NASA) with the purchase of every GR86. Perks of membership include a free high-performance driving event and discounts on admission to NASA events.

Edmunds says

The Toyota GR86's recent redesign made it a welcome addition to a refreshing (and growing) category of exhilarating sports cars that don't break the bank. And the GR86 Special Edition adds a splash to the lineup for 2023. It faces a chorus of competitors — and that's music to our ears.

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2023 Toyota GR86 2dr Coupe (2.4L 4cyl 6M) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $4.17 per gallon for premium unleaded in Ohio.}

Monthly estimates based on costs in Ohio

$225/mo

$163/mo

Avg. Compact Car

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Toyota GR86 Reviews

Owner Reviews

4.6

7 reviews

5(72%)

4(14%)

3(14%)

2(0%)

1(0%)

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Most Helpful Owner Reviews

If you're looking for this car...

Mike Howard, 08/01/2022

2022 Toyota GR86 2dr Coupe (2.4L 4cyl 6M)

You already most likely have a really good idea of what to expect. I can tell you it doesn't disappoint. It was worth the wait.

wailing banshee

old kritz, 02/07/2023

2023 Toyota GR86 2dr Coupe (2.4L 4cyl 6M)

i've had the car for 4 months now for 3000 miles and it's been perfect .its black and a base model with the optional gr performance exaust . door edge guards , all weather mat package . the car wails like a banshee when you hammer it , a nice sound along with that exaust system .its fast ,nimble , responsive and beautiful and has a good 6 speed manual gear box . on good roads the ride is …

Goes beyond expectations!

Nix0735, 09/01/2023

2023 Toyota GR86 2dr Coupe (2.4L 4cyl 6M)

The car is amazing and feels fun even when just commuting to work, which is less than 10 miles... But even then, I can't lie. Every drive with the car makes me want to take it on the freeway for hours.

Great sports car for the $$ but needs improvement

2023 GR86 owner, 12/03/2023

2023 Toyota GR86 Premium 2dr Coupe (2.4L 4cyl 6M)

The GR86 is one of the most fun cars I have/had. The last sports cars RWD that I had was back in 07 when I scooped a 335I coupe (new) and shortly after in March of 08 a C6 Z06 (new). I think the GR86 has some designs flaws. The tachometer display is terrible on track mode, 1000 rpm to 4000 rpm is completely unreadable. There is almost no storage space at all. The 12v dc plug is … completely hidden in the glove compartment and you have to pinch the cable if you plan to run the cable through the glove door. the design of the rear trunk door could have been so much better had they put a conventional hatch door instead of that tiny trunk door that you can barely fit anything over 15-18" in width. When you track the car(I do) your fingers are constantly hitting the phone call Botton because they place the button 1/2 inch from the steering. the TPMS wouldn't learn a second set of tires on the same frequency (315MHZ) therefore you have to go to have the TPMS re-learn every time you switch tires as the main TPMS module would quit reading the frequency. The stock tire section (215mm) is in my humble opinion inadequate for this chase . This car should be equipped from factory with at least 225mm or 235mm's section tires. The torque delivery has a dip in the midrange that is significant, you can see that on any dyno. A rear window wiper would have been nice. The brakes are adequate, nothing special, having switched pads from the track and back to street pads a few times you can tell that the oem pads feel is hard with small bite, consequently you have to push hard on the pedal. Power feels OK, not slow if you get the pedal to the metal but I do like that you can pull in traffic in 5th to 6th gear comfortably at 35mph and the engine pulls nicely. The gas tank is small, you will fill slightly over 12 gallons but compsumption is decent. I have been getting above 24mpg combined and sometimes 26-27 when I do light driving with a 50/50 city /rural road. The seats are exceptional, firm and gray specially with the Alcantara. I purchased my car with the premium package which I think is OK in some things but not so much in other areas like the stereo. The "premium" stereo is a little better than stock. I purchased my premium package mainly because of the looks of the 18" wheels, the Alcantara seats and the stereo which turned out to be not as good as advertised. You still get other smaller stuff like the rear taller spoiler which in my opinion looks great. As far is handling, this thing is extraordinary, you are seating low and the seats grabs you well. I have a set of lightweight wheels wrapped on sticky 255 tires and also I run race pads and race fluid and it out performs 95% of the cars at the track . You can literally toss the car left to right and it handles exceptionally. The weight and balance close to 50/50 and low center of gravity makes this car really good. You should look for a video from the chief engineer talking about why the GR86/BRZ did not get a turbo engine like on the WRX. Once you watch the video it will make a lot of sense to you. Basically they wanted to keep the low center of gravity and they wanted pure focus on handling, how so? well, by putting a turbo like the WRX they would have to raise the engine for ground clearance, then the hood would have to be raise, then the driver would have to seat higher to be able to see over the hood, then the roof would have to be higher so literally they made this car thinking of handling. if you ever see this car on a. cars and coffee you will see that the engine sits ridiculously low compared to the fenders. For the price range I think that this car beats anything out there. The closest thing is a Miata. Would I recommend it? I think so, if you want a fun car and you have a spare car to drive around too yes. This car is a bit tough to get in and out of it. I am average 5'10" and I have to squeeze my legs to get in but once you are ion you are OK. Apparently this car is going up in value, the reviews are great and the resale value is great also, dealers are having trouble keeping them on their lots. The competition is the GTI, the Civic SI, etc. The other cars offers more room. In summary, I couldn't give this car a 5 stars, there are some areas that could have been improved like the wider tires, the rear hatch, some interior design but for the price is a great sports car.

We have a limited number of reviews for the 2023 Toyota GR86, so we've included reviews for other years of the GR86 since its last redesign.

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2023 GR86 Highlights

Trim:

Base

Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee	$28,400
Engine Type	Gas
Combined MPG	22 MPG
Cost to Drive	$225/month
Seating	4 seats
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place	6.3 cu.ft.
Drivetrain	rear wheel drive
Warranty	3 years / 36,000 miles

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Safety

Our experts like the GR86 models:

Adaptive Front-Lighting System: Headlights swivel with a turn of the steering wheel to better illuminate curves.
Blind-Spot Detection: Alerts you if a vehicle in the next lane over is in your blind spot.
Pre-Collision Braking: Applies the brakes automatically to help avoid an imminent forward collision.

IIHS Rating

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety uses extensive crash tests to determine car safety.

Small Overlap Front Driver-Side Test
Good
Small Overlap Front Passenger-Side Test
Good
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Original
Good
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Updated
Not Tested
Side Impact Test – Original
Good
Side Impact Test – Updated
Not Tested
Roof Strength Test
Good
Rear Crash Protection / Head Restraint
Good

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2023 Toyota GR86 Review

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