The affordable sports coupe is an endangered species. With the automotive industry and the driving public focused on three-row SUVs and electrification, the cheap, fun car is in danger of becoming a blurry figure in memory. That’s why it’s so exciting that the Toyota GR 86 returns for 2022 as a second-generation vehicle with a new engine, transmission, chassis, interior, exterior, and more. 

Toyota made a big splash with the return of the Supra in 2019, making it the only mainstream (non-premium) manufacturer with two coupes in its lineup. The Supra, co-created with BMW, is a high-performance coupe with a starting price of over $43,000. The GR 86 descends from humbler roots. Co-created with Subaru (its version of the coupe is the BR-Z), the GR 86 debuted in 2012 as the Scion FR-S. It took on the Toyota badge and the 86 name for the 2017 model year with the demise of Scion. This year adds the GR designation, a nod to Toyota’s internal tuning shop, Gazoo Racing. 

The formula is familiar: Front-engine, rear-wheel drive, two doors, seating for two with a pair of small second-row seats (2+2), a fastback roof with a rear hatch, sports car proportions, lightweight, grippy tires, and a torquey engine. It’s familiar because it works.

The GR 86 has a long hood, a compact rounded greenhouse, and prominent wheel arches front and rear housing standard 17-inch or 18-inch wheels (depending on trim level). The Premium trim model adds a modest “duckbill” tail spoiler (available as an option on the standard model). All of the exterior lighting is LED. Nothing about the exterior says bargain or toy. It has the look of a grown-up’s sport coupe, a maturing upgrade over the previous 86. The grille is more tasteful and wears a clever G-mesh design, and the lines are a little more graceful. It’s the same sports coupe, just better-looking, and available in a choice of seven colors.

Inside, the cabin has gotten a mild upgrade. There are leather touchpoints on the steering wheel, shift boot, and e-brake boot. The GR 86 gets cloth seats, while the Premium gets Alcantara heated ones. The instrument panel is digital, with a central seven-inch TFT panel and smaller LCD gauges to the right. An 8-inch touchscreen display lives at the top of the center stack, with Bluetooth hands-free and streaming, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto capability. Toyota includes a 12-month trial subscription to Remote Connect and a 12-month trial to Safety Connect. Toyota Care adds two years/25,000 miles of no-cost scheduled maintenance. 

Another membership included with the GR 86 is a one-year membership to NASA, the National Autosports Association, which will give owners an entrée into the world of amateur grassroots racing and track days. 

The car deserves it. 

Not only has Toyota improved the GR 86’s appearance, but it has also improved its engine, transmission, and suspension. Under the hood now lives a naturally aspirated (non-turbocharged) 2.4-liter horizontally opposed boxer four-cylinder engine, tuned to produce 228 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. The boxer layout, an obvious sign of the Subaru influence, helps lower the engine’s center of gravity, always welcome in a track car. It also runs more smoothly than an inline-four. The engine has been tuned to deliver its peak torque starting at 3,700 rpm and to hold that peak well into the rev range. Peak horsepower comes in at 7,000 rpm. In practical terms, it gives lots of range to run the transmission through its gears while staying in the powerband. A six-speed manual transmission is standard, with a quick-shifting six-speed automatic is available, with paddle shifters. The automatic uses dynamic rev management, which blips the throttle as it shifts, assuring the best mesh of gears. And it sounds way cool. The engine upgrades have improved 0-60-mph times to 6.1 seconds for the manual/6.6 seconds for the automatic – not blazing fast, but plenty quick. 

An affordable sports coupe is not about straight-line speed, anyway. It’s all about those curves. Toyota has revised the springs, shocks, and other parts of the GR 86 for a firmer, more controlled ride with reduced body roll. Engineers stiffened the body and chassis as well, which helps immensely with stability. With its rear-wheel-drive layout, the GR 86 has just enough power to get a little tail-happy, breaking the rear wheels loose in a mild drifting posture. It’s easy to control with the throttle and can be a lot of fun. 

Out on public roads, the GR 86 can behave like a grown-up (depending on who’s behind the wheel). Selectable drive modes help tame behavior without removing all the fun. GR 86 is not a hot-blooded thoroughbred; it’s more of a quarter horse, capable of respectable performance on the track on the weekend while also perfectly happy to ferry its owner back and forth to work on the weekdays.

Beyond the BR-Z, the previous generation 86, and classic sports coupes, the GR 86’s serious competitor is the Mazda MX-5 Miata. The Miata brings outstanding balance, superior handling, and a long history of grassroots racing success at a similar price point. Not only that, but the Miata is also a genuine convertible, adding another dimension of fun.

Official pricing hasn’t been announced yet, only the starting price of under $30,000 for the base model. The Premium trim model will probably run a few thousand dollars more.

The 2022 Toyota GR 86 is a great throwback car for a narrow audience. I hope enough drivers latch on to this cool car so Toyota will keep building it and developing it through further generations. Long live the sports coupe.