Comparing the Toyota GT 86 to the Subaru BRZ you would think is a pointless exercise because they are virtually the same vehicle, just a slightly different bodyshell.

And after all Subaru built the chassis for Toyota who wanted a sporty number to add to their impressive line-up.

Well I’ve driven both the cars in the last month and I have to say I prefer the Toyota even though it cost about a grand more. The Toyota comes in at £28,000.

These sisters have been around for about five years and now they’ve just had a minor facelift and as a result they are considerably better looking, but not that they were ugly at all.

Drivers have always liked the GT86 because of its lightweight body, good handling and the inherited Boxer engine courtesy of Subaru.

It’s a two litre engine with a six speed manual gearbox although there is an automatic box as an option.

It’s not particularly quick and it takes you eight seconds to get to 60mph from a standing start and the top speed is 140mph.

The miles per gallon is around 36mpg on the combined front which you will have difficult in touching if you are driving the car with the hammer down.

The boxer engine generates 197bhp and 205Nn of torque and the gearbox has to be worked quite hard and the power kept on for you to enjoy the car at its most.

The six-speed manual version emits 181g/km of CO2 and the automatic gearbox has slightly better figures and emits 164g/km.

The rear-wheel drive chassis is perfectly balanced, with great steering and superb brakes.

There is an even weight distribution means the car still feels well balanced The interior can be a bit noisy at speed but isn’t that why you bought the car in the first place. All you have to do is to turn the radio up a bit.

The minor changes to the new GT86 are a slightly larger grille and different bumper plus new lights, but that you would have hardly noticed. Inside there is a new 4.2-inch screen which is pretty and both good and functional.

For all Toyota GT 86 models you will need group 30 insurance and Toyota offers one of the best manufacturer warranties around with a full factory cover for five years, up to a limit of 100,000 miles. Servicing is also good at Toyota workshop rates.

The GT 86 is a 2 plus 2 where there is a pair of bucket seats at the back which would suit normal sized five year-old children, hardly good enough for adults.

But there is a pretty good amount of cabin storage, with big door bins and a decent glovebox, as well as space for your phone and drinks in the centre console.

There is a 237-litre boot, which is big enough for a weekly shop or use on a weekend away. On the safety front, the GT86 has seven airbags.

There are 18-inch alloy wheels, while there is a special edition Aero models which adds a huge rear wing – without adding to the engine.

There's also a new bodykit, deeper front bumper and side skirts and a carbonfibre-effect rear diffuser.

All GT 86 models come with a six-speaker audio system, which is part of the Toyota Touch multimedia package. Featuring a 6.1-inch touch screen, the Bluetooth compatible system acts as the single interface for everything from sat-nav to smartphones.

There are a limited number of apps, including a ‘send to car’ function for Google location searches. Upgrading to Touch & Go Plus adds voice recognition and email integration.