Do this job long enough and it will take you less than five feet of driving to tell you when a car is special. And the Toyota GR 86 is incredibly special. It delivers everything you want out of a driving experience. And unless you’re the type who needs high horsepower numbers to win online dick-measuring contests, the GR 86 is all the sports car you’ll ever need.

If you’re reading this article, on this site, you already know what the Toyota GR 86 is all about. But in case a random Google link brought you here, here’s the TL;DR version of what this car is all about. The 2022 GR 86 marks the first year of the all-new, second-gen 86 sports car. And the original 86, as you may recall, is a 21^st century reimagining of the old 1980s AE86-chassis Toyota Corolla, which is a rear-wheel drive economy car that’s famous for delivering anime tofu.

That original AE86 became an anime hero because it’s actually an incredible car. It gained popularity by being cheap to buy, cheap to run, and cheap to modify. But it offered a supremely well-balanced chassis that, with a select few mods, made it a monster on both the racetrack and touge. Much like the original Mini Coopers and old Datsun 510s, the AE86 Corolla proved that, in the right hands, precision, balance and response were more than a match for brute horsepower.

And so the modern-day 86, originally released here in the US as the Scion FR-S, carried this same philosophy. Unlike the AE86 Corolla, the FR-S was designed as a pure sports car, and again prioritized precision, balance and response over outright power. Its poise and handling remain celebrated to this day, even if the internet forums demanded a turbo. So for this second-generation car, Toyota made incremental improvements. Perfecting what was there, without ruining things by, we don’t know, throwing a big turbo on it.

As dimensionally compact as before, the new Toyota GR 86 utilizes a host of tricks, including inventive use of adhesives, to significantly strengthen the chassis while keeping weight down. Lightweighting was a priority, which can be seen in everything from the increased use of aluminum body panels to the resin fuel door to the lightweight seat frames. Its boxer-four engine sees an increase in power, now rated at 228 horsepower. Displacement has been increased from 2.0-liters to 2.4-liters, which helps its 184 lb-ft of peak torque come in much earlier, now at “just” 3700 rpm. A six-speed manual comes standard, and if you’re good enough, Toyota claims you can get the GR 86 from 0 to 60 in just 6.1 seconds.

But who cares about an arbitrary number when the car simply feels incredible to drive? Its cockpit is perfection. Not at all fancy, but it wraps around you like a well-fitted suit, offering supportive seats and impeccably placed controls. Response is on another level. Its electric-assist steering takes just 2.5 turns lock-to-lock and provides that proverbial “telepathic” response. Whether you’re flinging the GR 86 through a bend or just creeping into a parking space, this wheel does what you want it to, when you want it to, and tells you what’s happening at all times.

Sure, the internet is still bemoaning the GR 86’s lack of a turbo, but adding a turbo would ruin this engine’s lighting quick throttle response. Turbos can be fun, sure. But there’s nothing like the immediacy of a well-sorted naturally aspirated motor to make you feel like a goddamn driving hero. Granted, a good throttle mapping program gets some of the credit here. But even the best turbo engines suffer from the slight hesitation of turbo lag. And for those of us who live our lives driving on normal streets, we’ll take response over power any day.

All the other important bits can be summarized as “fantastic” as well. The six-speed manual feels robust, is easy to operate, and is a joy to use. The sport-tuned suspension does an amazing job soaking up the bumps while still allowing the GR 86 to feel flat in the corners. And the brakes offer more than enough bite and stopping power for even your most spirited drives.

Now here’s where we get to the caveats teased in the subhead of this article. Yes, this is the best Toyota-badged sports car you can buy today. But as a quick look at the key fob, and more importantly, the door sill VIN plate will tell you, the GR 86 is all Subaru. So just like the BMW-built Supra, the GR 86 is an exercise in badge engineering. (Note that we don’t get the GR Yaris here in the US. And at the time of this writing, the GR Corolla is still a secret that’s only been teased in a select few frames of a TV commercial.)

So yeah, the Toyota GR 86 is the best Toyota-badged sports car you can buy today, only it’s not a Toyota. Does that really matter? Well, no. It’s a car designed, engineered and built to speak to the hearts of enthusiasts. It’s the type of car that should be supported, and celebrated, no matter badge it wears. True to its heritage, the GR 86 remains a truly special machine, and will continue to be all the sports car you’ll ever need.

The GR86 is the best Toyota-badged sports car you can buy.