It’s another spring season, and that means there’s another special edition of Toyota’s GR86. First was the orange 10th Anniversary Edition, then came the panda Trueno Edition, last year we were blessed with the very grown-up green-on-tan Hakone Edition, and this year, they’ve gone fully flamboyant with the very yellow 2026 Toyota GR86 Yuzu Edition.
What's new with the Yuzu?
This appears to be a return of the old Scion FR-S Release Series 1.0 back from 2015, before Toyota’s youthful Scion branding experiment was dropped, and before Gazoo Racing (GR) existed. Just like that first-generation car, this second-generation (ZN8) car gets a much more aggressive front lip, side skirts, rear bumper cladding, and a much more assertive cat-back exhaust.
Looking underneath, that exhaust appears to be the same as dual-tip the muffler from the GR Performance catalog, but with an extra pair of outlets added to accommodate four massive machined tips, just like the Release Series 1.0. The original car also had bespoke chassis upgrades, and this car comes equipped with the relatively new GR86 Performance Package, which adds specialized Sachs shocks and Brembo brakes.
There’s yellow stitching throughout the interior, yellow perforation in the seats as well as a nice metal plaque to remind you that this is indeed a limited run special edition car, limited to just 30 units in Canada. Pricing is set at $45,025, which is a delta of about twelve grand over the base car.
Thoughts from a former first-gen driver
This Yuzu Edition is mostly a cosmetic change, and this generation of the Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ twins have now been out for a solid 4 years, so there are plenty of reviews out there by now, pretty much all unanimously positive - now I see why.
But, as a former owner of a first-gen Toyobaru twin, a 2018 (ZC6) Subaru BRZ that was maintained and modified by yours truly, I’d like to throw out my own thoughts about how this new car compares to its progenitor, as this is my first time spending any meaningful time with one, and I know there's a lot of first-gen drivers out there with the same curiosities I had.
The changes made to the second-generation cars are good; it’s definitely an evolution of the platform, rather than a revolution. Standing underneath the car, all the bones feel familiar. I initially disliked the exterior, but that was due to my own bias. With time, it grew on me and I found it elegant, well proportioned, and stylish. The adaptive headlights were excellent in terms of performance and light output compared to my facelifted first-gen car.
Instead of a complete sheet metal rocker, they used a plastic skirt instead. This is a good thing, as if there was ever an accident causing an unscheduled and unfortunate encounter with an orange cone during autocross, there would no longer be any worry about denting that hard exposed rocker (ask me how I know).
Ups and downs
In some aspects the interior is significantly better, and in others, worse. The seats are much more comfortable and nicer to sit in, the center console is now much more usable for storage, and having the console open and close makes the interior visually cleaner. The climate control buttons feel better than the first gen, too. But…
I found the outer vents feel and look like out-of-place cheap plastic. The stepped dash just doesn't look cohesive at all. The door handles are a downgrade from the chrome in the first gen, and the removal of the big, obvious door grab handles made this new car feel awkward, as I ended up using the door pocket to close the door rather than the intended handle.
The gauge cluster display is generally way more usable and informative, but the LCD light bleed at night was rather annoying, and made me miss my nice analog clock in the first gen. The infotainment system was plain, simple but usable, and it got the job done. Plus, with Android Auto and Apple Carplay available you really never need to use the factory system, and that isn't a bad thing!
If anything the lack of it being wireless is my only complaint, but is easily solved with a cheap wireless adapter. What I found rather disappointing with the second gen, is that the interior is noticeably smaller. The rear seats definitely have less headroom, and the trunk opening is significantly smaller. The first-gen car was famously able to accommodate a set of 4 wheels plus a trackside tool kit - which I did often - and it doesn’t look like I’d be able to do the same in this new car.
How does it drive compared to the first gen?
How does it drive compared to the original? Stock for stock, it’s a night and day difference; every complaint I had with the car has been solved. Power delivery is now smooth and consistent, and in my opinion the right amount for the philosophical purpose this car was built for.
Even after modifying my first-gen car with headers and a tune, I always wanted just a little more and now this has it! Shifts felt nice, crisp and confident, and the clutch felt responsive and direct.
With the stiffer structure, improved chassis dynamics, and that extra bit of oomph, there was never a moment I wasn’t giggling like a kid on a rollercoaster. With the limited slip differential, predictable handling, it’s hard not to take every corner sideways.
It's the most fun you can have on the street and still be doing the speed limit. Dynamically, the car is pretty much perfect as it is.
It’s not all perfect, though
This isn't to say it isn't without flaws. I found that the throttle response occasionally felt delayed if you weren't driving at ten-tenths pace. In some cases, I found the throttle would still stay open and rev up before coming back down after I already released the go pedal; the throttle mapping just never felt consistent for me and made for awkward shifting at times. There is a little bit of rev hang, but nothing unforgivable.
The fake noise coming through the speakers made the car sound as if you’re playing a sim racer, and with the GR Performance exhaust, it seemed like there were two different sounds trying to fight each other that could sometimes turn into droning.
Now with all that said, my biggest grievance is with equipped “Eyesight” safety features which were made standard from the 2024 model year onwards. With it, this no longer feels like a sports car that you can just jump into and drive spiritedly. It's now a sports car with a built-in helicopter parent that you have to spend a minute insisting you’ll behave yourself each time you get in. And like a helicopter parent, it can really get in the way if you don’t remember to shoo them away before you get going.
Wrap it up
This all may sound more negative than I intend to; most of my gripes are just a minor inconvenience on an exceptionally well balanced, entry-level sports car. I mention these because I care, because I still love the idea of this car, and it doesn’t take much to stick out amongst an otherwise excellent drive. This is still the best driving experience you can buy for the money, as long as you’re looking for an honest sports car experience, rather than just straight-line speed.
