Toyota 86. Still Fresh. The Management Fleet

The Toyota 86 has had minimal driving responsibilities over the past month. A mix of lots of work travel and the beautiful weather we’ve been experiencing has meant that other cars have been drafted into service. In fact, with the odometer only reading 2200 kilometres, I feel quite bad about not driving it as much as I should.

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So, what has happened this month? Well, it’s had the slightly bizarre 1000kms check up (I still don’t really understand the requirement of one so early) and my evenings continue to see a mounting modification dream list being generated. I had best steer clear of 86 forums, or the bank account will take a monumental beating.

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Having accumulated said 2200km, the 86 has been generating this nagging feeling in my mind that other mainstream cars just aren’t that much fun anymore. In every vehicle I find myself, I start automatically benchmarking it the Toyota in terms of cabin ergonomics, driving characteristics, tactility and feel. Honestly, nothing else has come close, they’re just not stimulating enough. I like in hope that something will come along and challenge that theory.

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One of the early worries about buying the 86 was its lack of pace. Yes, it’s lightweight and has only 197bhp, but the numbers don’t lie. Thankfully, in isolation the Toyota doesn’t actually feel that slow. Although in a not-at-all-frustrating way, it actually is. It is much, much slower than my wife’s Volkswagen Golf GTI for instance, although the feeling of no pace is combatted by the continuous noise (made all the more special with a Miltek exhaust from the kind folks at MSW in Dubai). I also feel like I’m constantly wringing its neck, and that’s a fun way to drive. It’s got very short gearing which is beautiful for city hacking, so I’m doing a lot of shifting through the reasonably slick gearbox on a very regular basis. All this means the lack of pace just dissipates away in a haze. At least until I get buzzed by a taxi.

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As I back my bags for the day and choose my route home based on how much I can have a thrash again, I’m content in my mind that my daily is probably one of the most fun and enjoyable machines on sale today. It’s a tail-happy, slip-slidey kind of machine, which can make it slightly intimidating at first, but I’ve grown to love that. Overall, it’s hard not to be impressed, and with my 86 priced at just 95k AED it does seem the bang for buck bargain of the century.

My plan for next month? More driving, less parking.