EVO + Autoexpress: Car Of The Year 2012

[Boxer-4]

EVO











Soup, Saturday at 4:30 PM
#1

Hofmeister and picsoubmw like this.


Soup Well-Known Member

AUTOCAR

[Turbowned]

Haha, WINNING! I thought EVO didn't particularly like the GT86, IIRC? Oh well, I don't care!

The GT86 proves that you don't have to spend a zillion dollars to have great fun!

[JDMenrique]

[JDMenrique]

BTW if you go back an look at all the winners since '98, no car is under $85k.

[RaceR]

Well, in the EVO magazine the 86 did not reach the top 6. It was in Autoexpress it won.

Here are the EVO magazine results. And the winner/winners were not cheap!
1) Pagani Huayra
1) Lotus Exige V6 (tie)
3) Porsche Boxster S
4) Mclaren MP4-12C
5) Porsche 911 Carrera
6) BMW M135i (8 speed auto)

Other contenders that didn't make the final shootout:
-Mercedes C63 AMG Black
-Alpina B3 GT3
-Morgan 3 Wheeler
-Toyota GT 86
________________________

Autocar results:


Autoexpress results:
1) Toyota GT86
2) Porsche Boxter
3) Ford Focus ST
4) Porsche 911
5) Suzuki Swift Sport
6) Audi RS4
7) Mercedes SL63 AMG
8) Lotus Exige S
9) Mini JCW Roadster
10) Morgan Plus 8

[mckobus]

This may be and older already posted link but for the sake of those who have missed it:
http://www.toyota.co.uk/bv/CC2/GT86/...ear_Review.pdf

After all do we really care for others opinions. Bought the car for myself not for them :P

[Pete]

Wow that green Lotus is incredibly sexy to me. I would drive one if they were giving them away.

[DarkSunrise]

EVO seems to be backtracking from their initial negative review of the 86. Obviously they'd rather swallow thumbtacks than name the 86 their car of the year, but they're coming around... slowly.

Originally Posted by mckobus

This may be and older already posted link but for the sake of those who have missed it:
http://www.toyota.co.uk/bv/CC2/GT86/...ear_Review.pdf

After all do we really care for others opinions. Bought the car for myself not for them :P

Yeah I've been enjoying driving this car a lot. It's like a Miata in that it's not the car to buy if you care about impressing others with horsepower specs. Last I heard, guys in Civic forums were looking down on the 86 for being slow. But, eh, who cares?

[Draco-REX]

eCOTY is always a great read. I look forward to it each year. The thing is, eCOTY is more of an overall Car of the year, not a "Driver's Car" of the year. So the 86 had a huge hill to climb. I'm not surprised it didn't make the final cut. There are a lot of boxes that it just doesn't tick. And it's big giant-killer (feel/price) doesn't factor into eCOTY.

I'm very surprised it beat the Cayman in Autocar's test. But I'm not complaining.

I'd be very interested to see how the STI/TRD factory versions do since they would hopefully come on better rubber and have a small bump in power. I think the stock Michelins are a big factor here. They're great for hooning, but pretty poor for anything else.

[RaceR]

Originally Posted by Draco-REX

I'd be very interested to see how the STI/TRD factory versions do since they would hopefully come on better rubber and have a small bump in power. I think the stock Michelins are a big factor here. They're great for hooning, but pretty poor for anything else.

I think the stock tires are a factor to the big success of the twins.
They don't have enough power to easily overcome the grip level of performance tires. And if they had performance tires, the car would still not be competitive against powerful sportscars.
With Primacy HP tires the car focuses on fun, and that's why it scores so high in all subjective tests. That is why it is such a great driver cars. It was built for fun, of course it can do speed and laptimes. But so can many other cars.
The car reviewers cant really complain about lap times, because its not the intented purpose of the stock cars. That makes them focus so much more on the fun part. And the stock tires makes the car more lively and fun.

The stock tires are great in terms of road noise and fuel economy. They are great for fun, they work great on the track.
Adding tires that would knock off 1-2 seconds on a lap would just do that one thing. Add more grip, add compromises on everything else.
The twins have won huge car tests in: TopGear, Autocar, Autoexpress and scored very well in many other tests.
I think the tire choice only helped it with those achievements.

[Draco-REX]

Originally Posted by RaceR

I think the stock tires are a factor to the big success of the twins.
They don't have enough power to easily overcome the grip level of performance tires. And if they had performance tires, the car would still not be competitive against powerful sportscars.
With Primacy HP tires the car focuses on fun, and that's why it scores so high in all subjective tests. That is why it is such a great driver cars. It was built for fun, of course it can do speed and laptimes. But so can many other cars.
The car reviewers cant really complain about lap times, because its not the intented purpose of the stock cars. That makes them focus so much more on the fun part. And the stock tires makes the car more lively and fun.

The stock tires are great in terms of road noise and fuel economy. They are great for fun, they work great on the track.
Adding tires that would knock off 1-2 seconds on a lap would just do that one thing. Add more grip, add compromises on everything else.
The twins have won huge car tests in: TopGear, Autocar, Autoexpress and scored very well in many other tests.
I think the tire choice only helped it with those achievements.

As someone who has gone from the stock Michelins to 235 wide Advan AD08s, I will choose to disagree with you overall. I do agree that the stock tires add a lot of "fun factor". But upping the grip really transformed the car. Everything that makes the car great, IMO, was improved with better rubber. Every part of a corner, from entry to exit was improved in both feel and capability. Braking improved, and so did launch. And I can still get the rear to step out at will, same as the stock tires. The only difference is that the plateu where the tires begin to let go and are truly gone is a bit narrower. Something that is perfectly acceptable in a more performance-oriented versin such as the STI/TRD versions will be.

And if they add a little negative camber in the front along with good tires? That would be icing on the cake. This chassis is exceptional for the price, and I think a good set of tires emphasizes that rather than detracts from it.

[Lasse]

Originally Posted by Draco-REX

And if they add a little negative camber in the front along with good tires? That would be icing on the cake. This chassis is exceptional for the price, and I think a good set of tires emphasizes that rather than detracts from it.

I agree. GT86 chassis balance, steering wheel, engine responsiveness and so on are the keys for victory. Not the prius tires. If the gt86 would have real performance tires, it would spank most of it's competitors on track, but nothing else doesn't change that much. Anyhow those michelins have enough grip, so you cant really just spin the wheel and make long slides..

[jesperswe]

Of course there are better and faster cars out there, but as soon as you take the price into consideration, the GT86 is the best choice if you are after a great driving experience (unless you are a millionare)

[Nevermore]

Is it just me, or did the 86 still get the most individual pictures?

[Draco-REX]

Originally Posted by Nevermore

Is it just me, or did the 86 still get the most individual pictures?

Probably because, despite what they didn't like about it, it's a giggle to drive. You've got all these serious performance cars with tons of power and loads of grip, then there's this car that you have actively drive like a madman to match the others, all the while doing crazy slides and the car just eats it up and eggs you on for more. The 86 may not be the best ride in evo's estimation, but I bet they think it's one of the most entertaining.

[Captain Snooze]

[rant]
Take any one consumer product. A particular camera,car or stereo system. Each particular model/version of that item can not be all things to all people.This is why we have choice. The fact that Evo didn't rate the 86 highly is fine. Their criteria is just one example of the differences people can have when choosing a product.

The only thing a product has to do is please/suit the purchaser.
[/rant]

[dem00n]

I'd take the Pagani Huayra over any of those cars...

It has one of the most unique sounding engines i have ever heard in my life, nothing will ever be like that car, just like the Zonda its legendary.