As in the driving simulator. Door closed, press the button, clutch, gear in, clutch out and go. The GT86 is a driving device with a lot of feeling. Wherever you run your hand over fine leather, wood or brushed light alloy in cars that are twice or three times as expensive, the sports car from Japan has compassion for the wallet. Man doesn't need more. Performance, quality, design, clarity.
The four-cylinder is not a shy machine. Two liters of displacement with 200 horsepower warm up in front, it is snowing, it is Rose Monday and the jackets are geared for full throttle. The motive cars push themselves through Cologne on TV, food is thrown into the crowd, women are whirled into the air by men in brightly colored uniforms and caught again. The mood and mood are good.
Snow is pushed up here near Hamburg. Food is on the shelf and has to be exchanged for money. Women are not thrown; and if it does, that's a case for men in uniform plus ID. The mood, mood and calm prevail.
The Toyota sniffs on the ground, I would have better ordered the body kit and the lowering, the district would then have hired me as a snow removal service. So I will be able to experience the rear-wheel drive even better. An empty parking lot and an orderly slide are secured. Get out of Hamburg beforehand, the metropolists here are inedible in the rain and worse in the snow. You sneak or rush. Depending on your taste. In addition, there are said to be some carnivalists in the direction of the Baltic Sea who are actively moving around today. And with a Cologne license plate, I should be a welcome guest as a motive car driver. How do you say up here? Hellau? Alaaf? No idea.
There is little going on the A24 towards Berlin / Rostock. Later turn left onto the A1 towards Lübeck, then shortly before Lübeck onto the A20. Time enough, all courses of the GT86 are extended. The winter tires only allow 210 km / h, which is easy, especially since you can only drive 70 on 120 percent of the route anyway. Acceleration is more important. The Japanese is not a top speed specialist, he is a "The way is the destination" car. But then you should rather drive the country road, curves, especially long and open, are his area. Out - in. The clearly crisp steering, the grippy, small valance and the direct accelerator pedal leave enough scope for what is called sporty driving. You can feel that the sports car is in its sports car element. Direct, a little loud, but not pushy, the balance fits, the rear is always a little curious when accelerating out, as if it wanted to see first what comes behind the curve.
The 200 HP are always delivered very clean, whether on the highway or in the village. This means that the car always has enough power without having to pull the reins too much at low speed. Maybe the organ of the boxer engine is a bit annoying, but only if you like V8 or electric motors. Here and there you want a 6-cylinder that shines through smooth running and also through more torque. In the middle speed range you can feel the 205 Nm quite clearly, on the mountain, for example, more torque would make sense. Although there are people who claim that you can never have enough torque. For the experienced GT86 driver this means taking a run-up and changing gear earlier.
On the Baltic Sea coast - the fish in the water - the snow so white. A song two, three, four. A few photos to remember. The Toyota is now wearing a beard. The rear wheels run particularly clearly in the fresh snow; you could build donuts without abrasion. No jerks are seen. Only a few onlookers drop by. I call Hellau, no answer. The motive car rolls on, specialists have been saved on the iPhone especially for this Rose Monday excursion. Margit Sponheimer, Frankfurt icon of cheerfulness, sings "There is only such a man at the bakery". The lecture ends after three minutes. A hamburger is also just a person. And the carnivalists in the photo don't seem very enthusiastic.
On the way back to Hamburg experiences are sorted. The GT86 is a very good car. The weight-power-suspension ratio can cope with almost any driving situation. The GT does not need more horsepower nor all-wheel drive, it is content with little food (we measured consumption of around eight liters) and it can offer plenty of space for two people plus luggage. The front seats are comfortable, but also sporty. There are enough buttons, switches and instruments for the driver. The navigation system is sometimes overwhelmed. If you choose the route setting "shortest route", you have to expect field paths. But all of this does not hide the fact that the Toyota can do many things as well as a competitor that is twice as expensive. He also looks very good. Long nose, short ass. What doesn't really work with sparkling marie. They need long legs and a lot of humor. Finally they are thrown around. The GT86 is more likely to be thrown into the curve. Hellau, Alaaf, Kammelle, de Prinz Kütt.
Text: Ralf Bernert
Photos: Toyota / Ralf Bernert