Toyota GT86 meets the rivals

Toyota GT86. Vauxhall Astra GTC VXR. Ford Focus ST. Suzuki Swift Sport. Doing the supermarket shop just got a whole lot more fun...

Words: Ollie Marriage 

Pictures: Joe Windsor-Williams 

This article first appeared in the August issue of Top Gear magazine 

Let’s knuckle down to business. Focus ST vs Astra VXR. Vs GT86. And a Swift Sport. It appears we have some proper tangle-ups to sort out here, so best not dilly-dally. We’re searching out a real-world hero. All four are currently lurking in the large, dark shed that, once full of people and noise, doubles as the TG studio. The Astra is parked in the spot normally reserved for the Cool Wall. Which begs the question...

Is it actually cool? It’s certainly good-looking – far more so than the Focus, which appears a bit bug-like in comparison, its grille a fraction too prominent. So, the VXR’s handsome and well-proportioned, but it perhaps tries a bit too hard to look its best. Still, better that than the anodyne lines of the GT86. Honestly, how has Toyota managed to make a coupe look this plain? The Swift has just as much road presence, for heaven’s sake – principally due to its comically oversized headlights.

But enough of aesthetics. Outside, there’s a track to play with, and I, for one, am very keen to know how these four cars compare. First up, the small matter of the battle for hot-hatch supremacy. OK, so we haven’t got a Golf GTI or Megane RenaultSport here, but, gaping differences in price aside, VXR vs ST is a crunch match.

ST first. Sam drove one of these 3,300 miles across America last issue, which is one hell of an achievement and rather belittles my few-laps-around-an-airfield counterpoint. But one thing’s clear from the moment you slot yourself into the big, fat, cupping seats – the ST has lost none of its sense of purpose. So the 4cyl EcoBoost engine doesn’t idle with the same offbeat rumble as the old five. Big deal. I’m more concerned that, from the moment you get moving, the Focus feels tight and precise. Except the suspension, which delivers comfort. Perhaps too much. It’s not squidgy exactly, more... accommodating, like it’s built to satisfy as many different driving appetites as possible.

This makes it an entirely acceptable road car, but here, in Stig’s personal playpen of petrol and power, more suspension control might help tame the torque-steer. Because the ST does suffer from it. Eschewing the mechanical limited-slip diff and clever (but expensive) front strut design sported by the VXR, the ST settles for ‘simple’ electronic control. It’s OK, but not good enough to stop the steering wheel wriggling in your hands like a tickled eel.

This would matter more were the Focus not such a blast to punt around. There are two things it does particularly amusingly: accelerate and corner. Honestly, its chassis balance is as good as some of the mid-engined cars. Hurl it into a corner – Chicago is best – lift off and it’ll do the full sideways Sweeney stuff. And even if you leave the traction alone, there’s still entertainment to be had. This is a car that wants you to have fun and goes out of its way to deliver it.

We all know that turbos (while great for power and emissions) leach character out of an engine. Yet here’s one – an ordinary 2.0-litre 4cyl seemingly – that zings. It’s quick, too: 29bhp and 45lb ft down on the Astra? It doesn’t feel like that – it’s the ST that seems to have the brawnier mid-range pick-up.

Oh, but Vauxhall has done a good job with its engine, too. It’s not as overtly charismatic as the ST’s, but there’s this noise – a gushing roar, as huge quantities of expelled air are forced down the exhaust – that just sounds so mean.

However, it occasionally seems out of place in what is otherwise a rather sophisticated motor. And here’s my problem with the GTC VXR. Those two sets of letters don’t sit perfectly happily alongside each other, the Astra being like a bridging point between Focus and GT86 – it seems to see itself as more sophisticated than a traditional hot hatch and so leans towards its coupe alter ego.  So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that it doesn’t play with the wild abandon of the Focus. Maybe instead we should just admire it for what it can do.

Because don’t think I’m down on this car, I’m just unsure of its positioning. It has a front end that makes the Focus’s feel dozy. Turn-in is fantastic, there’s little roll, the clever HiPerStrut suspension keeps things perfectly stable, and when the time comes to get back on the power, it has a proper diff that puts you exactly where you want to be and lets you use as much torque as you care to. It’s very able.

The trouble is that part of the thrill of a hot hatch is the ‘can-it-really-cope?’ question, and the most amusing answers usually come from those that struggle. At Dunsfold, the Focus was more amusing, but I kept being drawn back to the Astra, suspecting it might be the better car for round two, then being immediately put off by the overwrought interior.

Vauxhall, those silver steering-wheel inserts and that mammoth gearknob? They’ve got to go. How are you meant to get to grips with a car when you can’t get a grip on its steering wheel and gearlever? Neither of our Japanese pair makes that mistake. I know, I know – you wouldn’t think that there are parallels between Toyota’s coupe and Suzuki’s tyke of a parboiled hot hatch, but there are. Think about it; think about the mindset that has created them. Both have plain, simple cabins; both are light and agile; both have naturally aspirated engines and are perceived as underpowered. Neither actually is.

Look, I’m getting fed up with this. Yes, turbos are great for power and can be economical, but they’re not automatically better. A naturally aspirated engine has nowhere to hide; it doesn’t have mid-range torque as a fallback position. In the Focus, I rarely found myself using the whole rev range. No need.

But in the Swift and GT86 (to paraphrase Monty Python), every rev is sacred. It matters where the rev-counter needle is pointing and, ideally, it wants to be a long way from the idle position. You have to make them sing – they don’t give of themselves readily.

In fact, the Swift doesn’t give that much away, full stop. OK, so it has 17-inch wheels and some red stitching, but, in this company, that’s nothing. And yet there’s something about it. There’s a bit of a tingle to it, somehow it manages to come across as eager – and that’s before you’ve driven anywhere in it.

And when you do, you realise just how hard the Swift will try on your behalf. It wants to do everything. It exists to please you. It’s not clever or innovative or anything else – it’s just a small, fun car that revs to 7,000rpm and is as pleased as punch to be able to do so for your benefit. It’s way out of its depth at Dunsfold, but no one who drove it cared.

I suspected the same might be true of the GT86, but, hand on heart, this was one of my favourite cars. It’s not slow – it really isn’t – it’s just that you have to work to get performance from it, but is that a problem? It sounds sweet, is smooth and has the best throttle response of anything here, 911 and BAC included.

And I’m sorry, Ford and Vauxhall and Suzuki, but the Toyota is just better at corners than all of you. It’s nimble and light and has such a sweet balance of power and grip – sweet enough to be able to overlook the underwhelming cabin. And, yes, those narrow tyres mean the RWD GT86 is excellent at skids, but even if that isn’t your chosen angle of attack, it really doesn’t matter – the GT86 is as keen that you enjoy the experience as the Swift. It’s a real-world hero,and given that’s what we set out to find at the start, this is clearly an excellent place to finish.