Toyota GT 86

FIRST UK DRIVE We see if subtle revamp helps sports car keep pace with rivals.

- Richard Ingram

AFFORDABLE, rear-wheel-drive sports cars are becoming increasingly hard to come by. The Mazda MX-5 epitomises the lightweight formula, but is only available with a retractable roof, while its Fiat 124 Spider sister car adds turbo charging, too.

If you want something with a fixed roof, then your options are even more limited. Here, the Toyota GT 86 stands proud as the driver’s choice – and now we’ve driven the updated car to see if enough has been done to steer you away from an Audi TT.

The new GT 86 gets a few hard-to-spot visual changes over its predecessor. There’s a wider grille and new bumper design, fresh foglights and new LED head lamps. A revised front splitter and a meaner-looking bootlid spoiler also appear, although you can ask Toyota to delete the latter if you favour a cleaner appearance. Arguably the biggest update is to the rear lights, where LEDs give the car a more distinctive glow at night.