Toyota has taken the already excellent GR86 and given it the Hakone treatment, which is automotive code for, dark, foresty green paint that looks like it was mixed by monks, bronze wheels that whisper “limited edition” rather than scream it, and a vibe inspired by Japan’s Hakone Turnpike, a road so perfect it makes grown men emotional and insurance adjusters nervous.
The Hakone Edition is back on the road after a five-year break from the lineup, and in a fresh color, it’s even more appealing than before. As you might guess, it’s a limited edition with just 860 available in the U.S.
Exterior
The GR86 Hakone is striking looking in this new Ridge Green paint paired with gorgeous 18-inch matte bronze alloy wheels. Up front, a black functional matrix front grille features a G-mesh insert and GR badging. It’s flanked by LED headlights, daytime running lights, and an adaptive front lighting system. At the back, you get a ducktail spoiler.
Hakone Bits
The Hakone also arrives wearing the same Performance Pack that debuted on last year’s Trueno edition, which is shorthand for “someone sensible has been fiddling with the important bits.” That means proper red Brembo brakes, specially tuned Sachs dampers, electronic power steering that’s been reprogrammed to stop feeling like a PlayStation controller, and revised throttle mapping so the engine actually responds when you ask it to do something. In short, it’s the same car—but sharper, keener, and considerably less inclined to embarrass itself when you start driving it properly.
Wheels, Tires, and Brakes
It sits on 215/40 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, which is motoring-journalist code for “you may now have some confidence.” Behind the wheels lurk bright red Brembo brakes, with four-piston calipers clamping the fronts and two-piston units doing the back. The front discs measure a chunky 12.8 inches, with 12.4-inch rotors at the rear—meaning when you stand on the brake pedal, things stop briskly, dramatically, and without the faint whiff of panic you’d normally expect.
Under The Hood
The Hakone Edition keeps the 2.4-liter naturally aspirated flat-four, producing 228 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. Doesn’t sound like much, except that the GR86 weighs about as much as a strong opinion. The standard transmission is a 6-speed manual, with an optional 6-speed automatic, which my tester had. available.
Driving
Toyota didn’t reinvent the chassis. They didn’t need to. The GR86 already handles like it was set up by someone who hates understeer and loves joy. Three things that make it almost perfect are the low center of gravity, near-perfect balance, and steering that actually tells you things instead of just vibrating politely.
Turn in, and the front end bites immediately. Mid-corner balance is sublime. And the rear end… oh, and that rear end, it doesn’t snap, it doesn’t surprise, it merely suggests. A gentle throttle input will rotate the car just enough to make you feel like a hero, without making your insurance company feel like a victim. This is a car that teaches you how to drive better and then rewards you for it.
Once the tachometer needle sweeps past about 3,000 rpm, the 2.4-liter flat-four suddenly remembers why it was invited to the party. From there, it pulls cleanly and enthusiastically all the way to the redline. No, it won’t rearrange your internal organs, but what it does give you is a proper, old-school, linear surge—unlike the previous version, which had the irritating habit of tripping over its own shoelaces halfway through the rev range.
The ride, however, is unapologetically firm. If your idea of a good time involves floating serenely over potholes while sipping herbal tea, this is not the car for you. Compared to the old one, though, it feels noticeably more grown-up. The suspension no longer crashes and bangs over rough surfaces like a dropped toolbox, and there’s a newfound sense that the whole car has been bolted together properly. It’s tighter, more composed, and—dare I say it—actually refined.
Interior
The Premium trim, thankfully, hasn’t been furnished with the sort of brittle plastics you normally associate with a municipal recycling bin. Instead, you get proper Alcantara seats (the Hakone gets tan leather trim and a special-edition shift knob with bronze accents) plus a generous sprinkling of the stuff across the dash and door panels—just enough to make you feel faintly superior without becoming unbearable.
In front of you sits a new, partially digital instrument cluster which, when you prod the Track mode button, has a small existential crisis and rearranges itself. The tachometer stretches out into a horizontal ribbon, like it’s trying to impress you by pretending it’s in a race car. And, to be fair, it sort of works.
Over in the middle, there’s an 8-inch touchscreen running Subaru’s software, complete with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard—because it’s 2026 and not a museum. It’s quick, logical, and mercifully free of nonsense. Best of all, the climate controls are still actual knobs—big, chunky dials you can use while driving, rather than stabbing at a screen like an angry chimp. There are proper switches too, for Mode, Recirc, Sync, and other important grown-up things.
Overall, the cabin feels like it’s had a proper glow-up. The materials are genuinely impressive for a car under $35,000, and looming over it all is the comforting knowledge that Toyota had a hand in this—meaning it’ll probably still be working perfectly long after the heat death of the universe.
Cargo Space
The 2025 Toyota GR86 Hakone Edition, like other GR86 models, offers a modest 6.3 cubic feet of cargo space, which fits a couple of grocery bags or carry-ons.
Pricing
Prices start at $36,370. This one has a couple of options, including a GR Performance exhaust for $1,700, a GR air filter for $75, and an auto-dimming mirror with HomeLink. Add destination, and the total price is $39,599.
Living With It: Reality Check
Let’s be honest, the rear seats are decorative, the trunk is “weekend bag” sized, and road noise exists because of physics, but this isn’t a problem because nobody buys a GR86 Hakone Edition to haul plywood or children.
Manual or Automatic?
Which would you choose? I’ll be honest, buying this car without the manual is like ordering sushi with a knife and fork. Technically allowed, spiritually wrong.
VIDEO REVIEW
Verdict
The 2026 Toyota GR86 Hakone Edition is not about numbers. It’s not about trends. It’s not about impressing anyone. It’s about Balance and Feel. It is honest, it’s joyful, and it’s unapologetically old-school in the best possible way, and that makes it… Absolutely brilliant.
2025 Toyota GR86 Hakone Numbers
BASE PRICE: $36,370
PRICE AS TESTED: $39,599
VEHICLE LAYOUT: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2 door coupe
ENGINE: 2.4-liter DOHC 16-valve flat-4
POWER: 228 hp @ 7,000 rpm
TORQUE: 184 lb-ft @ 3,700 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic with paddle shifters
0-60 MPH: 6.6 seconds
CURB WEIGHT: 2,868 lb
CARGO VOLUME: 6.9 ft³
FUEL ECONOMY Combined/city/highway: 24/21/30 mpg
OUR OBSERVED: 20.7 mpg
PROS: Scintillating handling, Brembos are terrific, pure fun
CONS: Can be noisy on the highway
2025 Toyota GR86 Hakone Review
