I see you there, shaking your clenched fist at my apostasy against #savethemanuals! “culture.” Keep it clenched. Go right ahead. I hear you. I really do. I’ve gone way out of my way to find manual-gearbox versions of many cars in my life. Even when it’s “illogical” to want one. Even when it took more than a year to find the “right” one.
So I am not here to argue against the manual-gearbox Toyota GR86. It completes the formula for a low-cost, low-weight, rear-drive sports coupe. But I’m adding a large asterisk: You want the stick if you happen to live in a bubble where there are no straight roads, you can always drive at 7/10ths—and are a track-driving pro.
But for anyone who fights miserable traffic and has more straight than curvy roads to slay on their daily slog, there’s a decent argument (even if I’m spitting in the wind) for going slushbox instead. In fact, roughly half of all GR86 buyers agree, per Toyota stats so far this year:
Manual Gearbox Toyota Sports Car Sales By Percentage
- GR86: 53 Percent
- GR Corolla: 72 Percent
Why the big difference between these two? My hunch is it’s the roughness of the GR86’s powerplant. A point my colleague made recently, too.
It doesn’t just make the car loud. It makes it unpleasant. Loud “good,” is the late Honda S2000. Revving to 9,600 RPM in that car emitted a glorious, bombastic, motorcycle anthem. Loud “not-good” is Toyobaru’s 2.4-liter, 228-horsepower boxer motor.
There: I’ve gone and committed two cardinal sins in less than 200 words. Go ahead. Stack some wood and light a match to burn up my “car guy” man card. Meanwhile, what indefensibly nice arguments am I going to offer in favor of the autobox GR86? You’re here for it. I know you are. Just out of spite.
To report accurately, we’re using speed testing data from Car & Driver testing, and sales data from Toyota officials.
- Base Trim Engine
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2.4-Liter Flat-4
- Base Trim Transmission
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6-Speed Manual/6-Speed Automatic
- Base Trim Drivetrain
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Rear-Wheel Drive
- Base Trim Horsepower
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228 HP @ 7,000 RPM
- Base Trim Torque
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184 LB-FT @ 3,700 RPM
Paddles Are Track- And City-Friendly
Sadly, the GR86 doesn’t come with an “almost-manual” like the VW Group supplies to the GTI and Golf R and Audi’s excellent S3/RS3, let alone Porsche’s PDK. So here you’re getting a standard six-speed automatic. But there are two decent tricks to it. Slot the shifter toward your right hip, and you activate manual mode. Now you can flip the two, pleasingly meaty paddles that halo the steering wheel, and that system allows decent gear holding—it doesn’t over-ride high revs and bounce an upshift.
It’ll still veto downshifts nearer to the 7,000 RPM redline. But a three-two downshift ahead of a hard-sweeping right-hander can be achieved fluidly and readily while slowly trailing off the brake upon exit. Sure, this is something to master in a three-pedal animal, too. Good luck with nailing that consistently, especially on trickier, blind corners.
Wait, Isn’t The Point That Manual Gearboxes Should Be Harder?
I get it. We like manuals because they’re analog. Because they demand a degree of skill. But because the GR86 is fun—but flawed—I’m arguing that the automatic is more accessible and more pleasurable, and in part that’s because when the Toyota’s operated as an automatic, the gearbox upshifts sooner, and lowers the din coming from under the hood, making that racket more long-mile tolerable.
It’s Slower — But You Probably Are, Too
According to Car & Driver, the manual GR86 will jump to 60 MPH in 5.3 seconds; the automatic takes 6.1 seconds.
But unless your heel-toe technique is exquisite, your lap times will be faster in the auto, precisely because you’ll never miss a down- or upshift. And speed is about eliminating errors and braking in the shortest possible distance. You doubtless don’t want to hear it, but the “slower” automatic is going to be faster around any track raced by non-pros.
A Better Version Is Coming
Anyone who thinks the Toyobaru BRZ/GR86 2.4-liter boxer engine is the “best” either brand could muster hasn’t thought very hard about why these cars exist. When Subaru needed Toyota’s cash, Toyota needed a cash-friendly argument for bringing back sports cars. So they co-lab-ed. Now, they’ll do the same on EVs.
But this compromise on the FR-S/BRZ/GR86 has been exactly that. Which is partly why Toyota is moving on from this engine—and perhaps making more profound changes, too.
Why This Could Be Better For Both Carmakers
As for Subaru, just consider that the BRZ violates the one brand attribute Subaru hammers incessantly: “Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive.” Yes, these twins are better because they’re rear-wheel drive coupes. But rear-biased AWD works tremendously for another carmaker that happens to like boxer engines: Porsche. It’s not too shabby from BMW or Audi, either.
So Subaru swallowed hard and made this deal, and so did Toyota, both accepting the limitations of an engine that’s too shy on power and too slow to rev. Those 228 horses? You can’t have them until you scrape up to 7,000 RPM. Which is another reason this car’s just not that quick.
What Toyota And Subaru Should Want
Last year, Toyota teased a concept it called the GR86 Rally Legacy. It paid homage to a past name in Toyota heraldry, the Celica GT, but from the wheels up it was really a GR Corolla, right down to its turbocharged three-cylinder powerplant and all-wheel-drive. That 1.6-liter motor is only two-thirds the size of the 2.4-liter boxer, yet delivers 25 percent more horsepower—a dead-even 300 horsepower, and 276 pound-feet of torque. The GR86 only gets 186 pound-feet, which is pretty anemic.
Is The GR Corolla Engine Right For The GR86?
Another option Toyota could be considering is hybridizing the system. Honda’s getting just 200 horsepower—but 228 foot-pounds of torque—from its Civic Hybrid and new Prelude powertrains. It feels unlikely that Toyota’s i-Force Max hybrid engine from the Tacoma fits in the GR86, but considering Toyota’s lead with hybrids, I’m sure the carmaker is 18 steps ahead of this question.
WREX’ing Hard!
All these years, Subaru has donated its engine tech to Toyota. Now imagine the reverse. Imagine that GR Corolla engine in a WRX—and all-wheel drive. I’ll go out on a very short limb and say that would be great for the brand. And just imagine a new WRX STi that gets all of that muscle and could potentially be far lighter, too. Imagine, even, Subaru doing what they should’ve done years ago, and making multiple brand extensions off the WRX!
TopSpeed’s Take
Anyone who hate-read to this point isn’t buying my premise. Which is fine. I think the place we can agree is that the GR86/BRZ could definitely use a lot more useful, quickly-spooled muscle. A hybrid powertrain would certainly deliver instant torque; and the GR Corolla three-cylinder would deliver the free-revving character that’s missing, too.
If I’m betting, however, it might be on the hybrid, because Toyota assembles those motors in more markets. One reason the GR Corolla is as rare as hen’s teeth is that it’s only made in Japan until a new production line starts in the U.K. next year. Maybe that means producing the G16E three-cylinder for the GR86 and BRZ, too? Maybe.
Whatever solution Toyota lands on, my hope is they don’t mess with the lightweight, short-wheelbase “flickable” qualities. Preserve these, please. And get the engine right. Probably (hopefully), that will mean the three-pedal take rate will meet that of the GR Corolla, and everyone will smile at the result.