Toyota GR86 coupe wins Carwow Car of the Year award for driving pleasure
The Toyota GR86 remains a class apart as a performance machine that’s all about the pure joy of driving. The coupe has added the Carwow Car of the Year Award for driving pleasure to the impressive collection of honours it has received since its launch in spring 2022.
Mat Watson, Head of Content at Carwow, said: “The GR86 is everything you’d want it to be; it’s the kind of car you’re desperate to just take out for a drive. Get it on a twisty road and it’s awesome. Plus, it’s a Toyota so reliability should be guaranteed.”
GR86 is the third model in Toyota’s “power of three” GR road-car line-up alongside GR Supra and GR Yaris. As a successor to the acclaimed GT86, it benefits directly from the technical expertise of Toyota Gazoo Racing, true to Toyota’s guiding principle of developing ever-better cars for the road through motorsport.
The coupe is the entry point to the GR range, bringing the rewards of sports-focused handling and performance to a wider audience. It uses the classic configuration of a front-mounted engine and rear wheel drive. The power unit is a naturally aspirated, 2.4-litre, four-cylinder “boxer” unit, producing 231bhp and delivering smooth, powerful acceleration across the rev band. Customers have a choice of manual or automatic transmission.
Chassis development focused on reducing weight and lowering of the car’s centre of gravity to secure sharp handling and responsiveness. Wide use of aluminium and other light-but-strong materials and strategic strengthening of the car’s frame ensures greater rigidity all-round. The suspension systems are optimised for handling performance, while the designers received support from their motorsport colleagues in developing aerodynamic features for the bodywork.
Carwow is one the largest and most influential sources of consumer motoring news and information, operating a YouTube channel with more than eight million subscribers.
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