Affordable sports cars may be somewhat of an anomaly today, a pipe dream of sorts in the wake of a shrinking segment that has seen more exits than grand entrances into this niche segment. 

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‍The Mazda MX-5 is one of the better-known proponents and continues its lineage to this day. MG, with its TF, was another player that has since disappeared, while Toyota’s MR2 also had its time in the sun locally, but that too was short-lived. 

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Thankfully, in 2013, Toyota made an emphatic return to the compact sportscar realm with the 86. A jointly-developed product with Subaru, the 86 brought a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive sportscar that was cheap as chips and pandered to the enthusiast craving thrills on a shoestring budget. 

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It was universally welcomed. Both the 86 and its BRZ twin cousin truly nailed the brief, but there was a little matter of power – or lack thereof – that was somewhat of a contentious topic. With 147 kW and 205 Nm at 6,600 r/min, the car felt rather underwhelming below 4,000 r/min and only began to feel like it was making strides above that twilight zone, but the powerband was relatively short as it fizzled out too soon. There were attempts to give it more power by aftermarket tuners that strapped a supercharger, which bumped up power and torque, but there was a fly in the ointment with this approach. 

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While it had gained a much-needed power bump, it took away the playful nature of the **Hachi-Roku**, which could be enjoyed at lower speeds, thanks to skinny tyres. This exercise proved rather expensive, too and essentially voided your factory warranty in favour of a rather scant aftermarket warranty from the tuning company. It’s a story for another day. Suffice it to say I do not recommend it. 

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The latest GR 86 picks up from where the 86 left off in that it still boasts the fundamental model brief of Waku Doki – loosely translated to fun-to-drive. While the new model is still based on the outgoing 86, the GR86 takes things up quite a few notches. For starters, it ditches the old 2.0-litre boxer engine for a new 2.4-litre boxer, but still naturally aspirated, which is all the better for it. Power now sits at 174 kW at 7,000 r/min, and torque is 250 Nm at 3,700 r/min. That latter figure and where it peaks in the rev range makes a world of difference, but we’ll touch on that later. Among other new changes, the GR86 now has proper performance tyres - Michelin Pilot Sport 4S measuring 215/40/R18 at each corner. These offer significantly better grip levels, particularly once you begin to up the pace and want to take a corner in the most accurate manner possible. Also, the vehicle’s structural rigidity has increased by 50%, giving this model excellent body control, which adds to the sublime handling.