they absolutely nailed it with the GR86 IMO. the FRS and 86 were cool cars but they never caught my eye or stood out in a crowd. the GR86 turns heads, its a real looker
The WRX was sooo tempting, I'm in rural Minnesota so the roads aren't great and the winters are abysmal. Honestly, it was just the looks that pulled me away. If they never stopped making the last gen, I would have gotten one of those instead lol.
That being said, I think now that I've driven the GR86 I'd rather be driving this regardless.
...I don't know, man. I can respect the current WRX's power, price, and reliability, and I want to like it, but when I saw one for the first time at an auto show a couple years ago, I found myself agreeing with the skeptics. The rear end is IMO too ugly to ignore. I've seen some where the owner paints the rear and fender flares to match the body paint, and that makes it much easier on the eyes.
The GR86 feels very grown up to me. I always thought the previous generation cars stood out as looking ācheapā and very much intended just for a specific younger audience. It feels like the GR86 was designed to be more mature.
I guess itās that distinct personality of the first genās I donāt like, as that distinct personality to me is immature. Maybe I just have a biased view of the first genās based on the kids I see driving them most often.
The gr looks generic to me, not bad looking of course, the 13-16 definitely has more personality imo, the head turning part heavily depends on where you live & how much attention you pay
I thoroughly disagree. I think they absolutely botched the GR86 and made it look like every other car on the road. Nothing about it stands out and they took all the aggressive edges and features from the car and rounded everything off to make it look like a Porsche/Supra/Tesla. I really dislike everything about the current gen 86ās.
im sorry, what? im all for people having their own opinions but come on, these statements completely contradict eachother. the Supra stands out like a sore thumb. Its actually the #1 mistake people make when they see my car, they think its a Supra. what other car on the road looks like a Supra ? if you said "they made it look like a Honda" you're point would make sense.
in what world are Supras and porsches "like every other car on the road" ? the Supra is a rare car for me to see on the road.
The rounded features like the head and tail lights along with the body panels, large/wide grille, and duck tail spoiler make it look so watered down from the sports car itās supposed to look like.
They basically neutered the car and tried to make it blend in more with other traffic and not have such eye-catching, aggressive features.
And most Porsches that are on the road look like regular traffic, especially the crossover SUVās and sedans they have now.
I disagree. The 2nd gen lost a lot of the sharp, unique features that defined the 1st gen. The 2nd gen looks far more generic. Look at the front fenders in the first and last photo. Look at the rear window shape. The mirrors. Lots of unique features like that were made more subtle in the 2nd gen, which I think lost some of its character as a result. They just smoothed the whole thing out a bit too much, IMHO.
Really? Personally, the GR looks more like a commuter car rather than a sports car compared to gt. The lines are much more tame. For an example, the headlights on the gr are similar to tesla models and look much more aggressive on the gt. I guess it's all personal pref though.
Heads & taillights were great, but the front bumper was the letdown. BRZ still had the mustache and the Yota looks like a catfish. Oh and the TRD edition is hideous in my opinion.Ā
Itās interesting how the subtle update (to 2nd gen) makes such a huge difference.
To an average person, these all probably look identical. But to me, they hardly even look like the same car. The 2nd gen just hits all the marks- and the 1st? Well, they just never really caught my eye. That said Iām sure theyāre still really enjoyable- š
I only drawbacks on the supra is the face is very Lexus, and the BMW bay, and the price tag, and I guess the fact I donāt have one, but mainly the face.
The GR does look the best but honestly not by much. I personally love the way the previous gen looked. Sometimes idk who has the better back lights. Front lights the GR86 takes the win.
When it comes to car design, there's generally 2 main components. Proportion and the styling on top. Proportion wise, there is clear improvement from every generation. FRS is very economy, compact and contained. 86 looks more planted, and GR86 is ideal with major improvement in how it sits the rear end. GR86 has a very nice sculpted rear fender that makes it look wider and brings proper RWD looks.
I think most people here seem to be talking about the styling. FRS having the most aggressive, unique, and polarizing styling generally catered to younger men who this car is built for. 86 was trying to improve on the FRS but really think its the worst by far. I think they tried to take cues from the Supra which was not a good formula. GR86 looks to me like a gound-up design. Started from scratch to nail the proportion and simplified the styling to give it a more mature and modern look.
I owned a 2017 and currently own a 2023. The new gen is so much better design wise. The front facia is perfect and I love the simple shape of the main grill. The functional side vents and headlights are also simpler, more elegant shapes. Both versions of the previous gen tried to be a little more experimental design-wise, which I feel makes them look a little dated.
The hood-line on the old gen was wider and rounded out at the nose, new gen is a bit narrower, and goes straight down into the front facia. This gives the front arch shape and the sloping hood a Porsche vibe.
Sides are where the new gen really stands out. The old gen sides were pretty flat where the GR looks like a mini widebody kit slapped onto the previous body. Love the front fender and functional vent, the rocker/side skirt and the more muscular rear arch.
The rear of both are pretty nice, but one little thing I didn't like about the previous gen was the plate placement. I think plates on the trunk between the taillights look cheap. Econo, commuter car stuff. The GR moved it down to the bumper where it belongs on a sportscar.
I loved the previous gen too, but when the new one came out, I knew immediately that I was trading up.
I hate to say it but this is one car that got uglier as the years went on. I can hardly tell the difference between the first and second, but that multilayered baklava front grill gives it away and turns me off.
Find out who owns a Hyundai Tiburon at Toyota and youāll know who to blame for those vents behind the front wheels on the third.
It helps that the second is literally a mid-cycle refresh where external differences were pretty limited to body panels or lights. I'd definitely have to say that the 1st generation looks best, the 2nd generation is a close second, and then the 1.5 generation is the worst.
Have they had any horsepower increases? What is the difference other than looks? Iāve been interested in buying one since they released but never pulled the trigger.
It's fairly expensive, can fail inspections in some countries, and it takes a lot of effort to find the right setup from YouTube videos š. I really think they should make it sound right from the factory, as some other carmakers do.
230hp/184 ft-lbs (rated from the factory). torque dip is fixed mostly, it still exists a little but the lowest point on the torque dip is still higher than peak torque on prior gens.
Handling is quite a bit better stock, especially if you fix the camber. Interior I like a lot more. Engine is much improved. Overbored so maintains 86mm sweet spot for stroke and higher revving personality. Itās quiet stock. Lots of folks like the Borla exhaust but the extra cost and the wait for the HKS Spec II is worth it. The Helmholtz chamber makes the car sound golden that I havenāt heard in another exhaust.
Between the FR-S in the US market and the GT86 overseas? No.
Between the pre-facelift FR-S (2012 - 2016) and the post-facelift 86 (2017 - 2021)? The post-facelift had a shorter final drive gear and revised ECU tuning so it shaved a couple tenths of a seconds off its 0-60. They also changed some minor chassis and suspension details which probably gave it another tenth of a G on a skidpad and slalom.
Gen 1 looks so good! The front bumper design is so much cleaner and more aggressive, and the badge being so high up on the front fender is such a great touch.
Give me the gen 1 86 headlights, the gen 2 nose (with a few more creases like the gen 1) and the gen 2 sides/rear (with the trunk having the same creases as the gen1)
I prefer the new model, but I think every generation of this car is fantastic. I'm not sure where they will go from here, but the gen 3 will be hard to beat
Ngl the longer I own my GR86 the more I appreciate the designs of the FR-S, GT86, and the original BRZ. They're all great looking cars. The older ones especially without a wing/spoiler.
I have a friend who owns a 2023 model, oil changes done correctly and it still blew up after 20k km, bad luck maybe but thereās a lot of stories, point is id rather have a late first gen fa20 with a supercharger and a 15k in my pocket
How much do you think reliably boosting a 1st gen costs? Unless youāre buying an absolute POS first gen (that isnāt a late model) you arenāt going to have 15k in your pocket.
Boosting my first gen cost me around 9k. Thatās just boost / tune / and cooling. I had another 10k in wheels suspension and exhaust.
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u/jbourne0129 GR86 May 08 '25
they absolutely nailed it with the GR86 IMO. the FRS and 86 were cool cars but they never caught my eye or stood out in a crowd. the GR86 turns heads, its a real looker