2017 Toyota 86 First Look Review

In its transition from Scion, the FR-S has been renamed the 2017 Toyota 86, and it will be revealed at the 2016 New York International Auto Show. Toyota has also given the car a significant face-lift featuring new front and rear fascias, an updated interior, suspension tweaks, and more power. Toyota will also show the C-HR Concept at the New York show alongside the face-lifted 2017 86.

The most significant changes to the 2017 86’s exterior are the lower front fascia with a larger center air intake that makes the car look wider and lower and a new bumper design. LED headlights with embedded 86 badges and LED turn signals are now standard in the 2017 86 along with new alloy wheel design. Out back, the 2017 86 has LED taillights and a redesigned rear bumper. The interior now features a steering wheel with integrated audio controls, silver stitching, and an instrument panel and door panels wrapped in a material called Grandlux.

Suspension tweaks such as revised shock tuning and spring rates have also been made to improve the car’s agility and offer better control. On 86s equipped with a manual gearbox, the car’s 2.0-liter flat-four engine gets a power bump to 205 hp and 156 lb-ft of torque, which is 5 hp and 5 lb-ft more than the pre-face-lift car. 86s equipped with the optional automatic transmission retain the same power and torque rating as the pre-face-lifted model. Gear ratios for the manual have also revised to improve the car’s performance. Hill start assist has also been added to keep the car from rolling on steep inclines.

Toyota has announced that the 2017 86 will compete in Formula Drift with Ken Gushi, Ryan Tuerck, and Fredric Aasbo behind the wheel. The three drivers will be defending the Toyota race team’s 2015 Manufacturers’ Championship.

Scion was killed off early this year, and Toyota announced that all cars except for the TC, which will be discontinued in August, will move to the Toyota lineup. Although it was originally planned that Scion vehicles reintegrated into the Toyota lineup weren’t getting name changes, it appears that the automaker has reversed its decision. In addition to the FR-S being renamed into the 86 for the 2017 model year, the iM hatchback and iA sedan will also get a name change to the Corolla iM and Yaris iA, respectively.

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