Test Drive: First Impressions/New Member
 

So after perusing this forum, I registered yesterday and test drove a 2020 86 Hakone Edition (6AT) this morning. This thread is more for those like me who are considering the 86 since all the current owners are very familiar with the 86.


A little background: My last sport coupe was an '07 E92 (6MT) which was probably the finest vehicle that I've ever owned. Circumstances changed and I've been commuting in a '14 CX-5 for the past 7 years but life keeps changing and will soon be able to get back into a sport coupe. Had my heart set on a MX-5 (6MT) but SWMBO nixed that idea. All you married guys know "Happy Wife = Happy Life". Anyway, always knew about the FR-S/BRZ and never really considered them but would like to stay within the same budget as the MX-5. That's what brought me here and these are some of my first impressions after the test drive.


Small on the outside but once you're in the driver's seat, seems to open up. Even with all the window stickers (wasn't prepped properly for a demo), you don't feel cramped and there's good 360 degree visibility. Most reviewers state the interior is dated but this is not your living room and I find it suited well for the business at hand: Driving Pleasure. Seats are firm but comfortable and I'm sure I would find the perfect driving position after a few hundred miles. Steering wheel both tilts and telescopes to fit your style. I like the dash layout where the digital speed is indicated in the center tach and you can view the temp gauges in the info screen to the right. HVAC controls are adequate and functional, A/C cools down cabin quickly. Didn't spend to much time with the 7" touchscreen but as I've read, the sound system is weak (maybe the levels were not set to my liking) but really not a concern since the music this car plays while motoring, makes up for it.


Anyone wanting a sport coupe does so because they desire a vehicle that is performance oriented and fun to drive. The 86 ticks off those check boxes. I really like the body style of the 86 and the driving experience doesn't disappoint, even with the 6AT. The transmission is very responsive to driver input and the paddle shifters add another level of enjoyment. The cabin noise was not intrusive, even with the sound tube, and I liked the sound from the exhaust. The 86 feels solid on the road and stays flat in the turns. Driving the 86 brought back the smile that had been absent since I sold the E92.


Of course, for a $30K car I would have liked to see Home Link in the rear-view mirror, blind-spot monitoring, turn signals in the side-view mirrors, a 3-flash turn signal setting but those are just niceties not necessities and don't detract from the overall package.


At this point, the 86 GT is at the top of the list. Will need to see the Oceanic Blue in person to help finalize the decision. This forum is a great resource and I'm sure I'll be doing some subtle mods.

Yep. This is the only sport coupe I've had an interest in for the past 25 years.

Right price-point. More than adequate performance.

I'm constitutionally opposed to holes in the roof.

Hey!

I also owned a cx5 and a supercharged NA miata. The 86 has worked out great for me as it is a much better daily than the miata and has all of the positive attributes. It feels just about as quick with a header and tune. I can fit 2 dogs in the back seat with a fair amount of groceries in the trunk. I also don't have to worry about a soft top. Wife drives a cx9 signature so if we need a ton of room we use her car.

Many of the short comings can be fixed with relatively easy mods. I think this is one of the only cars I haven't considered selling after a year of ownership.

Good luck with your decision!

Just bought a 2017 86. I've previously owned a Prelude, MKI MR2 and a 300ZX and a Mazdaspeed3. I also took a break from "fun cars" when my kids reached driving age and needed to share our cars. The Mazdaspeed3 was a 6 speed and probably the hardest MT car I've ever driven, and every car I've ever had was a manual. I didnt want the kids driving that, so I traded it for a regular Mazda3 Auto.

The 86 reminds me most of the MR2. Drives like a gokart. Not super fast, but super fun and gets 28-30MPG no matter how I seem to drive it. Even the interior is no nonsense like the MR2. On the base model, you get manual HVAC controls - my 86 MR2 was the last car I had with that. No comforts or luxury here. This car keeps it lightweight and strictly business.

Thanks! Looks like we're on similar paths....

We're a 2 CX-5 family, hers is a '19 and superior to my '14 so we will still have an SUV if I get the 86.

Those are major considerations as well as I'm partial to NA vs turbos.

The TapTurn Module would give you the quick 3-blink turn signal function back.

Go to the Subaru dealer, different options to chose from. (But still not many)

MT was a must in this car for me!

my '14 has a homelink mirror. loved it so much put one in the truck as well. not too hard of an install. check with the dealer, it might be an option.

3-flash is possible with a simple flasher relay change.

unfortunately there's only 2 types of passive blind spot monitoring systems available for this car.

1.https://ftspeed.com/part/uncategoriz...ated-2013-ft86

2.https://www.amazon.com/Ampper-Blind-.../dp/B01CV4ANCC

i use the 2nd one. i love it. no wiring, cheap, easy.


all of this is possible for less than $300

tap turn is no longer being sold. the creator passed away unexpectedly and the family has chosen to close up shop.

First off, welcome to the club StE92ve! [emoji3][emoji106] If you end up getting an 86 or BRZ you will be very happy, it sounds like you “get” this car. And you are either in love with it, or don’t like it. For me, there is some sort of magic with this car and the platform overall. There is literally nothing else like it. No it’s not fast, but it’s so light on its feet and direct. It reacts to driver inputs instantly. And the AT is a good transmission, it’s good enough not to spoil the fun. You are spot on about the driving position, the ergonomics, and the gauge cluster. I love the digital speed display in the tach. It’s so perfect. This is a car that is reminiscent of the great affordable Japanese sports cars of the past. And I almost can’t believe you can still buy one new, we are lucky it exists.


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You summarised the drive pretty well and indeed this is a nice car which gives a proper sports car feel without spending tickets.

One word : FUN!

The blind spot can be corrected if you set your door mirrors well. Normally what we do is tilt them enough to have both sides/flanks of the car in our line of vision when in the drivers seat.

I quote "To adjust the driver’s side-view mirror, place your head against the left side window and set the mirror so you can just barely see the side of the car in the mirror’s right side.
To adjust the passenger’s side-view mirror, position your head so that it is just above the center console. Set the mirror so you can just barely see the side of the car in the left side of the mirror."

The other way is to get wide angle mirror replacements, this gives you better view of the flanks when parking in tight spots as in you can see your rear tyres too.
Would be nice if there was a module to tilt the mirrors when going into reverse.

Thanks for all the good info. I've loved all my cars except for a '91 Jeep Cherokee that was bought for a specific purpose, towing a boat. As soon as I sold the boat in '94, I dumped the Jeep.


As mentioned previously, none of these "deficiencies" are deal breakers. We're just accustomed to these features in "modern" vehicles. My first car, a '73 Capri had 4MT, no A/C, no power anything but I thought it was the greatest thing on earth and was a blast to drive. Thankfully, we have great access to many aftermarket products to personalize our rides.

Diode Dynamics sells the TapTurn. Theyre $60. Its also designed to get rid of Hyperflash when you switch to LEDs.

Diode Dynamics' version is called SmartTap. TapTurn was a different product and as Soundman mentioned, its creator unfortunately passed away and it is no longer available. I can't speak for SmartTap, but I do have the TapTurn and it works great.

Thanks, I've looked online and see the subtle differences but with Toyota giving 2 years of included maintenance, it's a plus. Do you know if the BRZ WR Blue Pearl is the same as the 86 Oceanic Blue?

OH! Yea, SmartTap. Works great! Wig-Wag hazard lights and it does a cool double strobe and keeps the signal lights on after you lock the car. And you can set the amount of blinks when you tap the stalk.

>Those are two different shades of blue.<

>If the two years of maintenance is same as I got on my FRS...that means two years and 24,000 miles divided by 7500 miles for each oil and filter change. So the bottom line is that a customer gets three oil and filter changes for free. Not any kind of big deal. Paying cash, an oil and filter at dealership is about $80. P&L.<

Forget about any warranty, this vehicle does not need one. My car, bought new, has 68,000 miles on it. That's past the 5 year 60,000 mile warranty. Nothing has gone wrong with my car so far. This is not a German or American pos. This is a carefully manufactured/assembled vehicle, Made In Japan.

Let's complicate it more. There are options on how the car is going to handle, depending on model. The Hakone does not have some suspension pieces same as models with Brembo brakes and Sachs dampers, which are on or available on other models of 86 and BRZ. Some models have different tire/wheel sizes. Takes some research to sort out exactly what an individual wants. There's even a model with different type of Michelin tires. Subaru also has the tS model with it's specific options.

Personally, I drove a used FRS off a Toyota used car lot, before a months later purchase. Once I sat in the driver's seat I was hooked, even before driving it off the lot on a test drive. No other car in my lifetime fit as well. So, seems that was not the case for you. Maybe this is not the best fit for you. I'm 5'7" tall. The cabin of this car fits me like a glove as they say. I've never experienced that in any other car.

I'm certainly the oddball one here as to equipment. My car has manual climate controls and that's what I prefer. I'm thinking about what may be coming in the second generation of this car...I don't want anymore 'safety' stuff on a car than I already have on my current 2015 FRS. Surely the next generation will have more safety stuff as standard equipment. American driver's are getting lazy, they want a car to do things for them, so they don't have to pay strict attention.

I've thought about a new Mazda CX30 but hate that it does not have a touch screen for what I'd need to do operating some things. Instead, a round knob requiring quite a learning curve. Not for me. I'm 73yo. Hate learning new stuff.

Thanks

I've done a fair amount of research. The setup in the 86 GT is fine for me, the Hakone just happened to be the one the dealer had for the test drive. No need for Brembos & performance suspension. Since this will be a 12 month car here in the NE I will opt for AS instead of summer tires since I have no room to store a 2nd set of wheels/tires.

We're similarly sized. I never said the fit wasn't good, only that I need more seat time other than a test drive before I find the perfect driving position for me. I'm a bit OCD.



I love Mazdas and there are 5 in the family, 4 of them are CX-5's('13, '14, 2 x '19's)If I wanted another I might consider the CX-30 but the CX-5 is a much better value. But I want to get back into a sport coupe.


Thanks for all your input, Steve

Glad to see there's some representation in the forum of us "senior" citizens!

Learned through others on here: If you are going to drive these cars in winter, four snow tires are a must. Sorry, but that's the way it is. Many buy steel wheels for their snow tires.

I have not personally driven one of these in winter conditions. I'd though expect it would not be good without snows.
It is difficult to guess what car is going to be best in snow. Living in New York State at the time, I had a 2005 Ford Mustang coupe with V-6 engine, automatic transmission, and (at that time) the option of anti-lock brakes and traction control. I bought takeoff wheels for it and Michelin X-ice snows, four snows. Never before Had I owned a vehicle with four snows. I was still working at the time. That car was so much fun to drive in snow that I used any excuse to drive it weekends on short road trips. Though the car did not have limited slip diff, still a wonderful toy it was in winter. I was a kid again, not depressed with the gloom of winter.


I'm a retired used car tech at new car stealerhips. I'm a car nut as well.

I've owned about 60 cars in my lifetime, maybe 7 of those new cars. I do not have a lot of experience with sports cars. I do have a 15 year old Mustang GT, but it drives like a truck compared to these cars. If I were willing to spend the bucks, I'd be driving a Porsche Cayman, high end model...6 cyl with manual trans.

My local Toyota dealership also sells Honda. Couple of years ago I went there just to look around. The salesman who had previously sold me my Frs wanted me to drive a Honda Civic Si, which had manual trans. I took a test drive with him. After having owned my Frs for a while, this Civic seemed too big, too wide inside, and it was too quiet on the road. I could not easily hear it's engine rev. Realized then I'm addicted to the car I had already owned.

Welcome StE92ve,

Check this out:

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137260

With a CX-5 that will still be in the stable, no reason to drive the 86 in the snow. Besides, gotten to the point in my life where if it's more than a dusting with RWD, it stays in the garage. The AS are more for cold weather driving rather than snow. Summer tires are an accident waiting to happen if driven in temps below 40 degrees.


Cayman is nice but I've had a lifelong love of the 911. When I hit mega millions, the 911 as well as a few other choices will be in the stable.

Just out of curiosity: what other cars besides the 86 are you considering?

I was also looking at MX5 like the OP before buying my 2019 TRD SE last nov, what drove me over is the 7k off MSRP (28.5k OTD) incentive that time. This is not my primary car so I have only driven 1k miles so far.

Given I have own Civic Si, IS300, Integra GSR, Honda S2000 before, I was hoping this car would give me the closest feeling toward the high rev cars that I have own before.
My TRD SE feels sharp and responsive in corners, acceleration is relatively ok with its size I believe. But I still would say I still miss my S2000 the most.

The S was still the best car I have driven so far and I have slight doubt not picking up a used one again instead of the 86, or maybe a used elise which is in similar price range.

Besides the MX-5 which isn't going to happen, briefly looked at the Mini and Golf GTI but I'm partial to NA so anything with a turbo is automatically off the table. Mustang/Camaro too big and can't give the same driving experience that I'm looking for in a smaller sport coupe.

WR blue is a subaru exclusive shade of blue.

For all the other colours
Toyota just uses a different name for the same colour as its subaru counterpart, since its a Subaru colour.

Toyota Oceanic Blue is called Galaxy Blue Silica or something (not 100% sure what the name is)
Toyota Pavement grey (2020 colour) is Subaru Magnetite Grey metallic.
Toyota Asphalt grey (Used prior to 2020) Subaru Dark Grey Metallic.
Toyota Halo white i think is Subaru Crystal White Pearl
Toyota Whiteout is Subaru Satin white pearl

Dont know about the names of the other colours but you get the idea.

I think Hot Lava (lava orange), Neptune Blue and Hakone green are Toyota exclusive colours for the 86

Hakone Green vs. Oceanic Blue
 

StE92ve,

The Oceanic blue is almost identical to the earlier Ultramarine blue. The names changed in 2016. I sold my 2015 FR-S (Ultramarine) to purchase a 2020 Hakone Edition. Attached are pics of the two together:

Since you're in southern CA, you should look into an e85 tune. It'll do a lot to wake up the engine.

A friend of mine has a stock AP2 S2000. We swap cars often on weekend canyon runs and I prefer my FR-S in a lot of respects. Don't get me wrong, the AP2 is a great car too and I always enjoy driving it, but the FR-S with e85 and some minor weight reduction has a noticeably wider powerband and is very similar in overall speed. Both cars have their respective advantages but I really love driving the FR-S personally.

I had a MK6 GTI before this and traded for the FRS because it was boring. I'd probably be bored with the turbo 4 Camaro and Mustang.

You are getting a car at the end of its production run so expect it to last forever if you take car of it, there are few of them on the road so it will be relatively rare, and with the 2017 and on MYs they have fully dialed in the driving experience.

I have a 2013, so I am somewhat biased against the car. In many ways it has aged well, but there are some underlying issues with early models that make the car feel worse than it actually is, like being twitchy at the limit, having a few bad NVH issues with the engine, and generally riding like garbage. But if my car died or got hit, I would not hesitate to buy another one.

I live by Arcadia area and I near Irviningdale speedway they have E85, the only concern I have is I have not done enough research to know if e85 would have any negative effect on the engine reliability, but i may try ! :party0030:

For what it's worth, I haven't heard of anyone having engine issues because of e85. Every once in a while, I'll run a tank of 91 through it and I'll change out the oil a little sooner, but that's about it. The OFT e85 tune is quite good from what I've seen in my logs. Only wish it was available closer to tracks like Buttonwilllow!

The Integra GSR was so good!! My brothers girlfriend had one and we always borrowed it. It was black on black leather.
The Integra Type R is probably my all time favorite FWD car, I will own one some day! [emoji3] (Hopefully before prices get much higher) A good buddy of mine had one, it was broken into two times, and the red Acura badge was stolen at one point. He stopped driving it he was so worried about it getting stolen. This was in about 2003.


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E85 hasn't had any adverse effect on a car engine made after about 1980. They don't use the same natural rubber materials anymore so there is nothing for it to dry out and destroy. Modern poly, silicone and other synthetics stand up much better.

You need a tune to run high amounts of Ethanol of course.

One note is that pretty much all fuel in the US is e10-e15.

Agree an e85 tune really wakes up the car. OFT +e85 is best bang for your buck

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