86 GT Black to 22' GR.. Is it worth it?
 

Hey everyone, I hope you've all been well. Been pretty inactive on here the past few years but with the excitement floating around the GR I've been keeping an eye on the forums again.

I have the opportunity coming up in a few days to purchase a 22' GR86 Premium Package 6MT for MSRP @ $32,000 + Tags and Tax.

Without having driven one, for those who owned both is the hype worth starting over with the new platform? Curious to see opinions from those who have owned both.


Edit:

For a bit more context, my 86 is clean title however is up there on mileage about to clock 70,000 miles. It does have prior accident history. How it sits I know I can get out of it for roughly $21,500 with how wild the market is at the moment.

Drive it and make a decision. Financially likely does not make sense pending your miles, but new cars are fun. So it’s very subjective.

is it worth starting over? the motor makes more power, but i feel the vehicle itself loses some of the character of the previous 86 with all the tech and digital dashboard.

Alot of people who made the switch actually came from earlier first gen models, so like 13-14 or so, and they may have been modded. So alot of the impressions of refinement and all that are much more pronounced than the 17+ cars.

I've only sat in the new one and it doesnt feel all that much different than ours (I have a 2020 GT, so the uplevel interior). It feels newer, but i cant really say it feels "better". Faux suede is used in the same spots between the first and second gen, the hard plastics used throughout feels the same, theres a handful of soft touch material used in places the first gen had hard touch (specifically the doors and the covered center console/armrest), some of the switchgear feels better (the HVAC controls have a more satisfying clickiness to its rotation than the first gen's dual hvac knobs, the second gen toggle switches feel more like a toggle shaped button than the first gen's toggle style switch)

The powertrain seems to be a pretty substantial upgrade. I have no comment on that though, never drove one.

To sum it up i think it just feels the same, but better. You'd have to decide for yourself if its worth an upgrade or not. To me, I don't REALLY think its enough if you had a 17+ model with the upgraded interior. Base model or pre-17 is probably easier to justify a swap. Or perhaps the motors itself is enough to justify a switch. (i guess it depends on how much you loved or hated the FA20).

Yep anybody going from a base FRS to a GR86 is going to feel like it is leaps and bounds better as far as amenities and interior go. Anybody going from a top trim '17+ 86 or BRZ is just going to find the changes to be an incremental or no real "improvement" at all.

Although many of the new buyers seem to have come from early versions there are also a whole pile of "I never bought a first gen because they were crap" guys around. The internet crucified the first gen after the first couple of years and many developed a bias without ever even driving one much less owning it.

I switched from 2013 FR-S to 2022 BRZ. It’s a significant upgrade in terms of refinement and power, but pretty much the same otherwise. Comes down to how much you value those things. A lot of the refinement improvements you can’t really tell until you drive them both. Things like the softer suspension damping, stiffer chassis structure, smoother gearshift, smoother engine note, slightly softer seats, etc. They’re all things you’ll only notice when driving, particularly back to back. There’s this video of Tsuchiya driving the 2nd gen. He keeps referring to the 2nd gen as a Lexus. Kind of an exaggeration but having owned my 2nd gen for a few months, I can tell what he was getting at.

If power and refinement are important to you, it’ll be a solid upgrade. It’s not all positives. The steering feel has worsened a bit and some of the raw/simple character of the 1st gen is gone, which I loved and miss at times. Anyway if you have any specific questions, I’m happy to try to answer for you.

1st gen steering "feel" or "feedback" is better than 2nd gen.

My 86 is a 18' Pushing 70k w/ accident history unfortunately.

I got a great deal for it at the time completely stock and transferred a lot of parts over from my prior build. I have the ability to sell it and get out of it for roughly $21,750, I would be breaking even on parts and the actual cost of the 18' 86. I'd be putting about $16,500 down on the GR86 and saving roughly $5,000 to $6,000 of what I'd make back from the 86 specifically for Wheels, Tires, Tint, Exhaust etc for the GR.

I don't do a whole lot of driving, so the mileage regardless of car is going to creep. Reliability isn't a concern. I just know how daunting the value can be once you start to creep up on these cars as my 13' I sold around 90k.

It's worth noting that it's not a different platform, and you don't have to start over with mods. Your current wheels, tires, suspension, cat back, etc. all can be put on the new car. If you want to start fresh with a new style, definitely understandable, but don't go into it thinking you have to sell everything from the old car because much of it will fit.

Basically decide is it worth having that payment or not. I own an 04 WRX with 152k that has not had a payment in 15 years. I also own a 16 BRZ with no payments for 2 years. No payments is nice, but so is a new car.

There is no car that is worth it! The question is do you want it and can you afford it. Unless you want to send me your financials only you can answer that question.

err no,

It's a Subaru. Come back when they do minor refresh for the 2nd gen as you own the update version of 1st gen.