IDK, I think they kind of cheaped out on the interior. The first gen Scion tC had nicer HVAC than his car for example and cost $16.5K, I know I had one. I think the cheapening is a recent trend with the Scion brand though not a reflection of the 86. All their first gen cars were nicer built than the second gen iterations. Even my wife, not a car person, commented on how cheap feeling the latest Scion cars are compared to the old ones at the last auto show.
Oh well, I won't be able to buy one anyway. I've been waiting since 2009, but my DD finally died and I had to replace it just weeks ago...all this info coming out was almost too much to take
Ended up with a MS3 instead.