It’s not often that a sequel is better than the original, but the 2022 Toyota GR86 has accomplished that. Although my personal pick would be red, the Trueno blue color look just as great on the GR86. I did prefer the Subaru design variation of the previous generation but for this new one, the Toyota design takes my vote. From the side, the lines remind me of shrunken version of the Lexus RCF which looks incredible. The black 18” wheels was the right size for every day driving but would consider dropping down to 17” for a track day.

Getting into the GR86 did require the sports car technique because it does sit low. Once you’re in, the seats hugged me well, even for a taco aficionado like myself. The steering wheel did have a skinny feel to it which i prefer in sports cars. The nice surprise was the micro suede on the upper door card. The gauge cluster was fully digitized for this new model but there is a design flaw. When put in track mode, the tachometer changes to a bar design. The problem with it is that the bars aren’t linear and the rpm climbs unusually. Between 0 and 4,000 rpm, it is the same amount of bars of 4,000 to 5,000 rpm. It wasn’t predicable for shifting.

Under the hood, the 2.4L flat 4-cylinder has drastically reduced the previous gen’s power dip. The dip would occur when the variable valve timing would switch from the economy cam configuration to the performance configuration at higher rpms. Although this was the automatic, I was actually impressed with its performance. The shifts were extremely quick whether I let it do it on its own, or I initiated it via the paddle shifters. The major thing I would’ve liked was a program to downshift to the lowest gear with the hold of the downshift paddle.

I have to say the 2022 Toyota GR86 has been an impressive improvement in every aspect to its previous gen.