Soldato
Black is best, I can now confirm as I have one in my garage 
Less shopping trolley, more class 
Less shopping trolley, more class Toyota Yaris GR4 4x4 Rally going into production.....
Took a circuit pack car for a 45 min test drive this morning. Bit of town driving and some decent B roads. Some quick thoughts:
Plus
The mid-corner slingshot is addictive, the general feel is very engaging.
lovely gearbox (bear in mind, not driven manual for a while)
The noise is good enough (even if fake) and there’s plenty of mechanical noise to add to the mix.
Surprisingly roomy up front
minus
Visibility wasn’t great
Few more cabin rattles than I’d like at 4500 miles
Rear seat space a real concern
Found the ride a touch harsh around town
overall
Hell of a lot of fun. An absolute blast
I’d snap one up in a heartbeat if I didn’t ride motorbikes, otherwise I think I struggle with the use case.
It’s not quite practical enough as a second car
It’s expensive as a second car
All that said, I’d really like to buy one
Plus
The mid-corner slingshot is addictive, the general feel is very engaging.
lovely gearbox (bear in mind, not driven manual for a while)
The noise is good enough (even if fake) and there’s plenty of mechanical noise to add to the mix.
Surprisingly roomy up front
minus
Visibility wasn’t great
Few more cabin rattles than I’d like at 4500 miles
Rear seat space a real concern
Found the ride a touch harsh around town
overall
Hell of a lot of fun. An absolute blast
I’d snap one up in a heartbeat if I didn’t ride motorbikes, otherwise I think I struggle with the use case.
It’s not quite practical enough as a second car
It’s expensive as a second car
All that said, I’d really like to buy one
Test drove one of these on Monday and placed an order.
I Will be keeping my F10 530D as my commuter and this will be for fun. Maybe expensive/mid-life crisis/trying to relive my boy racer youth but I loved it.
Fully intend to do some track days and some events in it.
I Will be keeping my F10 530D as my commuter and this will be for fun. Maybe expensive/mid-life crisis/trying to relive my boy racer youth but I loved it.
Fully intend to do some track days and some events in it.
Black is best, I can now confirm as I have one in my garage
Seen a couple on the roads now, a White and Black one. If it were me, Black would be my choice as well.
Its a great looking car though, looks a load of fun and can definitely see the appeal. Enjoy!
Soldato
Aircon 
Still sat half way through the full tank of fuel that Toyota gave me (along with all 3 protection packs as part of the deal). Had some bird poo on it and washed it off. Not even hit 200 miles yet but waiting for the tracks to get back to normal then we're off for a track day (even though it's not a track car)
Hi there
Took mine to Toyota RRG Macclesfield today for a running in service, this is not part of the schedule but I had all fluids changed in the car, so engine, transfer box and differentials along with gearbox. I also had alignment check and adjusted, car was on 1600 miles, now 1700 as took long way home, total cost was £330 all in. Gives me peace of mind!
I drove Richards demo car which has a tuning box, panel filter and a full Cobra exhaust with OPF delete he said the latter made it drony and though it sounded good I’m afraid to my ears I prefer the fake sound, think I’m just a sucker for a good induction note even if it’s fake.
So onto the power well over gotta say I was a little disappointed, the cars throttle response and ease of pulling off was certainly improved and very welcome but the car felt less urgent in mid range but pulled that back at top end where it felt more urgent, of course Richard was present in the car with me and we did the cat and fiddle road so I got to give it a proper thrashing. I’m sure it’s faster but it’s not night and day but I remember my first test drive and thinking the car felt lacking but we were three up and then I got my car and it just felt a lot more urgent, so I either have a really strong car or the cars performance is very sensitive to extra weight.
I still might try a tuning box on the basis they do no quibble 30 day money back otherwise just a case of wait and see what else comes.
Im still loving this car and it is damn good out the box, RRG have camber bolts coming as stock setup seems to max out around -1.5 front negative camber and the different bolt options can get you upto either -2.5 or -3-4 in probably gonna stock with the max the factory offers.
Oh and the fact these now have a 10yr warranty from Toyota is simply excellent.
Took mine to Toyota RRG Macclesfield today for a running in service, this is not part of the schedule but I had all fluids changed in the car, so engine, transfer box and differentials along with gearbox. I also had alignment check and adjusted, car was on 1600 miles, now 1700 as took long way home, total cost was £330 all in. Gives me peace of mind!
I drove Richards demo car which has a tuning box, panel filter and a full Cobra exhaust with OPF delete he said the latter made it drony and though it sounded good I’m afraid to my ears I prefer the fake sound, think I’m just a sucker for a good induction note even if it’s fake.
So onto the power well over gotta say I was a little disappointed, the cars throttle response and ease of pulling off was certainly improved and very welcome but the car felt less urgent in mid range but pulled that back at top end where it felt more urgent, of course Richard was present in the car with me and we did the cat and fiddle road so I got to give it a proper thrashing. I’m sure it’s faster but it’s not night and day but I remember my first test drive and thinking the car felt lacking but we were three up and then I got my car and it just felt a lot more urgent, so I either have a really strong car or the cars performance is very sensitive to extra weight.
I still might try a tuning box on the basis they do no quibble 30 day money back otherwise just a case of wait and see what else comes.
Im still loving this car and it is damn good out the box, RRG have camber bolts coming as stock setup seems to max out around -1.5 front negative camber and the different bolt options can get you upto either -2.5 or -3-4 in probably gonna stock with the max the factory offers.
Oh and the fact these now have a 10yr warranty from Toyota is simply excellent.
Must admit I am umming and ahhhing over having a running in service at 6 months. But definitely a good price, the perks of owning a Toyota!
The more I hear the "fake" noise. The more I like it, so I am definitely with you there. Very interesting feedback on the tuning box, I am firmly in the camp of waiting a good few years until the platform has been developed and people have made mistakes and find what works the best.
10 year warranty is the icing on the cake. Considering the price of servicing its a small price to pay.
The more I hear the "fake" noise. The more I like it, so I am definitely with you there. Very interesting feedback on the tuning box, I am firmly in the camp of waiting a good few years until the platform has been developed and people have made mistakes and find what works the best.
10 year warranty is the icing on the cake. Considering the price of servicing its a small price to pay.
Well bare in mind the £330 is probably the most expensive it gets I think a safety check over is like £50 and a regular service around £165 I think if you budget upto £500 per year in servicing will cover anything car needs and give you change.
I might try a tuning box on 30 day return option so I can try it just one up but the only thing I dislike about my car is it’s a bit weak under 1500rpm when pulling off but saying that I’ve adjusted to it and I absolutely love how perfectly linear the power delivery feels right upto the 7200rpm fuel cut. In fact yesterday I took a roundabout so hard that I hit the fuel cut in 2nd, this car absolutely mobs roundabouts like the little hooligan it is.
Also I like my car been quiet from outside as I’ve done a fair few stunts now in the view of the police and they have either not seen or not been interested and I’m sure if it was making a racket they would have pulled me.
Oh yes, when I said price of servicing I meant it as being cheap! Probably not worded brilliantly.
I think my dealership its £190 for minor / £375 for major. Price went up from £165 to £190 just before I collected and the service plan made no sense as it wasn't any cheaper than paying as you go. But you are right, if the car has to go in for a safety check every 6 months its almost worth having a oil change for not that much more.
It is funny you should mention how linear the power delivery is, the engine revs out so easily that I have to be careful not to get carried away. But we are tickling over 5krpm now. With only ~100 miles to go. Jumping out of my rotary where it is the law to 9krpm everywhere I am having to pay attention
. Apart from the RX8 I don't think I've driven a smoother revving engine. Quite a unit that 3 cylinder.
Soldato
Interesting and strange how people taste and preferences differ. I hate the fake noise so got a mate to turn it off. The flip side is now you hear the mechanical noise. Which it seems Toyota wanted to drown out. For me it’s not a smooth or nice sounding engine, unless I got bad one. Now my straight 6 in my Z4 is just miles better at any rpm. Even the 2.3 Ecoboost in my RS sounds better.
I’m also going to make a trip to RRG, to have a Cobra back box with resonator fitted, so it’s the quietest option but hopefully will give it a nicer tone and note. Will also test drive the demo car with the tuning box, may go for it as well.
Also going for an oil change, engine only, plus a geo set up, and 2.5 degree camber bolts. If the white line caster bushes come in time those as well. It feels numb and dead on turn in and understeer feeling, missing the torque vectoring and ability to pivot into a corner and tighten the line that the RS gives me. But I think that’s all tweakable from what I read so far.
Does roll and pitch a bit, which takes some getting use to.
As a daily I think the car is fine, no issue with it. Even rear seats for people up to about 5”8 seem fine.
I’m also going to make a trip to RRG, to have a Cobra back box with resonator fitted, so it’s the quietest option but hopefully will give it a nicer tone and note. Will also test drive the demo car with the tuning box, may go for it as well.
Also going for an oil change, engine only, plus a geo set up, and 2.5 degree camber bolts. If the white line caster bushes come in time those as well. It feels numb and dead on turn in and understeer feeling, missing the torque vectoring and ability to pivot into a corner and tighten the line that the RS gives me. But I think that’s all tweakable from what I read so far.
Does roll and pitch a bit, which takes some getting use to.
As a daily I think the car is fine, no issue with it. Even rear seats for people up to about 5”8 seem fine.
I really hate fake noise myself.
Depends a bit but definitely with low cylinder count tends to be true.
Depends a bit but definitely with low cylinder count tends to be true.
Straight 5s are very smooth.
The one in my mk2 Focus ST wasn't as smooth as a 6 cylinder.
But still smoother than a 4cylinder which is an even number.
I never said it was smoother than a S6. Go read up on secondary motions.