Audi A4 vs Toyota GR86

What's the difference?

The Audi A4 allroad is the off-roader of the A4 line-up. I’m using the term ‘off-roader’ loosely here because this wagon is obviously best suited to daily duties in a city and suburbs, with perhaps an occasional foray into very light off-roading, i.e. driving on a well-maintained gravel or dirt road with few, if any, corrugations, and in dry weather only. 

But that’s not a negative factor because the great thing about adventures is that they can be scaled to suit you, your lifestyle and your vehicle of choice.

However, is this allroad your best option for a comfortable, nice-driving all-rounder? Read on.

We are approaching a decade and a half since Toyota dipped into its vault and pulled out an iconic pair of digits, 86, and stuck ‘em on the back of a new car it co-developed with Subaru.

Named for, and loosely inspired by, the rear-drive AE86 Corolla of the mid-1980s which was cemented in the pop culture pantheon by the anime Initial D, the Toyota 86 is in its second generation and wears a ‘GR86’ badge to incorporate the name of Toyota’s sports car division. 

The 86 was, when launched, extremely affordable but has since become more expensive, and getting into a top-spec version of the GR86 is a task that’ll sap $20,000 more from your wallet than the original 86 base model.

To find out if it’s worthwhile, we’ve snagged a 2026 Toyota GR86 GTS with optional Dynamic Performance Pack (DPP) to see if Toyota’s accessible sports car still hits the same sweet spot between genuine performance and decent value.