Toyota FT-86 FR-S Handling

[import_nation]

There have so far been TWO whole driving reviews. This is what they have said about it.

It’s great fun. There’s fantastic throttle response, quick, well weighted steering and a nice firm brake pedal. Add little inputs to the steering when you’re driving in a straight line at speed and the front end darts immediately – no slop, no roll, it’s just 100% obedient and alert.

Even without sliding it around, the FT-86 is very obviously rear-wheel drive: get to the limit in a second-gear corner and accelerate harder and you feel the back end point the front back exactly where you want it. It responds well to a really aggressive driving style. Shame that the stability controls’ Sport setting was too intrusive, although Toyota’s engineers said they had a less intrusive set-up that they were also experimenting with.

Drifting is a huge part of the appeal of the FT-86, just as it continues to be for the AE86. Our car was fitted with 215/45 R17 Michelin Green X tyres all round – aka Toyota Prius tyres. This made it laughably sideways in second gear, the back end stepping out with relatively mild – and sometimes almost no – provocation. For the average driver, this makes exploring the limits far easier than in anything else currently on sale.

However, at higher speeds I found the balance less pleasing. In fast third-gear turns, for instance, the front end feels too soft and errs towards understeer – it could be pointier, firmer and more positive. Under provocation, the rear then comes around, but the FT-86 is so short that this transition can be very quick. Two factors then come into play: the first is the Torsen diff, which is more refined in day-to-day driving, but less precise than a mechanical differential when the rear tyres are struggling for purchase, so the level of control you have over the sliding rear end is compromised; the second point is the lack of power: adding power during slides helps you to bring things back under control, but in a high-speed FT-86 you’re more in the hands of momentum than you are able to dictate things with the throttle.


At one point I found myself snapping into very fast oversteer, then suddenly snapping back and making an out-of-control excursion across the run-off area. My mistake, yes, but I’ve never had this feeling in any other modern rear-wheel drive car, 911 GT3 included.

First impressions: it feels light and compact, a bit like an MX-5. The driving position is low, straight and snug, with grippy front seats (and not a lot of room in the back).

It’s hard to accurately guage the ride on a concrete airfield, but the FT-86 feels quite deftly set-up, light on its feet, with a touch of tyre roar that’s to be expected.

It steers easily too. At 2.5 turns lock-to-lock the steering’s quick without being hyperactive, and is light-to-middling in weight. It all adds to the impression that this is going to be an easy car to get along with.

Find a corner and you’ll find some roll, but its rate is well contained. The FT-86’s weight distribution is 53/47 per cent front/rear, so it’ll nudge into steady-state understeer if you’re on a constant throttle, where it grips moderately well and is pleasingly poised.

The great thing about the FT-86 though is, as promised, it really handles. It lets you choose how you want to corner. Add any amount of power and it’ll turn at least neutral. Trail the brakes into a bend, give a mid-corner throttle-lift or, well, just give the steering a bit of a bung and lots of throttle and it’ll either straighten its line or give you armfuls of oversteer, utterly as you prefer.

There’s still a bit of tweaking to do on the damping, but it’s 90 per cent of the way there. As it is, in third gear the FT-86 will run out of power to keep a long slide going (if you like that sort of thing), so inevitably it takes momentum rather than power to play games with the chassis. But if you add more power to compensate then you’ll want a turbo and bigger stoppers too, and that adds weight, and, well – that’s where the downward spiral starts, right?

“The key development for the FT-86 is that it’s a front-engined, rear-drive car with intuitive handling,” says Toyota.

“A fun car is a car you can control. We rejected the idea of a car developed using numbers. It must have front-engine/rear-drive, a naturally-aspirated engine and a low centre of gravity.”

[FR_S_Fan]

Well what can I said, I'm happy with these reviews. Toyota said they would make handling a priority and well....the reviews confirmed, Toyota came through and stuck to their word.

Even tho it has some body roll, it should be much of an issue, a cheap aftermarket spring/shock or coilover setup should solve this.

But for a production model thats suppose to be affordable, from whats stated in the articles, the car seems to be good enough.

[import_nation]

Here is what Tsuchiya has to say about the FT-86 FR-S handling
Keiichi Tsuchiya talks about the FT-86 test drive!!

[hatchi]

i wouldnt trust the press drivers words over Keiichi Tsuchiya , statement and review of the car, if he is truly surprised then he is truly surprised comparing it to a car built by the M division of BMW is bold statement!