… and so do I
VIA EMAIL
I was stunned to see you award first place to the Toyota GT86 in your May Giant Test. We all know the love of cars is a totally subjective thing: it’s why we have taste. I was fortunate to have a GT86 offered as a hire car a while ago. After a couple of minutes listening to the washing machine under the bonnet, my excitement began to fade.
I then hit the motorway, admittedly not what the car is designed for. While in sixth gear at 70mph I had a gap to go for and was up against that beast of a car, a Hyundai i30. I floored the throttle and about three days later was doing 73mph (tailwind). The i30 went off into the distance like Han Solo. I knew my folly for not being in the right gear, so I dropped to fifth, and then, while being overtaken by a Prius, hit the heady heights of about 75mph a week later.
It didn’t take long for me to hate the GT86 for all the same reasons I love my wife’s DS3 Sport: torque, comfort, quality, fun. In short, my (subjective) view was the GT86 is a gutless pile of plastic poo and tackiness which needed a turbo or supercharger, and some quality control, or preferably a wrecking ball. Darren Tomlins