TOYOTA GR86

Let’s be completely honest here: the Toyota GR86 being a glinting ruby stone of hope in the quagmire of filth that is 2022 was not exactly a hold-the-front-page internet-breaking shock. I’ll be even more honest and say I didn’t even set off to drive it back in May with a completely open mind. I yearned for it to be fabulous. I expected it to be great. I demanded it fixed the obvious flaws with the GT86 – TG’s 2012 Car of the Year. And 10 years later, the GR86 did indeed hit the spot.

On its wider tyres, it sits with a less gawky stance than Toyota’s previous entry-level RWD coupe. The body is the same size, but the details are prettier – particularly the tail and that bold side skirt swoosh. Inside, the native Toyota touchscreen no longer makes you want to punch the dashboard in the face – because there’s now Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for avoiding Toyota’s homebrew interface altogether.

But because Toyota kept shiny, low-rent plastics, the price hasn’t ballooned to levels that’d make Martin Lewis shiver. Because it’s not been sullied with modes and settings, it’s a £30k, £300 a month bargain. Or it was, in the 45 minutes you could actually buy one, before Toyota’s all-tooshort UK allocation sold out. Forget poor-man’s-Porsche jibes – this thing flew out of showrooms quicker than a GT3 RS.

It deserved to. At last, the Toyobaru’s boxer engine has enough torque to engage the chassis without an irresponsible Scandi flick. It makes a less drony noise too, and because it no longer uses Prius rubber, turn-in and braking are improved.

It could’ve been a Car of the Year again – if that year had been 2016 or 2017. The GR86 is delightful, but it’s a blend of mildly improved ingredients that meld together for a genius whole. We’re enraptured that it exists, but it really ought not to have taken them this long to perfect the recipe. It’s not a rocketship, and it ain’t rocket science.