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2017 Toyota 86 cops price hike

Tweaked 86 arrives with revised chassis, higher pricetags

2017 Toyota 86 cops price hike
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Toyota Australia has lifted pricing for its facelifted 86 coupe to $30,790 plus on-road costs – just as Subaru has lowered entry to its nip-and-tucked BRZ near-twin model.

It’s the first price rise in the four years since the 86 shocked everyone with its affordable $29,990 pricetag, and the $800 hike for the entry GT six-speed manual is the highest of the range. The six-speed automatic rises $600 to $33,090 while the GTS manual is up $500 to $36,490 and the GTS auto shifts $300 to $38,790 plus on-roads.

At the same time Subaru has cut its slower selling single-specification BRZ by $1230 to $32,990 (manual) and $34,990 (auto) plus on-roads.

2017Toyota 86 GTS interiorBoth score new LED headlights and tail-lights in addition to a restyled front-end and new alloy wheel design.

The BRZ continues to be a halfway-house between the 86 GT and 86 GTS, sharing the latter’s 17-inch alloy wheels and dual-zone climate control air-conditioning, but missing its nav and leather/Alcantara heated front seats.

The only difference is that Toyota persists with an outdated touchscreen unit where Subaru has switched to its own, markedly superior StarLink infotainment system; though sadly still sans navigation. Both marques use a smaller leather-wrapped steering wheel and colour trip computer display that now features lap timing, G-force and power/torque graph displays.

2017 Toyota 86 GTS engineFor manual models only, both Toyota and Subaru also move from 147kW to 152kW and from 205Nm to 212Nm thanks mainly to a new aluminium intake manifold that remains a plastic unit in auto-equipped versions.

While the GT’s Yokohama 16-inch tyres and GTS’ 17-inch Michelin Primacy rubber remains, the facelifted 86 – and BRZ – are claimed to benefit from increased structural rigidity, allowing engineers to make the suspension softer without affecting handling agility.

Increased poise teams with a new ‘Track’ stability control mode that is far less intrusive than the outgoing ‘VSC Sport’ mode – read more in our overseas 2017 Toyota 86 first drive here.

2017 Toyota 86 GTS“These updates for the Toyota 86 are focused on improving the responsiveness, balance and handling of a car that is already rated in the same league as some legendary sports cars,” Toyota Australia sales and marketing executive director Tony Cramb said in a statement.

“It demonstrates the passion within Toyota for designing and engineering cars that look great and provide engaging driving dynamics – a passion that is attracting new, younger customers to the Toyota brand.”

Toyota has shifted 17,800 units of the 86 since its 2012 introduction, with the flagship GTS making up 67 per cent of sales.

Daniel DeGasperi

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