In the end they are an old corolla, old cars can be unreliable if they haven't been properly maintained during their life so far. Having said that they are also fairly simple, when I had two potentially unreliable cars I would pick the 86 when I definitely needed to make it somewhere because I was more likely going to be able to bush mechanic my way out of a situation in the 86 than in something more complex.

I wouldn't buy one if you have no mechanical ability, or at least a willingness to learn some skills, but I have certainly daily driven an 86 for a long time in the past with no real problems. To be fair I haven't ended up with the bonnet up on the side of the road unless I have fiddled with something I shouldn't have more than once or twice.

But there are ultimately more comfortable and more reliable cars to use as a daily, unless your just trying to give yourself an excuse to have something for a bit of sneaky track work on the side too.