Eric's Autos: 2024 Toyota GR86

General Motors used to sell two slightly different versions of the same thing -- the Pontiac Firebird and the Chevrolet Camaro. It was done that way because GM's Pontiac and Chevrolet divisions both needed a sporty car in their respective lineups, and the thought was it'd be less expensive (and so more profitable) to design one car and sell it two ways.

A similar dynamic is operative with regard to the Toyota GR86 and the Subaru BRZ -- with the difference being Toyota and Subaru are two different car companies.

What It is

The 86 is a two-door, four-seat, rear-wheel-drive sport coupe that is basically the same car as the Subaru BRZ. Both are powered by the same Subaru drivetrain and share most of their exterior panels, with a few styling tweaks to differentiate them.

So -- why buy one over the other?

Some may prefer a Toyota -- even if it's actually a Subaru under the skin. And some would rather a Subaru sold as one.

Also, there are some minor suspension tuning differences -- very similar to the differences, back in the day, between a Camaro and Firebird. The Toyota (like the Chevy) has a slightly firmer ride than the Subaru (and the Pontiac).

There are pricing differences too.

The Toyota version of this sportscar stickers for $28,300 to start, while the same basic car with a Subaru badge lists for $30,195.

A top-of-the-line Trueno (MSRP $29,300) comes with upgraded Brembo brakes, SACHS dampers and a set of 18x7.5-inch matte black wheels with high-performance summer tires, plus Black Trueno Edition side strips, hood wrap and red leather seat accents. The Trueno is only available in two exterior colors -- Halo White or Track Red -- and is limited to 860 examples, each of which gets a serialized dash plaque.

The Subaru BRZ is available with similar equipment in its top-of-the-line tS version, which lists for $35,345.

What's New For 2024

In addition to the limited-edition Trueno Edition, there's also a new performance package that's available for all trims. It includes the upgraded brakes, SACHS dampers and more aggressive wheel/tire package that comes standard with the Trueno.

What's Good

-- Backseats make up for small trunk.

-- Hardtop for those who don't want a soft-top.

-- The only boxer-engine sportscar available for less than just shy of $70,000 (the price of a new Porsche Cayman).

What's Not So Good

-- Hardtop only will disappoint those who want a soft-top.

-- Significantly thirstier than its main rival, the Miata.

-- "Driver assistance technology" is now standard rather than optional.

Under the Hood

Both the G86 and the BRZ have the same Subaru drivetrain, which consists of a 2.4-liter, horizontally opposed (boxer) four-cylinder engine that makes 228 horsepower without a turbo. It does not need one, because the twins are light enough (about 2,800 pounds) to be good performers with a naturally aspirated engine.

Each can get to 60 mph in about 5.4 seconds.

The boxer four is paired with a standard six-speed manual transmission, but an automatic is available for those who want one. It's a $1,100 standalone option.

Choosing the optional six-speed automatic also bumps up the gas mileage a bit -- to 21 mpg city and 31 mpg highway.

On the Road

Driving the GR86 versus the Subaru BRZ is both the same and different -- as it was in the '80s and '90s, when one drove a Chevy Camaro versus a Pontiac Firebird. In both cases, the engines (and transmissions) are identical, so there's no difference there. But there are differences in ride and handling, just as there were back then.

Like the Camaro, the GR86 has a firmer (even stiffer) ride than the BRZ, which has a ride more analogous to the Pontiac Firebird's softer-than-Camaro suspension tuning.

The long and short is as it was back then: The GR86 rides and feels more like a track-tuned car even though it isn't grippier than the BRZ. It just feels like it is. This is great if you like the harder feel of a track-tuned car but the BRZ's deceptively softer feel is a difference you may prefer.

Both the GR86 and the BRZ feel stronger than the Miata -- because they are. And because they are about the same weight as the Miata, which only weighs about 50 pounds less even though it is a smaller car and has only two seats. Probably because it's a convertible, and while the top doesn't weigh much, the bracing that's necessary to make up for the absence of the structure of a hardtop does.

At the Curb

There are fewer cosmetic differences to differentiate the GR86 from the BRZ than there were, back in the day, between the Chevy Camaro and the Pontiac Firebird. People who geek out on this kind of thing know that, in fact, the only exterior panels that the Camaro and Firebird shared (during these cars' heyday in the '70s, when my Firebird was made) were the roof and the trunk lid. Everything else was slightly different and specific to the respective brand.

The differences that matter today are those versus the twins' only major rival, the Miata. We have already gone over the soft-versus-hardtop differences. The other big difference is having four rather than just two seats. This is not so much a matter of having the capacity to at least hypothetically carry three rather than just one passenger, although that is not a small difference.

The bigger difference, arguably, is that the twins' rear seats make up for the lack of capacity in the trunk. With the Miata, you have no choice but to pack light because whatever doesn't fit in the little roadster's 4.6-cubic-foot trunk won't fit anywhere else. With the twins, you get a larger (6.3-cubic-foot) trunk to begin with, and if what you need to carry won't fit in there, you can always toss it in the rear, right behind you.

The Rest

One of the other differences between the Toyota and the Subaru is the options and packages each offers. The main one the Toyota is available with is the Limited Edition Trueno -- which resurrects memories of the '80s-era Corolla GT-S, which was called the Sprinter Trueno in Japan.

This version of the GR86 is visually very different from its Subaru twin, including the tS -- which has comparable brake, wheel/tire and other functional upgrades but is more demure looking than the Trueno, which gets impossible-to-miss contrast-color side stripes in addition to the mechanical upgrades.

The Bottom Line

It's nice to have choices. Especially when both are great ones.

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Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.