We, fellow young enthusiasts, are fools. We whine with visions of sugarplum strawmen granting new 240SXs to the older generation for what must’ve been nearly free, bemoaning what we see as the inflated cost of ‘affordable’ sports cars like the 2025 Toyota GR86. If the circle stopped cranking andpausedto math, however, we’d smack a tough realization with every bit the force of a drift dipshit finding a turnpike guardrail: the GR86 may feel expensive, but it actually runs little more than the Nissan S13 did in its day.
Of course there’s a pile of nuance there, not least of all in this generation’s depressed buying power. Still, the 240SX was priced from just under US$12,900 when it launched in 1990, counting out to $15,050 Canadian at the day’s exchange rate — ~$30,300 today. Hold that against the GR86’s base 2025 MSRP of $32,355, and it seems something of a miracle that Subaru satisfies all of today’s tech and safety requirements in a product that Toyota can still sell within $2k of that antecedental target.
The 2025 GR86 isn’t just $2,000 more car than that old S13, granted. Plucky and poised, the 86 honours the front-four, rear-drive everyday fastback formula with a dynamic precision that the tinny, resonant sportsters of old never dared touch. Now quiet, insulated, and foam-filled, the GR86 gets to stiffen its corners and slim its tires without punishing passengers on their way to work.
Such everyday accessibility is a core tenet of the GR86 and its Subaru sibling, the BRZ. Tolerable efficiency, adequate modernity, ‘Good’ (if not excellent) IIHS crash ratings, and surprisingly usable cargo capacity make the ‘ZN8’ and twin ‘ZC8’ an appealing proposition for the enthusiast seeking an enjoyable year-round driver. Given that more than half of last year’s Canadian BRZs were purchased as a primary vehicle, the package seems to be hitting its mark.
At its core though, the Toyota GR86 is a sports car. Claiming some 50% improvement in torsional rigidity over the first-generation ‘ZN6’, these new-gen models are sharp and stimulating — each trait feeling all the more so, thanks to upgraded power and response.
Damping rates are fixed (versus more expensive active damping) and lean stiff to hold the car steady through weekend duties, but the GR86 isn’t unbearably harsh in the everyday. Driven across frost-heaved tarmac and through six-plus inches of snow in our week together, even the larger 18-inch wheels, thinner sidewalls, and slower Sachs dampers on this 2025 GR86 Hakone Edition tester held comfortable enough for a journo who’s now discovering the creeping aches of their early 30s.
Cabin appointments and ergonomics have improved from the last generation’s (and especially the pre-facelift cars’), with Premium-trim models getting leather and Alcantara seating, with further suede trim on the door panels and suppressing windscreen glare from atop the cluster hood. Central 8-inch infotainment feels behind the times and only supports wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but remains serviceable. Mercifully though, Toyota has done away with those up-down volume buttons and returned to a proper knob. Better still, the GR86’s dual-zone automatic climate is still controlled by physical knobs and buttons.
Forward visibility is open, with a gratifying view of the ZN8’s bulging fenders. Rear-quarter visibility is bounds better than in the Supra, and the GR86’s broad rear window is only minimally interrupted by the optional duckbill spoiler. There’s more mirror than there is straight-back vision, yes, but right-side shoulder checks are easy enough, though left-side checks feel less so. Mirror-mounted blind-spot indicators come standard.
Physical accessibility for driver and frequent passengers should be considered, as the GR86’s low seats and limited door height are regular points of comment for those climbing inside. Once inserted, however, the car’s sporty seats are supportive and enjoyable in everyday and dynamic driving alike. Ample bolsters hold bodies snug in the bends, but without cramping highway-touring comfort or contributing to those access concerns.
Those bends are where the GR86 justifies its inconvenience, electronic power steering be damned. Intuitively responsive thanks to its near-balanced 53-47 front-rear weight distribution, the GR86 chassis skips about without too urgent a concern for on- and off-throttle weight transfer. Such ‘neutral’ handling makes the GR86 an approachable platform to learn high-performance driving skills on small to midsize circuits, such as Ontario’s CTMP Driver Development Track or B.C.’s Area 27. To be sure, however, many GR86 owners enjoy (and even race) these cars on full-sized courses like Canadian Tire Motorsports Park’s (Mosport) GP circuit. There’s plenty of motorsports headroom here.
Really though, it’s those smaller circuits where owners typically find the GR86’s greatest shine. Though the ZN8 GR86 doesn’t produce tremendous power, what it delivers is well proportioned to its platform and purpose. In a welcome step from the old ZN6 gen’s 2.0-litre ‘FA20’ Subaru boxer four, these second-generation ZN8s get a bored-out 2.4-litre evolution called the ‘FA24D’. Retaining the same 86-mm stroke and 12.5:1 naturally aspirated compression as before, these new-gen engines bring only a marginal step in power at 228 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque, up from the 205 hp and 151 lb-ft of old.
Important here is the partial resolution of the predecessors’ infamous ‘torque dip,’ a curious condition that can be visualized in the 7” digital cluster’s power graph. While the FA24D’s horsepower climbs more or less straight across the revs, torque runs up toward 3,000 rpm before taking a moment’s break. Torque dips and acceleration slows for a few hundred revs through this dip, then returns toward its peak at 3,700 rpm before a relatively steady hold toward redline.
This trait is divisive among enthusiasts, with some disappointed that the second-generation cars failed to entirely resolve this. To Subaru’s credit, however, the FA24D both compresses the dip by roughly two thirds and shortens its duration across the tach. It’s still there under full-footed pulls, but less noticeably so. The everyday short-shifting driver is unlikely to notice or mind.
To chew too long on the dip is to miss the nourishment, however. Naturally aspirated in this era of EPA turbos, the GR86’s four-cylinder produces enjoyable, usable power without getting too fast or clever for its own good. On roads, there’s plenty to make the car feel exciting without crossing into dangerous territory. The 2025 Toyota GR86 accelerates from 0-100 km/h in a rated 6.1 seconds, enough for plenty of jollies without blowing it all too fast.
Keep the revs up between bends and there’s plenty to carry about — and with some sound to match. Here arrives another of the GR86’s controversies, of course: artificial engine sound. Fools objected to the first-gen cars’ sound augmentation through what were, quite frankly, earnestly analogue means: a tube from the air box for direct induction noise. Well done whining then, fools: second-gen GR86s get a speaker instead.
This is somewhat disappointing, though unsurprising: the FA20 may have been designed for the original 86 with the aim of hanging its weight low, but was also planned with more pedestrian applications in mind too. FA20s and FA24s are now found in family haulers such as the Subaru Forester and Ascent, and with a twin-scroll turbocharger as the Subaru WRX’s ‘FA20F’. There’s no old-STi burble here then: just engine. If the speaker adds some feedback to that experience then sure, I’ll take it.
The hope is that the experience ends with a digital whirr, granted — and not with a seizure. FA20s and FA24Ds as late as 2023 have been named in a class-action suit alleging premature engine failures due to excess manufacturing sealant clogging oil pathways. Word is still out on these latest cars, but while an important calculation, this issue oughtn’t be overblown. Plenty of old- and new-gen owners have milked plenty of serious use out of their mills, one local GM-engineer-owned FA20 only having given out after a quarter-million kilometres’ daily driving and frequent heavy track usage.
Again however, missing the meal: a rear-drive sports car with a notchy six-speed manual and standard limited-slip differential. Switch modes and there’s enough power available to get silly — especially once you’ve swapped onto winter tires for year-round running. Default traction settings will keep the car moving and reasonably steady in deep snow (if with noticeable throttle filtering), but progressive silly settings will accommodate some delightful yaw.
The Toyota-family Aisin six-speed manual transmission is nicely geared for the purpose, with plenty of 1-3 action to be had in the fun stuff. The FA24D affords the middle gears plenty of latitude for lazy around-town lugs, and sixth-gear overdrive is plenty relaxed on the highway without demanding a downshift for every maneuver. Some 80 percent of Canadian GR86 and 85 percent of BRZ buyers spec ‘em too; good on ‘y’all.
Toyota says that it has revised the GR86’s throttle maps for 2025, supposedly in an effort to ease downshift-matching blips. The GR86 stays pure here: there’s no auto-blip option like in the GR Corolla, so you’d best get it together and learn to foot properly. A two-second hill-start assist is on by default, but can be disabled. Redline cutoffs at 7,000 rpm remain surprisingly jerky.
Manageable and predictable power across such a steadily balanced wheelbase make the GR86 an absolute blast in the snow, while a still-sensible ride height of 5-plus inches means you’re good through just as much slush as a Corolla. What’s more, that limited-slip differential is an added assurance that front-drive Corollas don’t enjoy: where one spinning wheel will leave an open-diffed 2WD car stranded, limited slip ensures that both of the GR86’s wheels will keep on chugging through the powder.
Should you year-round a GR86 then? Yes. Between modern corrosion-resistance requirements and the GR86’s aluminum wings, hood, and roof, winter warriors oughtn’t be so paralyzed by flashbacks from their time in the 80s and 90s fastbacks of their youth. What’s more, the GR86’s general refinement makes it an easy car to hop into and warm up in, its differential and clearance ready it for the nastiest lake-effect snows the Greats can dump, and Subaru’s ‘EyeSight’ windshield-guided adaptive cruise makes for a laid-back highway hauler even when your bumper cakes with slush.
Indeed, so well does the 2025 Toyota GR86 hit its throwback formula that a week together through heavy snows has me itching for one as a daily of my own. In (annoying) sequel to the GR Corolla I tested two years ago, the ZN8 GR86 is only the second time in four years that a road test compelled this classic-biased secondhand evangelist to price out a new car with myself in mind. Generational buying power on a writer’s salary ultimately said ‘sucks to suck’, of course, but the intention is telling.
All that for basically the same money as was an old 240SX though? I’d love to say that I’d still take the 240SX, yes — but I also recognize that I have enough oldies at home (and that I am a fool). This is one of the only new cars to leave me daydreaming of a new daily, or that I could see myself returning to at the manufacturer lots each week. Here in my main-character headspace, that’s a tremendous accomplishment for the GR86.
GR86 fuel economy
The 2025 Toyota GR86 (and Subaru BRZ twin) are tolerably efficient for a specialized daily driver, with NRCan-reported consumption figures of 11.9 L/100 city, 8.7 L/100 highway, and 10.7 L/100 combined. Subaru’s figures tend to vary slightly, albeit within 0.1 L/100 km from that same FA24D engine.
Per the EPA, the 2025 Toyota GR86 consumes 21 mpg city, 31 mpg highway, and 24 mpg combined.
2025 Toyota GR86 Canadian pricing
The 2025 Toyota GR86 starts from $34,215 after $1,860 destination charge.
The 2025 Subaru BRZ starts from $34,590 after $2,095 destination charge.
The ‘Premium’ trim costs $3,000 more for an extra inch of wheel (18”) on more aggressive Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires, that cool duckbill spoiler, two more speakers (eight total), and leather-alcantara seat trim. Assuming you aren’t planning on kitting it out yourself, this is the one to buy at $37,215 total.
An automatic transmission can be specified to the Premium for a further $1,965, but you’ll be embarrassed to let anyone see in your windows. Toyota reports 80 percent manual uptake; Subaru 85 percent.
The unit tested is one of 30 Canadian ‘Hakone’ specials, a successor to last year’s Trueno Edition. The Hakone Edition gets this deep green paint on bronze 18” wheels, along with more aggressive Sachs dampers and four-piston Brembo front brakes. This lands a sticker of $40,570, or just under $10,000 shy of the fabulous gravel-ready GR Corolla Core.
If you want the mechanical perks of the Hakone but couldn’t land one of the 30 units, the Subaru BRZ tS is Subaru’s series-produced alternative. The BRZ tS is not a limited-run model, and stickers a hair below the Hakone at $39,470 after destination.
Toyota GR86 competitors
The 2025 Toyota GR86’s closest competitor is its twin, the Subaru BRZ. The BRZ and GR86 are powered and built by Subaru, though Toyota specifies some of its own setup notes to its engineers’ tastes. Canadian sales are almost evenly split between the two models: Toyota Canada sold 801 GR86s in 2024, while Subaru Canada sold 775 BRZs.
The 2025 Mazda MX-5 is a leading contender here, particularly in hardtop ‘RF’ trim. The MX-5 matches the GR86’s front-four, rear-drive, six-speed enthusiast checklist. Its two-seater configuration is arguably more focused than the GR86, though its 181 hp and 151 lb-ft are less aggressive; still, Miata spec racing lives on for a reason. The base 2025 Mazda MX-5 starts from $36,895 after destination.
If you’re feeling kind enough to throw Nissan a bone, the Z still exists (if not yet as a 2025). Still based on an ancient architecture and priced high from a starting 2024 MSRP of $52,193 after destination, it’s unfortunately little surprise that the ‘RZ34’ Z is so invisible on Canadian streets. Despite its abundant flaws and disappointments, the 2024 Nissan Z is a handsomely styled rear-drive, stick-shift sports car offering 400 hp and 350 lb-ft — specs that the GR86 and Miata can’t nearly touch.
Pros
✔ Great enthusiast driving, usable year-round
✔ Notchy six-speed manual transmission
✔ More exotic styling, improved interior over old gen
Cons
✘ Space constraints for those seeking a primary daily driver
✘ Hot-boy reputation boosts insurance premiums, police attention
✘ Internet trolls will complain that their $32k car doesn’t make C8 Z06 power
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