Read how the GT86 came out on top against 24 other performance cars in Top Gear's Speed Week.

The affordable performance car that we've been waiting for. The GT86 is a gem and we adore it.

The Toyota GT 86 is a back-to-basics sports car that follows a classic recipe to deliver a smile-a-minute driving experience. It's the sort of car that makes you seek out a twisty road rather than take the direct route – and it wins this test.

...Officially, a 'classic' needs to be more than 25 years old. Occasionally, though, a car comes out which deserves the term from the get-go...

"It's the rear-wheel-drive configuration and low centre of gravity that lift the GT 86 so clear of the pack. Drive it as it loves to be driven (hard and fast) and you'll discover a car with wonderful balance, a natural agility and the best electric power steering this side of a new Porsche 911.

...There is not a coupé this side of a Porsche Cayman I'd prefer, and as a long time admirer of the Cayman, praise doesn't come much higher than that...

...The GT 86 is the sort of car that restores your faith in the world. Based on our experience so far, the world's third-biggest car manufacturer has just made possibly the best affordable fun car you can buy.

...the purity and simplicity of this car's character that really appeals, and the huge entertainment it offers while also managing to be quiet enough, and supple enough over bumps, to be usable every day. This is how a sports coupé should be. I want one, badly.

...Even if you're not into sliding around the place you'll have a lot of fun in the GT86. The steering is accurate and has just the right weight and the chassis is perfectly balanced...