2019 Toyota GR86

MY2019 is a first-generation (ZN6) car, sold as the 'Toyota 86' (the GR86 name arrived with the 2022 second generation). Every grade — 86, 86 GT and the 2019-only TRD Special Edition — uses the 2.0L FA20 naturally aspirated boxer-four. The volume 6-speed manual is rated at 205 hp, and the automatic is detuned to 200 hp. 2019 carries the powertrain over from the 2017 refresh unchanged.

156 lb-ft is among the lowest torque figures in the coupe segment, and the high-revving FA20 makes it far up the rev range. Reviewers note a well-known dead spot around 4,000 rpm. The second-generation FA24 later brought this down to 184 lb-ft at 3,700 rpm.

Toyota did not publish a US 0–60 claim for the 2019 86. The instrumented figure widely cited for the 2019 manual is 6.7 s, with the automatic far slower at 8.3 s. Other outlets report times ranging from the low 6s to 6.9 s for the TRD SE. That is brisk enough for a lightweight sports car, but it trails almost every coupe rival.

The FA20 responds crisply and has no turbo lag, but it is weak in the midrange, with a pronounced torque sag near 4,000 rpm. Reviewers also call it loud and coarse in the cabin. That is a clear step below the 2.4L FA24 in the second generation, which is rated 55.

The standard close-ratio 6-speed manual is the volume configuration, and reviewers praise it for tight gating, well-spaced ratios and a light clutch that is easy in traffic. The optional 6-speed automatic with paddles works competently but costs 5 hp and roughly 1.5 s to 60 mph. The rating sits a notch below the second generation's 84, whose manual is described as more precise.

Every 2019 86 grade is rear-wheel drive only, with no all-wheel-drive configuration offered. That is intrinsic to the car's purpose, but this rubric scores it at the bottom. The limited-slip differential is partial mitigation.

The lineup has one engine and no alternative: the 2.0L FA20 boxer. The only choice is a 6-speed manual (205 hp) or a 6-speed automatic (200 hp). There is no turbo, hybrid, PHEV or EV variant, and the TRD Special Edition adds only chassis, brake and exhaust parts.

The volume 6-speed manual's EPA rating for the first-generation 2.0L FA20 is 24 MPG combined. That is 2 MPG better than the larger 2.4L second-generation GR86 manual (22 MPG), but still near the bottom of the coupe band. No hybrid assist or stop-start is fitted.

This is the EPA city rating for the volume manual. The high-revving naturally aspirated boxer has nothing to recover in stop-and-go driving, and the automatic is 3 MPG better on this cycle.

The manual's 28 MPG highway rating sits only just above the floor of the coupe highway band. The automatic's taller top gear is worth 4 MPG on this cycle.

EPA publishes no range figure for gasoline vehicles (record 40526 lists range 0). This figure is derived from the 13.2-gallon tank and the EPA combined rating for the volume manual. A small tank and modest economy keep the 86 near the bottom of the coupe range band. Confidence is MEDIUM because the figure is calculated, not published.

Modest economy plus EPA's premium-fuel price assumption puts the volume manual above the top of the coupe cost band. This figure follows EPA's current fuel-price assumptions as much as the car itself.

EPA lists the 2019 86 on premium fuel, and its 12.5:1-compression FA20 is rated on premium. That puts it in the 'premium required' band. It sits at the top of that band because nothing exotic is needed: no E85, diesel or charging setup.

NHTSA never assigned an overall star rating to the 2019 Toyota 86 (the first-generation car sold before the GR86 name) because side-impact testing was not conducted; the frontal and rollover tests it did complete produced 4 and 5 stars, so the 4-star frontal figure is the best available proxy.

IIHS rated the 2019 Toyota 86 Good in moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints, but only Acceptable in the driver-side small overlap test, and front crash prevention was not available to test; no Top Safety Pick award for 2019 (the twin only earned TSP+ after the 2022 redesign).

The 2019 86 offers none of AEB, adaptive cruise, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring or rear cross-traffic alert on any trim (86, GT, GT Black, TRD Special Edition); Toyota Safety Sense was never fitted to this Subaru-built first-generation car. Only the backup camera and stability control are standard.

No AEB hardware is fitted or offered on any 2019 86 trim, so IIHS ran no front crash prevention test — there is no performance to rate, day or night.

Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are not offered on any 2019 86 trim; the driver relies on the low beltline and mirrors alone.

No lane-departure warning or lane-keep assist hardware exists on the 2019 86, confirmed by NHTSA's equipment fields.

Only conventional (non-adaptive) cruise control is offered; no adaptive cruise or highway-assist feature exists on any 2019 trim.

No hands-free driving system exists for this vehicle; it lacks even the base ADAS sensors such a system would require.

LED low/high-beam headlights are standard across the 2019 86 lineup since the 2017 refresh, but there is no adaptive lighting or auto high beam, and IIHS lists no headlight rating for this car, so real-world performance is unverified.

Thin pillars, a low cowl and a generous glasshouse give the 86 better sightlines than muscle-car rivals like the Mustang or Camaro, though the sloping rear and small mirrors limit over-shoulder views and only a basic backup camera compensates.

The 2+2 rear has LATCH anchors and top tethers in both outboard positions, but access through the long doors is awkward and rear legroom is so limited that a rear-facing seat is barely workable and the seat behind a tall driver is effectively unusable.

MY2019 is the first-generation (ZN6) car, sold then as the 'Toyota 86'; the GR86 name arrived with the 2022 redesign. It is a 2+2 coupe, so four seats in name, but the rear pair is for emergencies, which puts it at the floor of the coupe band.

Front headroom is low, as expected under a low sports-coupe roofline. It matches the Subaru BRZ twin and is unchanged across the 2017–2020 cars.

Front legroom is mid-pack for the coupe segment, and tall drivers fit with the seat set low.

On paper, 35.0 in of rear headroom is mid-pack among coupes, but the sloping roof makes it hard to use for adults.

29.9 in of rear legroom is very tight in absolute terms, and the seat is unusable behind a tall front occupant. It still sits about mid-band against other 2+2 coupes with similarly token rear seats.

The trunk is small, near the bottom of the coupe band. A one-piece fold-down rear seatback opens a pass-through that famously fits four track tires.

Interior storage is sparse: small door pockets, a shallow console bin, a small glovebox and awkwardly placed cupholders. The fold-down rear seatback is the one practical trick.

The sport bucket front seats are well bolstered and supportive for spirited driving, but firmly padded and manually adjusted. The GT adds leather/Grandlux trim with heating. The rear seats are unusable for adults beyond very short trips.

The ride is firm and busy over broken pavement, a deliberate trade for sharp handling. Reviewers call it choppy on rough roads, and the TRD Special Edition's SACHS dampers stiffen it further.

Thin sound deadening lets in plenty of road and wind noise, and the boxer engine is loud and coarse at highway speeds. The cabin is notably loud even for the segment.

The base 86 gets manual air conditioning and no heated seats. Dual-zone automatic climate control and heated front seats are reserved for the GT and TRD Special Edition. There is no heated steering wheel, remote start or ventilation on any grade.

For 2019 the car was sold as the Toyota 86 (the GR86 name arrived with the 2022 second generation); the base manual coupe is the cheapest configuration.

The GT (leather/Alcantara seats, heated seats, 7-inch display, push-button start) is taken as the typically-equipped volume configuration; the base car is close behind and the TRD SE was capped at 1,418 units.

Simple naturally aspirated FA20 boxer and RWD drivetrain keep costs moderate; first two years of scheduled service are covered by ToyotaCare. Mechanically identical to the 2019 BRZ, which carries the same estimate.

The 86/GR86 nameplate holds value far better than the sports-car average, though the first-generation 86 retains somewhat less than the current GR86's outlier figure.

Standard Toyota basic coverage, at the short end of the segment band.

Standard Toyota powertrain coverage, at the short end versus rivals offering 10-year terms.

ToyotaCare covers factory scheduled maintenance for 2 years/25,000 miles plus 2 years of unlimited-mileage 24-hour roadside assistance — a real advantage over the Subaru BRZ twin, which includes none; the later GR86's NASA track membership perk did not exist in 2019.

$29,715 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (72% retained, or about $21,395) leaves about $8,320 in depreciation. Add the projected $5,500 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $13,820 in total.

The 2019 Toyota 86 (sold as the '86' in 2019, before the second-generation car became the GR86 for 2022) is a carry-over year of the first-generation ZN6 twin of the Subaru BRZ: a naturally aspirated boxer, conventional 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic, no turbo, CVT or hybrid system. That low-complexity layout has tracked above the sports-car norm, though RepairPal publishes no formal rating for the 86 because of limited data.

Toyota sat in the top tier of both major dependability studies in the 2019 period: top three in Consumer Reports' brand reliability rankings and top three in J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. The car is engineered and built by Subaru, so the Toyota badge somewhat overstates its share in the brand's record.

There is exactly one recall on the 2019 86: the Denso low-pressure fuel pump campaign shared across many Subaru-built models. A pump failure can stall the engine, so it is safety-relevant, but it came from a supplier and is not systemic to this car. The 2013–2016 valve-spring recall does not reach this model year.

The naturally aspirated 2.0L FA20 (4U-GSE) and the Aisin 6-speed transmissions had years of fleet history by 2019, with no widespread failure pattern. The turbo FA20DIT's ringland and detonation problems do not apply to this engine. Minor known issues are a high-pressure fuel pump chirp, synchro wear when the car is driven hard, and early-build RTV sealant debris in the oil pan.

The cabin is the 86's consistent weak point for reviewers. Hard, scratchy plastics cover the doors and lower dash, and the switchgear feels low-rent. The suede-trimmed dash on the GT trim and the well-placed driving position offset this only partly.

Owner forums and reviews of this generation show no pattern of panel-gap, rattle or assembly complaints, and the Subaru Gunma plant builds the car consistently. This score rests on the absence of complaints, because no model-specific initial-quality score was found.

After Scion was folded into Toyota in 2017, the 86 was sold and serviced through Toyota's network of roughly 1,200 US dealers, one of the densest in the country. Its mechanicals are Subaru-designed, but the car's routine service is ordinary Toyota dealer work.

The 86/BRZ/FR-S platform has one of the largest aftermarket ecosystems of any modern sports car, and parts are shared across three badges, so they are cheap and plentiful. Routine maintenance and repair costs are in line with mainstream compacts.

Every 2019 86 grade uses a 7-inch Display Audio touchscreen, which sits at the floor of the coupe band.

The aftermarket-style Pioneer-sourced head unit is small, with dated graphics and slow responses. With no phone projection to fall back on, owners are stuck with its interface. Physical climate knobs help.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were not offered on any 2019 86 grade, wired or wireless. Phone integration is limited to Bluetooth and the Aha app.

Native navigation with push-to-talk voice commands is an option, not standard. The base unit offers only basic Bluetooth phone voice functions.

An eight-speaker Pioneer system with HD Radio is standard on every grade, which is respectable for the price. No premium upgrade is offered.

The gauges are analog, led by a large central tachometer. The GT and TRD SE add a 4.2-inch TFT multi-information display with a G-meter, stopwatch and power curves; the base car gets a simpler readout.

The 2019 86 has no over-the-air update capability; its head unit and vehicle software are updated by the dealer only.

There is no embedded telematics or Toyota companion-app remote function (remote start, lock, locate) for the Subaru-built 86. Aha is only a streaming integration.

Device power is a single legacy USB-A input plus a 12V outlet. There is no USB-C, no wireless charging pad and no rear-seat power.

The base 86 uses remote keyless entry and a turn key. Smart-key proximity entry with push-button start is standard on the GT and TRD SE, and no grade offers remote start or phone-as-key.

A low-resolution backup camera shown on the 7-inch screen is the only parking aid, with no sensors or surround view on any grade.

No head-up display is offered on any 2019 86 grade.

Two doors, a cramped rear-seat opening and 29.9 in of rear legroom make car-seat installation and daily loading of kids genuinely difficult. The outboard LATCH anchors exist but are a struggle to use.

IIHS crash results are decent: Good in moderate overlap, side, roof and head restraints, and Acceptable in driver small overlap. But no grade offers AEB, blind-spot monitoring, lane assist or adaptive cruise.

Near-unusable rear seats, a 6.9 cu ft trunk, a loud cabin and no rear amenities leave no realistic road-trip capacity for four.

The small footprint, light clutch and good forward sightlines make it easy to place in traffic. The firm ride, noisy cabin, low seating and manual-majority mix add fatigue in stop-and-go driving.

EPA ratings of 24 mpg combined for the manual and 27 for the automatic are about average for a sports coupe. Premium fuel is recommended, while Toyota maintenance and insurance costs stay modest.

A compact 166.7-in footprint, a 36.1 ft turning circle and a standard backup camera make it easy to park. The low seating and lack of sensors are minor drawbacks.

There is no tow rating, cargo space is negligible and ground clearance is low, so it has essentially no work capability.

This low-slung sports coupe has no work or fleet track record. The low score reflects that the use case does not apply, not a specific fragility.

It has no tie-downs, bed, onboard power or upfit ecosystem, and negligible cargo space.

Supportive front seats and a 13.2-gal tank give roughly 315 miles of highway range with the manual. The firm ride, intrusive road and engine noise, and lack of adaptive cruise or any driver assist make long hauls tiring.

Rear-wheel drive only, about 4.9 in of ground clearance, and no roof rails or tow rating leave it pavement-bound. A dealer roof-rack accessory is about the only provision.

The fold-down rear seatback opens a long pass-through, famously big enough for a set of four spare wheels and tires, but the 6.9 cu ft trunk, small opening and lack of roof rails or hitch limit what it can carry.

A low centre of gravity, 53/47 weight split, roughly 2,800 lb curb weight, a standard limited-slip differential and strut-tower bracing give sharp, adjustable, well-balanced handling. It is a benchmark among affordable RWD coupes, despite modest-grip tires on the base car.

The quick, naturally weighted electric steering, at 2.48 turns lock to lock, is precise and unusually communicative. Reviewers consistently single it out as a highlight.

The standard ventilated discs give linear, firm pedal feel and good stopping power for a light car. The Brembo upgrade (12.8/12.4-in rotors) is limited to the 1,418-unit TRD Special Edition, not the volume trim.

The naturally aspirated FA20 responds crisply with no lag. However, a well-documented torque dip around 4,000 rpm disrupts its delivery, and the engine must be revved hard to make progress.

The flat-four has some character, helped by a sound tube that pipes induction noise into the cabin, but it turns coarse and thrashy at high rpm and drones at highway cruise.

Toyota's published 36.1 ft turning circle is on the tight side of the coupe band, where lower is better.

A low hip point, a small-diameter wheel with tilt and telescope, and well-placed pedals for heel-toe give an excellent sports-car driving position. A dated head unit and the low roof complicate entry, exit and the over-shoulder view.

The enthusiast press widely regards it as one of the purest, most engaging affordable sports cars on sale. It is light, balanced and playful at legal speeds, and the 2019 TRD Special Edition sharpened it further.

The base 86 includes LED headlights, a 7-inch touchscreen with backup camera, limited-slip differential and 17-inch wheels for about $27,600 delivered; it lacks any driver-assist suite on the manual car and the GT is needed for heated seats and push-button start.

One of the cheapest manual RWD sports coupes on sale, undercutting Supra/Z-class rivals by well over $10,000, but its 205 hp trails the similarly priced Mustang EcoBoost and Camaro on power per dollar.

Three trims (base, GT, limited TRD Special Edition) with manual or automatic on each regular trim, but a single engine, single body and RWD only — a narrow lineup typical of the niche.

A low-volume niche seller late in its generation, well behind the Mustang and Camaro and far below its Scion FR-S launch-year volumes.

Toyota's reputation for durability and resale supports the car, and the 86 carries an AE86-derived enthusiast following, though the Toyota badge itself is not an aspirational sports-car brand.

Soft late-cycle sales gave dealers room to discount, and Toyota ran periodic financing offers, but no specific 2019 86 incentive data was retrieved.

2019 is the seventh model year of the first generation (launched for 2013, lightly refreshed for 2017), with the all-new second-generation GR86 arriving for 2022.

Reviewers consistently praised its balance, steering and slick manual but just as consistently criticized the underpowered, coarse FA20 and its midrange torque dip, so it was an enthusiast favorite rather than a comparison-test winner by 2019.