So, you've read the reports, fell in love on the test drive and bought your GT86/BRZ.

Would it bother you if you found that a few of the advertised horses had done a stampede as in the ad for the AE86?

Seems a fair few of the cars are putting out 140-150 at the wheels, a fair few down on what you might expect for a 200bhp car

Seems to be borne out to a certain extent when you look at the performance figures for a similar weight rwd coupe putting out 167ish bhp - Nissan's old 200SX in 1.8 form

If you had shelled out the cash, would you be a bit miffed or not care as the car was so good to drive and performance in a straight line wasn't its raison d'etre anyway?

Would you still have bought it ( even with an advertised 170bhp ) solely for the driving and cornering dynamics?

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Roadgoing Group A racecar
*****

Dan Webster "Your car actually sounded quite good from up there"

30-40bhp down on advertised power is a lot. 200bhp seemed low for £26k, 160-170bhp is plain pants

My nearly 20yr old 968 is faster than that

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You Sir, are rude, arrogant and selfish. And so is your son.

Marv said...

My nearly 20yr old 968 is faster than that

The old 150bhp 2.8 V6 XR4i (similar weight to the GT86 and also rwd ) actually records a faster 'best possible' 70-90 time and matches the fastest 30-50 and 40-60 times of the Toyota. ( test data from Autocar timings in both cases ).

Maybe the GT86/BRZ engines will loosen up with miles....

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Roadgoing Group A racecar
*****

Dan Webster "Your car actually sounded quite good from up there"

don't buy one - case closed!

Ironically the AE86 itself was known for not quite making the advertised 125hp.

I test drove the GT86 and decided for myself that it wasn't fast enough for me, without reference to the official numbers. Had I then chosen to buy one, it would have been in full knowledge of how fast it is/isn't, so I probably wouldn't have been bothered if the numbers weren't as advertised.

Samoht said...

Ironically the AE86 itself was known for not quite making the advertised 125hp.

I test drove the GT86 and decided for myself that it wasn't fast enough for me, without reference to the official numbers. Had I then chosen to buy one, it would have been in full knowledge of how fast it is/isn't, so I probably wouldn't have been bothered if the numbers weren't as advertised.

Must admit I've never heard that re the AE86 - I had a Manta GTE which did use its 110bhp to good effect in the group tests between the two - how much was the AE86 shy in some cases?

I guess you found the 200SX/GT86 comparison figures unsurprising as you managed to get a test drive in. My local dealership weren't very forthcoming with test drives when I asked - rear passenger legroom looked poorer than the Mini to be honest

Updated January 3, 2013 at 10:04 AM

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Roadgoing Group A racecar
*****

Dan Webster "Your car actually sounded quite good from up there"

A few years back I read on a credible-looking AE86 enthusiast website that when dyno'd new, they tended to come in around 115hp rather than the advertised 125. However I now cannot find said website, nor any other source to back this up.

I had a test drive in the GT86 after signing up in advance on Toyota's mailing list for the car. Given what's been reported I would have thought that by now, at least one nearby dealer would be keen to offer you a drive in one, but maybe I'd be wrong.

My S13 had the SR20, with the boost wound up a bit on the std turbo. If you're used to a car like that, you would need to accept that the GT86 is a totally different experience, nowhere near as urgent when it comes to acceleration.

Rear seats are pretty tight, yes - another area it offers less than the S13 (itself no paragon of rear passenger accommodation).

Samoht said...

A few years back I read on a credible-looking AE86 enthusiast website that when dyno'd new, they tended to come in around 115hp rather than the advertised 125. However I now cannot find said website, nor any other source to back this up.

I had a test drive in the GT86 after signing up in advance on Toyota's mailing list for the car. Given what's been reported I would have thought that by now, at least one nearby dealer would be keen to offer you a drive in one, but maybe I'd be wrong.

My S13 had the SR20, with the boost wound up a bit on the std turbo. If you're used to a car like that, you would need to accept that the GT86 is a totally different experience, nowhere near as urgent when it comes to acceleration.

Hmm, always thought the AE86 was quite spritely so was interested to hear that.

I applied on the online site for a test drive as well, it was all set for a Saturday afternoon after an initial contact from the dealer....but then had a call about 2 hours before saying they needed to re-schedule ( presumably the car or dealer was unavailable ) and they'd ring me back. I never did get a call but managed to have a look/sit in a static car on display at a shopping centre. Seeing the rear legroom made me realise it was going to be no good even for children. I never bothered to chase the dealer up after that as it would have been no good for my car usage. I think there was much more room in the old AE86 from when Flewy gave Jurag and myself a lift on an EVO meet.

Still like to drive one but it won't be a replacement for the Cooper S as I'd hoped.

I wasn't expecting it to have 200SX urgency ( although I've only got experience of the early S14 which had the same PWR on paper ) but hoped it might have a little more useable poke than the old XR4i, Manta GTE 2.4 I owned. Maybe there will be a slightly torquier version in the future.

Nice RX7 by the way - reminds me of Barry's old car which went well when I saw it

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Roadgoing Group A racecar
*****

Dan Webster "Your car actually sounded quite good from up there"