Toyota GR86: Can It Live Up to Its JDM Heritage?

Let’s test drive and review the manual-transmission 2024 Toyota GR86 Trueno Edition!

The Toyota GR86 is actually this car’s third name. The first was the Scion FR-S (thanks for the memories, Scion), and it stood for Front-engine, Rear-wheel drive, Sport. When Scion died and Toyota took the car over, it got the “86” name, which refers to the famous 1980s “AE86” Toyota Corolla GT-S. Now, Toyota’s given the 86 a “GR” in front of it to stand for “Gazoo Racing” — a label the company puts on its motorsports endeavors and other street cars on the GR Corolla and GR Supra. This car specifically is the Trueno Edition, which is also an AE86 reference. Trueno means “thunder” in Spanish, and the Corolla GT-S hot hatch was known as the Sprinter Trueno in Japan.

There’s also the Subaru BRZ, which is the sister car to the GR86. They were developed together, just like the BRZ and FR-S were back in the day. They’re called the Toyobaru twins, and they’ve been around since 2011.

The Toyota GR86 has a Subaru power plant, and it’s what we call a boxer-4. It’s a 2.4-liter, naturally aspirated (not turbocharged) engine that makes 228 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, and all of that goes through a 6-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels. You can also get a 6-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters if you want. There are some forum complaints about the long- and short-term reliability of the engine that we’ll discuss.

The 2025 GR86 starts at $29,950, and it comes in three trims: the base, premium, and Hakone edition, which comes with green paint and bronze wheels. This Trueno is from 2024, and with all options and fees (including a $1,700 GR Performance dual exhaust), the total price comes to $37,610. The sound is good, if a little loud for a daily driver in a quiet neighborhood.

To me, the GR86 is best as a $30,000 car. I’d skip the premium package offers or extra charges for paint colors, and instead, I’d just do a base GR86 in no-charge blue paint. I’d probably put some aftermarket bronze wheels on it later.

The friends I know who own one of the Toyobaru twins love to tune them and take them to track days, and they really are a staple of modern car culture. A $30,000 RWD car that can be used as a daily driver is rare, and the GR86 is great at being that car for people.

Thanks for watching my YouTube channel. Enjoy the drive (and the video)!

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