Toyota 86 pleases fans with more power, Japan market badge
Toyota rolled out a newly-badged sports car at the New York auto show, ditching the Scion FR-S name for Toyota 86, matching its Japan market name.
Get ready for a dip in the market for aftermarket 86 badges -- Toyota just renamed the former Scion FR-S as the Toyota 86, the change taking place in the 2017 model year. The new name matches that of the Japanese market sports car, and should please U.S. fans of Japanese cars.
More than just a name change, Toyota brought out the 2017 86 at the New York auto show with some real meat. LED headlights and taillights sit in a slightly modified front and rear end. More important, the power and torque are up, thanks to a retuned drivetrain.
The 86 remains the little coupe-format sports car as when it was the Scion FR-S. That means only 2+2 seating and a modicum of cargo space. But as with the FR-S, the 86's small size should make for nimble handling. Toyota notes that it retuned the suspension. The question of whether that translates as a softer ride or better performance in the turns will have to wait for will have to wait for driving impressions.
An improved drivetrain is the big story here, the 2-liter four cylinder engine, using Toyota's D-4S direct injection technology, gets a 5 horsepower bump, to 205, and adds 8 pound-feet of torque, to 158. The snappy six speed manual gearbox remains, contributing to the car's fun-driving character.
One hope for the FR-S getting folded into the Toyota line-up as the 86 was improved cabin electronics, taking advantage of Toyota's Entune system. For the time being, that won't be the case, as the model on display at the New York auto show had the Pioneer system of the previous FR-S in the dashboard. Expect Toyota to eventually standardize the dashboard electronics of the 86 with its other models.
The Toyota 86 will go on sale this fall, sporting strategically-placed 86 badges and injecting its hot styling among all the Camrys and Corollas on Toyota dealer lots. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but expect it to cost close to that of the 2016 Scion FR-S.