Technical highlights?
The engine and suspension remain completely untouched, which is both great (the GT86 combines composure and agility better than many of its rivals, with a firm but never bone-jarring ride) and a little frustrating (197bhp is fine, 151lb ft over a spindly 200rpm powerband at 6400rpm not really enough).
A new sports exhaust system, with quad tailpipes, is the most mechanical change, and its freer breathing appears to slightly sharpen the throttle response. There’s a set of 18in alloy wheels – an inch bigger than standard and now wrapped in wider Yokohama Advan Sport tyres, rather than the regular GT86’s Toyota Prius-sourced Michelin Primacys – while a subtle body kit includes a new splitter, diffuser and side skirts. TRD designs also adorn the gearknob and fuel filler cap.
The 140mph top speed and 7.6sec 0-62mph time are unchanged from the regular GT86, while at 181g/km and 36.2mpg, the TRD’s CO2 emissions and fuel economy are actually improved slightly.
What’s it like to drive?
The wheels and tyres orchestrate the small differences we found compared to standard. Over bumpy, urban roads you’ll notice those larger alloys thumping around a bit more at low speed, and at higher speeds they occasionally lose contact with the road. The tyres, meanwhile, provide more grip than standard thanks to their sport, rather than economy, bias.
In the dry the GT86 TRD feels a smidge more composed, especially through higher-speed turns, though it’s in the wet when the standard coupe’s tyres really start to struggle. Alas, a very un-British dry and warm week coincided with our time driving the TRD. Overall, it feels more planted mid-corner, if less agile than its base car. On a small scale it’s reminiscent of the fun that was lost when the Ford Racing Puma appeared, its higher grip levels yielding less amusement than its more playful base car. The flipside is the TRD could be a better trackday toy.
Otherwise, it’s business as usual. The GT86’s boxer flat-four engine needs a good thrashing to deliver its all, and doesn’t really reward you aurally for doing so (though the TRD’s exhaust does deliver a slightly harder-edged note above 5000rpm), but the slick six-speed manual gearchange and well-positioned pedals make it a gratifying process in other areas.
The GT86 exhibits fine balance and its steering rack has some of the nicest weighting around, while there’s also real communication of grip levels feeding through the rim. Adjust to the little Toyota’s needs – to drive it like your very life depends on it – and it’s a sweet car, if not quite the easy-oversteer hero of the hype that preceded it.
How does it compare?
To the regular Toyota GT86, not too flatteringly. It doesn’t seem quite as fun yet costs 26 per cent more, though its subtly applied body kit and limited production number certainly give it a dash of uniqueness. The money could go towards insurance, trackdays and more tyres instead, of course.
Elsewhere, rivals include the much more powerful and startlingly good value Nissan 370Z (326bhp/£26,995) and the Audi TT 2.0 TFSI S Line (208bhp/£29,420) and, if running costs won’t excessively swing your buying decision, a second-hand Porsche Cayman comes into budget, some two-year-old examples nudging below £30,000. Costing a grand less than the TRD is one of our favourite small cars on sale, too, the 316bhp, rear-drive BMW M135i hot hatch.
Anything else I need to know?
At the time of writing, just 30 of the UK’s 250 TRDs remain. If you’re not quick enough to the showroom, or you want to pick and choose your extras rather than commit the whole £6500, they can be bought separately. An automatic transmission remains a £1500 option, albeit one we'd avoid unless absolutely necessary.
