Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB - Picked mine up today, finally! (Firestorm M/T, Dubai)

Just picked up my MT Firestorm 86, yay!

Was lucky to get one of the first batch of (manual) cars to come to Dubai. Put down my deposit over a month ago and the car came off the boat from Japan just this Thursday. Been driving a rental Yaris for the last few weeks after selling my last car so 'eager' is a bit of an understatement!

I have a lot riding on this car so to speak. Long story short - I've been lucky enough to have owned a string of interesting and highly modified cars in the past. I've had new & old cars, AWD, FWD & RWD cars, stock and modified cars, luxurious and stripped out cars, new, used and ancient cars.

Time's catching up with me though so I needed to find something that will hit my thrill seeking buttons for a few years without killing me in my wallet like so many other of my cars have ended up doing.

My NA6 Miata was by far the most fun car I've ever owned so my goal was to try and find something that captured the essence of that car as closely as possible, but with a warranty. The moment I heard that the 86 was coming to Dubai I ran down to the dealer, put down my deposit and began The Wait.

You'd think that coming straight out of a Yaris rental and into an 86 would be a sensory slam dunk but to be honest I was actually terrified that I wouldn't like the 86! This car had a LOT to live up to based on my past experiences with cars, not to mention the massive media hype that's been surrounding this car.

So yes, delivery day came and terrified I was!

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7584312/my%20cars/86.jpg

That lasted right up until I saw the car for the first time. Looked amazing in the flesh! Small but not cramped or cartoonishly tiny like an Elise. Nothing at all SUV-like about the ride height as the car looks in the photos. Even the 16s we get here looked great!

The interior fit me like a glove the moment I plunked my bottom into the plastic-covered bucket seat. A few quick adjustments to the seating position and it was almost Zen-like perfection. I intuitively knew where all of the controls were and the steering wheel and shifter fell right into my hands. Pedal position is bang on perfect and the seats are hands down the best production car seats I've ever sat in. They hold you in place almost like a race bucket but are incredibly comfy, well shaped and not cramped at all.

Of course I haven't leaned on the engine yet, or pushed anywhere near the limits yet handling-wise but the drive home confirmed to me that I'd made the right choice. The steering is alive with feel yet not overly sensitive. You can feel the chassis respond immediately to steering inputs, begging you to play. Turn in is astoundingly good. The overall feeling that comes to mind is that the car feels like a perfectly trained yet eager puppy - perfectly obedient to every command and just waiting for you to let it off its leash and toss it a frisbee.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the suspension. Was worried that it'd either be too soft and wallowy on the one hand or too hard on the other. On the way home from the dealership I was blown away by just how well the car managed to feel duct taped to the road while also handling some rather nasty construction areas and speed bumps with zero jarring or creaking whatsoever!

It's early days still, and I'm planning on a gradual break-in. I won't be granny driving it but I won't be hooning around either. No mechanical attitudes towards breaking in a new car. I simply like to get to know my cars steadily and reckon it makes sense to treat them like I've just paid a whole ton of money.

Will update this thread with driving impressions as I get the car out to some twisties, AutoX events and HPDEs.

For now, just plain happy.

For reference, here's my roster of past cars in the order I owned them. I reckon that a lot of people will judge the 86 in the context of other cars they've owned so why not wh0re some snaps.

:burnrubber:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7584312/my%20cars/clio.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7584312/my%20cars/miata.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7584312/my%20cars/evo.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7584312/my%20cars/R32.jpg

Just in case anyone assumes I'm some kind of rich Dubai S.O.B., here's a pic of my very first car when I was like 18 or something - a 1991 Ford Tempo.

;)

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7584312/my%20cars/tempo.jpg