Toyota GR86 Honda Civic Type R Mini John Cooper Works

In a world where the basic necessity for personal transportation has long been met, enthusiasts still seek the thrill of driving. Enter the new reality brought forth by three distinct personalities: the latest Toyota GR86, Honda Civic Type R, and Mini John Cooper Works.

Driver’s Bliss, Newly Affordable

Venturing into this alternate realm of automotive excitement has become more accessible than ever. Thanks to a strong ruble, fascinating cars that were never officially sold in Russia can now be imported for the price of a new Patriot or some obscure Chinese crossover. Without a certain amount of misfortune, we might never have got to this particular kind of bliss at all.

The First GR86 in Russia

I am holding a nondescript key fob that cost two million six hundred thousand rubles. Black plastic, a couple of buttons, a Toyota emblem — and a red coupe that blinks back at me. “Hello, GR86.” Until now I had known this car only through the videos of overseas journalists and bloggers who have burnt through countless sets of tires on racetracks and canyon roads. It was my friend Sergey Udov who spotted this one for sale in Vladivostok. A devotee of the twin Toyota GT86 and Subaru BRZ, he has owned three of them, and now owns the first Toyota GR86 in the country. The second-generation coupe is still a joint venture, and still leans predominantly towards Subaru.

Same Layout, Different Tuning

Lifting the relatively heavy hood — still steel, though the roof and front fenders have gone to aluminium — I find the familiar boxer engine and similar strut top mounts. The suspension is structurally identical too: McPherson struts at the front, and at the rear a double wishbone with two separate lower links that I would personally call a multi-link. As always, Toyota and Subaru separate themselves through tuning, and the tables have turned: where the GT86 was traditionally the more comfortable of the pair, the GR now speaks to track-day drivers more than the BRZ does. Subaru uses aluminium steering knuckles and Toyota the heavier steel ones, yet the GR’s anti-roll bars are stiffer, and its spring rates make it nimbler and more youthful while the BRZ has matured. Watching the GR86 dive into a corner, brush the apex and drift out of it under power, you conclude that maturity is thoroughly overrated.

A Puppy Chasing Its Tail

Every curve repeats the experience: sharp, precise responses on the way in, seamless transitions from brake to throttle, immediate power slides at a modest angle. The rear tires spend the whole of second gear, right up to the 7400 rpm redline, spinning, and only find traction in third on the frosty November asphalt of the test track. The standard tire width is a modest 215 mm, though the diameter has grown to 18 inches, one more than before. That choice sets the theme: the GR86 is a puppy chasing its tail, permanently tail-happy.

400 cc That Changed Everything

How could it be otherwise, when the engine has been fundamentally transformed by the mere addition of 400 cubic centimetres? What used to be a first-rate performer that only came alive at its limits — straining its tendons, and its fourth cylinder — has become a master of the discipline, managing its 215 mm tires from the middle of the rev range. And what a middle it now is: between 3500 and 5000 rpm this engine handles everything daily driving asks of it. Maximum torque has risen from 205 Nm to 250 Nm, and that change of figures has changed the car. Maximum torque now arrives at just 3700 rpm, three thousand rpm sooner than before. Subjectively it feels as though a downsized unit had been swapped for a proper inline six, something like a BMW M50B25. And the Subaru-Toyota FA24D is more capable than that: even on cold asphalt and relatively slippery tires the Toyota GR86 reached 100 km/h in 6.6 seconds, which the previous generation could only manage with skilful and fairly merciless handling.

It Is the Rolling Acceleration That Impresses

What impresses most is the rolling acceleration. There is no longer any need to keep dropping to the lowest gear available: leave it in third out of a corner and it will pull. No doubt Subaru enthusiasts are already writing that there is nothing Toyota about this engine. Let me remind them about the combined injection system.

Toyota is good at effective combinations, at blending the pleasant with the practical. Most of our time on the track went on controlled slides, on enjoying the precise, sharp steering, the surprisingly cohesive responses, the predictable behaviour of the Torsen limited-slip differential and the general sense of a fine sports car. And for all that, the GR86 rides well enough that daily driving is nowhere near torture.

An Oil Temperature Gauge, at Last

Visibility is good and the cabin does not look like a cheap prop from a children’s play. The materials are simple, but the design works, and even the move to a digital instrument pack has been handled smoothly. There is now a standard oil temperature gauge — something most previous GT86 and BRZ owners had to fit aftermarket to keep an eye on the engine’s health. So far there have been no reports of knocking with the 2.4, and I am hopeful that the infamous scoring in the fourth cylinder is behind us.

The Toyota GR86 remains an excellent partner for learning rear-wheel drive. And it promises to keep even experienced drivers interested: on a racetrack it is quite capable of humbling the owners of far more powerful machinery.

The Honda: A Type R Bought on Discount

Which makes it the ideal choice for another Sergey — the owner of the fiery red super-hatch. Having raced front-wheel drive in amateur motorsport for over a decade, he had long thought about moving to another class, and then the chance to buy a new Type R at a serious discount from a Dutch dealer’s stock made the decision for him. And frankly, much as I admire traditionally configured cars, and genuine ones like the GR86 above all, a few metres behind the wheel of the Honda ended any debate about drivetrain layout, because this Type R is simply splendid.

Why Honda Changed Nothing

It is so good that Honda saw no need to change it with the generational shift: the latest hatchback is configured exactly as its predecessor was. The foundations of the modern hot hatch are all here — a two-liter turbocharged engine, 320 hp in this case, a McPherson front suspension with the steering knuckle separated from the strut, and a multi-link rear. This Type R is a rarity in Russia: when the model was last officially sold here it had a naturally aspirated engine and a torsion beam joining the rear wheels.

The Gearshift Redefines the Word

The essential traits of a fast Honda endure. The seats are superb, a match for Toyota’s in the way they hold you and better over a long drive. And the gearshift is nothing short of magical. I thought shifting in the Toyota was a delight, even one-handed — then Honda redefines what the joy of shifting means. The cold aluminium knob warms quickly under your hand, fuelled by your affection for its precision and for the click of each gear going home. Unlike the GR86, where the lever grows straight out of the transmission, here the transverse engine means linkages have to reach the gearbox.

320 hp Through the Front Wheels, in November

Putting all 320 hp and 400 Nm through the front wheels on cold autumn asphalt is another matter. Even in third the Type R’s wheels are apt to spin, and in a straight drag the less powerful Toyota often pulled ahead. Only in a controlled run, with nobody to race, did the Type R manage 6.1 seconds to 100 km/h. It is hard to call its acceleration more impressive than the Toyota’s — perhaps there is a protective mode that lifts after the first service? Its top speed also falls short of the promised 272 km/h, levelling off at 252 km/h instead. Stability at speed, on the other hand, is impeccable.

One Big Turbine, and the Lag That Comes With It

Interestingly, Honda’s engineers chose not to use modern twin-scroll turbochargers. Extracting 320 horsepower from two liters demands a large, high-inertia turbine wheel, and the result is noticeable lag. Press the accelerator, wait for the revs to reach 4000, and the engine explodes into life — at which point you need the next gear quickly. The Toyota’s nuanced throttle control has no equal here.

Two Different Ways to Corner

The GR86 is not flawless either, and hesitates noticeably low down. For the Honda, though, those subtleties matter less, because its chassis is built for a fast, sweeping style. The steering feel and the responses on turn-in are much like the Toyota’s — quick and unified — but with virtually no roll, where the GR86 allows itself a slight dip. Beyond that, the Toyota asks for finesse to hold a drift, while the Civic is a matter of steering hard into the corner and flooring it, letting the limited-slip differential do the work. With this much power, nearly every turn can be taken in a controlled slide, and quickly. The electric power steering, which is lacklustre in ordinary driving, comes into its own here, signalling the start of a slide instantly by going light. Too much understeer? Lift briefly, get back on the throttle, and the line corrects itself.

Grip, and Brakes

The Honda’s cornering ability is plainly superior, its suspension and broad 245 mm tires delivering exceptional grip. And the brakes are outstanding. With a 62 to 38 weight distribution the car leans heavily on the front brakes, and the four-piston fixed calipers remove any doubt about power or feel, even with unventilated rear discs. The GR86, at 55% on the front axle, might want more on a circuit than its standard floating calipers and 294 mm discs — which is presumably why a factory version with Brembo calipers exists.

Why It Doesn’t Grin at Me Like It Used To

So why does this Type R not leave the same grin on my face as it did five years ago? It is not simply the presence of the Toyota. It turns out that front wheel camber on the Civic is adjustable, from a modest half a degree to a substantial two degrees — and it seems that adjustment had been used on the demo car, which played with me so readily on a lifted throttle and generally felt much less front-driven.

A standard Type R, next to these other two, comes across as overly serious and a little uptight. It seems to say, “Give me a track, and I’ll show what I can do. Leave your winding roads for the little ones.” Which is no surprise when the Honda weighs 1422 kg against the Toyota’s 1280 kg and the Mini’s 1324 kg.

And the Mini, Which You May Have Forgotten About

You have not forgotten about it, have you? No longer especially mini next to earlier generations, it is still compact. And only the John Cooper Works version was ever sold officially in Russia — according to Kirill, who owns this one, the Mini People club was an excellent marketing tool in itself. Feeling the support of a community like that makes you less likely to switch brands. In the end, though, it comes down to the emotions a Mini delivers, and a John Cooper Works most of all.

The Liveliest Car Here

I am not a fan of these cars, and I preferred the previous generation’s hatchback, but it is hard to deny that the JCW creates an atmosphere and raises a smile. It comes across as the liveliest and lightest of the group. On the way into a corner the Mini seems to shed all the extra weight of its top-spec equipment: the powerful sound system and the heavy panoramic roof are left behind, and by the time you turn the wheel it is just you and this short-wheelbase rascal. From a nod of the steering wheel to a drift takes exactly one lift of the throttle — the JCW is always keen to increase the angle of attack. Even the automatic transmission does nothing to dampen the excitement, particularly given how easily it gets off the line. Press both pedals, engage launch control, and there it is: 6.3 seconds to 100 km/h, over and over. While drivers in the other two cars are wrestling clutches and trying not to miss a gear, the Mini simply surges away.

It was this cheeky character that made me realise why I would not swap my Mazda MX-5 for the far more precise and sporting Toyota. The Miata is playful and gives you a sense of extreme lightness, and on that day at the test track only the Mini captured the same thing.

What the Mini Gives Up

The JCW’s suspension is remarkable — remarkable in that it shakes you mercilessly and still fails to damp anything properly. That comes as a particular shock after the Honda, whose magical electronically adjustable struts carry that elaborately aerodynamic body like a Mercedes W124 when set to Comfort. Unlike the Toyota, the Mini’s rear seats are not merely nominal, but there is practically no trunk, while the GR86 can still swallow a set of track-day wheels. And the larger Civic Type R beats them both for luggage and for passengers.

The Verdict, and an Alternative Verdict

That practicality is what decided the win on total expert points. As an experiment, though, I would suggest a more meaningful intermediate result: one that leaves rear seats and trunks out of the reckoning, since they are not why we gathered at the test track. Scored that way, the winner — by the narrowest of margins — is the Toyota GR86. In the complexity of the techniques it demands and the level of conversation between driver and car, rear-wheel drive is plainly superior. Especially when the rear-wheel drive works as well as this. A genuine driver’s fairy tale, and the return to reality afterwards is particularly bleak.

Measured Performance

Parameter	Honda Civic Type R	Mini John Cooper Works	Toyota GR86
Maximum Speed (km/h)	252	233	183* (Electronically limited)
Acceleration 0—60 km/h (s)	3.42	4.7	3.2
Acceleration 0—100 km/h (s)	6.1	6.3	6.6
Acceleration 0—150 km/h (s)	11.5	12.4	13
Acceleration 0—200 km/h (s)	20.9	25.2	—
400m Distance (s)	13.8	14.1	14.2
1000m Distance (s)	24.8	25.7	27.5
80—120 km/h in 4th gear (s)	4.2	4.1** (Drive Mode)	5.8
50—170 km/h (s)	11.9	14	14.6

Weight

Photo: Dmitry Piterskiy
Expert group: Yaroslav Tsyplenkov

This is a translation. You can read the original article here: Сказка братьев GR. Новейшее купе Toyota GR86 против хот-хэтчей Honda Civic Type R и Mini John Cooper Works