EVO First Drive Review of Toyota 86 - Calls it Brilliant!

[aliphian]

Originally Posted by val_lixembeau

It's not that hard to learn to get from point A to point B using a manual transmission. After that, learning to drive better can be part of the joy of owning the car.

Well put. I bought my first 240sx with hardly any manual experience. It was a great time figuring that thing out.

[Aki]

Originally Posted by Ikaros

Guess I better learn to drive a manual. I have talked to some of my friends who drives a manuals, and although they say it's fun to switch gears, they said the hills and traffic here makes driving extremely tedious.

Your friends don't enjoy manual transmission cars then.

I hear people complaining about gear shifting in traffic yet live in rural areas areas, lol. I've been stuck an hour in downtown San Francisco, dealing with hills 'n such and not once did I ever think "this would be better/easier in an automatic."

The only thing that makes a manual tedious is if the clutch pedal is really stiff. The 86 pedal is light, so no such problem.

It's actually the opposite for me--I find automatic transmissions more tedious in stop and go, because automatics always want to move forward when you ease off the brake. Which means you have to press the brake down harder to stay stopped. Granted cars like BMW have an "auto hold" feature, but why bother?

[iDriveFast]

I love the wing

[tranzformer]

Originally Posted by Aki

Your friends don't enjoy manual transmission cars then.

I hear people complaining about gear shifting in traffic yet live in rural areas areas, lol. I've been stuck an hour in downtown San Francisco, dealing with hills 'n such and not once did I ever think "this would be better/easier in an automatic."

The only thing that makes a manual tedious is if the clutch pedal is really stiff. The 86 pedal is light, so no such problem.

It's actually the opposite for me--I find automatic transmissions more tedious in stop and go, because automatics always want to move forward when you ease off the brake. Which means you have to press the brake down harder to stay stopped. Granted cars like BMW have an "auto hold" feature, but why bother?

This. If you are intersted in this car, do yourself and the car a favor and get the manual. You will thank us later.

[random]

"It makes a ... 3-series Coupé over-complicated."

Wow. That's some serious praise for the 86 to be compared to the 3-series like this.

[random]

Originally Posted by WingsofWar

i am not surprised, a 53/47 is honestly a perfect balance because it offers more front grip at lower speeds and heavy braking, but when you get on it...rotational weight distribution changes and it becomes more balanced.

dynamic 50/50 is a golden distribution that not many cars actually achieve. And vehicles that have 50/50 weight distribution are challenged with poor control if not remedied with a more intricate suspension geometry.

Perhaps what you meant was that 50/50 (or 53/47) is ideal for a car with the engine in the front? I can't imagine 50/50 (or 53/47) would be good for those cars with mid-mounted engines where the weight distribution is closer to 45/55.

[tranzformer]

Originally Posted by random

Perhaps what you meant was that 50/50 (or 53/47) is ideal for a car with the engine in the front? I can't imagine 50/50 (or 53/47) would be good for those cars with mid-mounted engines where the weight distribution is closer to 45/55.

Also worth noting that driver (and passanger) with full tank will change this as well.

[Sport-Tech]

All this full copying of reviews into posts - better hope the rags don't come after this forum for copyright infringement! "Cease and desist" letters to follow....

[Zaku]

Originally Posted by 2fast4you

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it's the same Aisin AZ6 manual found in the IS200, MX-5, S2000, RX-8, and many other cars.

Yeah it should just be a somewhat updated version I believe

[Sparkplug]

I knew EVO would like it. They've always been a driver-oriented magazine. If any of you don't have a subscription, it's the first automotive magazine I'd suggest over all others. Their photography is second to none, as well.

[Snoopyalien24]

Wow that is some great news. Lot's of positive reviews. I sorta read these my hands covering my face with one eye open and the other covered afraid of the negative reviews, but nothing so far

[old greg]

Originally Posted by random

Perhaps what you meant was that 50/50 (or 53/47) is ideal for a car with the engine in the front? I can't imagine 50/50 (or 53/47) would be good for those cars with mid-mounted engines where the weight distribution is closer to 45/55.

Don't drink the BMW kool-aid. There's nothing all that great about a 50/50 weight distribution, no matter where your engine is. 53/47 is a good place for the AS1 to be based on it's power level, given that the engineers wanted it to be a little tail happy under throttle.

For going fast around a race track in a RWD car, the "ideal" weight distribution is in the range of 45/55 to 40/60 depending on cg height and power to weight ratio. Staggered tire widths keeps the contact patches nearly evenly loaded front to rear for optimum cornering grip. Rearward load transfer puts a large majority of the load on the rear tires for extra traction out of a corner, and forward load transfer under braking more evenly distributes load for shorter braking distances.

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by old greg

Don't drink the BMW kool-aid. There's nothing all that great about a 50/50 weight distribution, no matter where your engine is. 53/47 is a good place for the AS1 to be based on it's power level, given that the engineers wanted it to be a little tail happy under throttle.

For going fast around a race track in a RWD car, the "ideal" weight distribution is in the range of 45/55 to 40/60 depending on cg height and power to weight ratio. Staggered tire widths keeps the contact patches nearly evenly loaded front to rear for optimum cornering grip. Rearward load transfer puts a large majority of the load on the rear tires for extra traction out of a corner, and forward load transfer under braking more evenly distributes load for shorter braking distances.

Speaking of which, have you seen the new Miata magazine ad? They have it on a fancy teeter-totter and make a huge deal about it being 50/50 with the driver on it and how it is an un-retouched/no photoshop picture.

My bet is that this car has just made Mazda pee its pants a little...

[old greg]

Originally Posted by Dimman

My bet is that this car has just made Mazda pee its pants a little...

Then they'll probably shit a brick when Toyobaru announce a convertible version in a year or two.