Ride the euphoria of a rear-driven, limited-slip, manual sports car in six inches of snow
Of course there’s a pile of nuance there, not least of all in this generation’s depressed buying power. Still, the 240SX was priced from just under US$12,900 when it launched in 1990, counting out to $15,050 Canadian at the day’s exchange rate — ~$30,300 today. Hold that against the GR86’s base 2025 MSRP of $32,355, and it seems something of a miracle that Subaru satisfies all of today’s tech and safety requirements in a product that Toyota can still sell within $2k of that antecedental target.
The 2025 GR86 isn’t just $2,000 more car than that old S13, granted. Plucky and poised, the 86 honours the front-four, rear-drive everyday fastback formula with a dynamic precision that the tinny, resonant sportsters of old never dared touch. Now quiet, insulated, and foam-filled, the GR86 gets to stiffen its corners and slim its tires without punishing passengers on their way to work.
Damping rates are fixed (versus more expensive active damping) and lean stiff to hold the car steady through weekend duties, but the GR86 isn’t unbearably harsh in the everyday. Driven across frost-heaved tarmac and through six-plus inches of snow in our week together, even the larger 18-inch wheels, thinner sidewalls, and slower Sachs dampers on this 2025 GR86 Hakone Edition tester held comfortable enough for a journo who’s now discovering the creeping aches of their early 30s.
Cabin appointments and ergonomics have improved from the last generation’s (and especially the pre-facelift cars’), with Premium-trim models getting leather and Alcantara seating, with further suede trim on the door panels and suppressing windscreen glare from atop the cluster hood. Central 8-inch infotainment feels behind the times and only supports wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but remains serviceable. Mercifully though, Toyota has done away with those up-down volume buttons and returned to a proper knob. Better still, the GR86’s dual-zone automatic climate is still controlled by physical knobs and buttons.
Forward visibility is open, with a gratifying view of the ZN8’s bulging fenders. Rear-quarter visibility is bounds better than in the Supra, and the GR86’s broad rear window is only minimally interrupted by the optional duckbill spoiler. There’s more mirror than there is straight-back vision, yes, but right-side shoulder checks are easy enough, though left-side checks feel less so. Mirror-mounted blind-spot indicators come standard.
Those bends are where the GR86 justifies its inconvenience, electronic power steering be damned. Intuitively responsive thanks to its near-balanced 53-47 front-rear weight distribution, the GR86 chassis skips about without too urgent a concern for on- and off-throttle weight transfer. Such ‘neutral’ handling makes the GR86 an approachable platform to learn high-performance driving skills on small to midsize circuits, such as Ontario’s CTMP Driver Development Track or B.C.’s Area 27. To be sure, however, many GR86 owners enjoy (and even race) these cars on full-sized courses like Canadian Tire Motorsports Park’s (Mosport) GP circuit. There’s plenty of motorsports headroom here.
Important here is the partial resolution of the predecessors’ infamous ‘torque dip,’ a curious condition that can be visualized in the 7” digital cluster’s power graph. While the FA24D’s horsepower climbs more or less straight across the revs, torque runs up toward 3,000 rpm before taking a moment’s break. Torque dips and acceleration slows for a few hundred revs through this dip, then returns toward its peak at 3,700 rpm before a relatively steady hold toward redline.
This trait is divisive among enthusiasts, with some disappointed that the second-generation cars failed to entirely resolve this. To Subaru’s credit, however, the FA24D both compresses the dip by roughly two thirds and shortens its duration across the tach. It’s still there under full-footed pulls, but less noticeably so. The everyday short-shifting driver is unlikely to notice or mind.
Keep the revs up between bends and there’s plenty to carry about — and with some sound to match. Here arrives another of the GR86’s controversies, of course: artificial engine sound. Fools objected to the first-gen cars’ sound augmentation through what were, quite frankly, earnestly analogue means: a tube from the air box for direct induction noise. Well done whining then, fools: second-gen GR86s get a speaker instead.
This is somewhat disappointing, though unsurprising: the FA20 may have been designed for the original 86 with the aim of hanging its weight low, but was also planned with more pedestrian applications in mind too. FA20s and FA24s are now found in family haulers such as the Subaru Forester and Ascent, and with a twin-scroll turbocharger as the Subaru WRX’s ‘FA20F’. There’s no old-STi burble here then: just engine. If the speaker adds some feedback to that experience then sure, I’ll take it.
Again however, missing the meal: a rear-drive sports car with a notchy six-speed manual and standard limited-slip differential. Switch modes and there’s enough power available to get silly — especially once you’ve swapped onto winter tires for year-round running. Default traction settings will keep the car moving and reasonably steady in deep snow (if with noticeable throttle filtering), but progressive silly settings will accommodate some delightful yaw.
Manageable and predictable power across such a steadily balanced wheelbase make the GR86 an absolute blast in the snow, while a still-sensible ride height of 5-plus inches means you’re good through just as much slush as a Corolla. What’s more, that limited-slip differential is an added assurance that front-drive Corollas don’t enjoy: where one spinning wheel will leave an open-diffed 2WD car stranded, limited slip ensures that both of the GR86’s wheels will keep on chugging through the powder.
Should you year-round a GR86 then? Yes. Between modern corrosion-resistance requirements and the GR86’s aluminum wings, hood, and roof, winter warriors oughtn’t be so paralyzed by flashbacks from their time in the 80s and 90s fastbacks of their youth. What’s more, the GR86’s general refinement makes it an easy car to hop into and warm up in, its differential and clearance ready it for the nastiest lake-effect snows the Greats can dump, and Subaru’s ‘EyeSight’ windshield-guided adaptive cruise makes for a laid-back highway hauler even when your bumper cakes with slush.
All that for basically the same money as was an old 240SX though? I’d love to say that I’d still take the 240SX, yes — but I also recognize that I have enough oldies at home (and that I am a fool). This is one of the only new cars to leave me daydreaming of a new daily, or that I could see myself returning to at the manufacturer lots each week. Here in my main-character headspace, that’s a tremendous accomplishment for the GR86.
GR86 fuel economy
Per the EPA, the 2025 Toyota GR86 consumes 21 mpg city, 31 mpg highway, and 24 mpg combined.
2025 Toyota GR86 Canadian pricing
The ‘Premium’ trim costs $3,000 more for an extra inch of wheel (18”) on more aggressive Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires, that cool duckbill spoiler, two more speakers (eight total), and leather-alcantara seat trim. Assuming you aren’t planning on kitting it out yourself, this is the one to buy at $37,215 total.
An automatic transmission can be specified to the Premium for a further $1,965, but you’ll be embarrassed to let anyone see in your windows. Toyota reports 80 percent manual uptake; Subaru 85 percent.
Toyota GR86 competitors
Pros
✔ Great enthusiast driving, usable year-round
✔ Notchy six-speed manual transmission
✔ More exotic styling, improved interior over old gen
Cons
✘ Space constraints for those seeking a primary daily driver
✘ Hot-boy reputation boosts insurance premiums, police attention
✘ Internet trolls will complain that their $32k car doesn’t make C8 Z06 power
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