With its name derived from the iconic AE86 Corolla Levin, the purist favouring front engine, rear-wheel drive layout, a standard six-speed manual gearbox and promise of finally injecting some long awaited fun into the Toyota brand, the 86 quickly became the sports coupe everyone must drive despite the modest output of its Subaru sourced flat-four Boxer engine.

While the darling of fun and affordable rear-wheel drive lunacy across the pond, the 86’s popularity tapered off on local shores, amidst the shift from equally priced sports cars to family friendly SUVs and crossovers.

The recipient of a mid-life facelift earlier this year, the 86, as editor Sean Nurse noted in his launch report while power sliding in the frigid Finnish forests, now appears more capable than ever of winning back fans, despite again featuring the same naturally aspirated engine with unchanged power and torque figures.

Very much viewed as the modern day successor to the famed Celica, a certain amount of intrigue prevailed when the keys to a white 86 High landed in my hands for the obligatory seven day testing period recently.

On first glance, spotting the differences between the 86 and its predecessor takes more than a keen eye as the basic silhouette has remained unchanged. About as minor as you could wish for, revisions include new LED foglights, restyled headlights with bi-LED lamps, relocated indicators, wider wheel arches and new 17-inch alloy wheels.

The most prominent changes are however reserved for the rear where the 86 gets new LED light clusters, a wider black diffuser and the most appealing feature guaranteed to please enthusiasts, a wing style boot spoiler as opposed to the somewhat awkward looking integrated unit previously used.

Inside, the changes mostly centre around the new 4.2-inch TFT touchscreen infotainment system, which although a significant upgrade from the system previously used, still exhibits a look similar to that of a Quantum, and refuses to play more than 255 items from a USB. It does however get Bluetooth and an Aux input as standard.

Aside from this, the general fit-and-finish is good with a perforated Alcantara and suede trimmed dashboard, carbon-fibre look door inserts, silver detailing on the tiny leather covered three-spoke sports steering wheel, a new Multi-Information Display that shows information such as power and torque figures, G-meter and stopwatch, contrasting white stitching and two silver buttons at the base of the gear lever that disengages the Traction Control and activates the newly added Track mode.

Ergonomically, the 86’s cabin delivers with all the various controls being easy to reach, the sport seats snug and comfortable and the handbrake and gear lever positioned ideally for what it was designed for; having as much fun as possible. Press the start button, the unassisted 2.0-litre flat-four Boxer engine barks into life with a typical Subaru growl, before settling down to a rather sporty rumble.

While the engine’s outputs have been kept at 147kW/205 Nm, the 86 doesn’t feel underpowered or indeed that its needs the backing of a turbocharger, with the mill being at its happiest high up in the rev range. Emitting a distinctive Subaru soundtrack as the revs climb, the 86 feels willing to deliver and even more eager to get on solely with the business of driving.

Unfortunately, despite a light clutch action, a firm hand is required to make the most of the six-speed ‘box, as it takes a good shove to place it in the correct gear. In addition, the lack of Hill Start Assist and that light clutch, which tends to take quite high, resulted in a couple of stalls, meaning frequent use of the handbrake and high revs when stopped on an incline.

From a daily driver’s perspective, the biggest downside to the 86 is a thoroughly rock hard ride thanks its new sport suspension, low ride height and those 17-inch alloys. On the flip side though, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the car really comes into its own with Track mode engaged and driven hard.

Essentially disengaging the various electronic aids to an extent, the 86 becomes a completely different animal in that is feels sharper and planted, while the quicken steering really comes to the fore on turn-in.

Simple and relatively affordable with the correct drivetrain and just enough power to exploit its underpinnings, have all contributed in making Toyota 86 a hard to ignore entry-level sports car that arguably deserves more attention than what local consumers give it.If the hard ride and meaty gearbox are limitations you can live with on a day-to-day basis, the 86 is guaranteed to reward and thrill when you press that Track button and nail the accelerator.

Price

R494 900