Tag Archives: Supra

2020 Toyota GR Supra 3.0 Premium

"Toyota's reborn flagship sports car was worth it."

• Punchy acceleration

• BMW infotainment system

• Excellent cabin ergonomics

• Overall refinement

Toyota is known for the everyday life of Camry and RAV4 and does not have many nameplates that cause excitement. That is why the return of the Supra is such a big deal. For Toyota, the Supra is what the Ford Mustang is, a legendary performance car with a passionate fan base. Like the Mustang, the Supra became a movie star thanks to the Fast & Furious franchise.

In contrast to previous Supra, the fifth generation 2020 model was developed with external help. It may have a Toyota badge on the hood, but there's actually a BMW Z4 under the 2020 Supra. The two cars were developed together, which gave Toyota a new Supra at a fraction of the cost of self-development. It also means that you can find German DNA on practically every inch of this supposedly Japanese sports car.

A similar strategy spawned the Toyota 86, which partners with the Subaru BRZ. We liked the 86, so can Toyota use the same magic with another partner? To find out, we spent a week with a Toyota GR Supra 3.0 Premium 2020 ("GR" stands for "Gazoo Racing", the Toyota division responsible for fine-tuning the car).

Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends

The Supra has a base price of $ 50,920, but the premium model offers features like Apple CarPlay wireless, an improved audio system, and a larger touchscreen. Together with an optional driver assistance package, the price of our test car rose to $ 56,615.

Design and interior

Inside and outside, this car is like no previous Supra. Instead of being based on previous models, the exterior design of the 2020 Supra is based on the 2014 Toyota FT-1 concept. The implementation of concept cars in production vehicles is always difficult, since concepts are generally not designed for crash tests or the ergonomics of the interior . While a significant amount of the FT-1 made it to Supra production, some compromises were made. The frontend in particular looks a bit bloated compared to the FT-1, which is probably a concession to the European safety standards for pedestrians.

Apart from the Toyota logo on the steering wheel, the interior is only BMW. The gear lever and the rotating infotainment controller come directly from the German automaker's catalog, and the touchscreen is located on the top of the dashboard and is not embedded in it like any other Toyota. The BMW DNA of the car is also shown in small details. To open the hood, you have to pull the lever twice and press a button on the gear lever to make it work. Even the doorbells have the same clear BMW sound.

The Supra has one of the best driving positions of all current sports cars.

It is not a bad thing. BMW knows a lot about the great interior, and the Supra is no exception. It has one of the best driving positions of all current sports cars. It is easy to feel comfortable, the low dashboard offers an excellent view outwards and all controls are easily accessible from the driver's seat.

However, if you expect luxury, let yourself be disappointed. This may be a BMW interior, but it's an entry-level version, especially compared to the Supra's BMW Z4 sibling.

The 2020 Supra is only available as a two-door, two-seat coupé. In contrast to the "Fast and Furious" -era Supra, there is no removable roof panel. The interior roughly corresponds to that of the convertible Z4 only, although the BMW offers a little more headroom. However, the Toyota offers 10.2 cubic feet of cargo space for the 9.9 of the Z4. The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and the Porsche 718 Cayman have 12.6 cubic feet and 14.9 cubic feet of space, though divided between the front and rear trunks.

Technology, infotainment and driver assistance

The Supra has the same iDrive infotainment system as current BMW models with identical graphics, menu arrangement and control dial. The standard touchscreen is 6.5 inches in size, and an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster is also standard. Premium models receive an 8.8-inch touchscreen as well as a head-up display and charging the mobile phone.

Since the Supra uses a BMW infotainment system, it receives wireless Apple CarPlay – the only Toyota model with this function. However, base models do not get CarPlay at all and Android Auto is not available. BMW plans to add wireless Android car to 2021 models, but it's unclear whether the Supra will get it too.

The infotainment experience shows that it is no shame to borrow from the best.

As with the entire interior design, the infotainment experience shows that there is no shame in borrowing from the best. The iDrive system worked just as well in the Supra as in other BMW models, with intuitive menus and a control dial that was much easier to use than the cumbersome touchpad from the Lexus luxury department at Toyota. The only blemishes were a screen that washed out in direct sunlight and an audio system that sounded more impressive on paper than it did in real life. (Premium models receive a JBL system with 12 speakers and 500 watts.)

The driver's standard aids include autonomous emergency braking, a forward collision warning, a lane departure warning with steering assistant and an automatic high beam. The optional driver assistance package offers adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, a rear traffic alarm and parking sensors.

Experience driving

Open the hood of the Toyota Supra 2020 and the logic of the BMW partnership becomes clear. The German automaker knows how to build a great driver car, yes, but more importantly, BMW was able to equip Toyota with an inline six-cylinder engine. An inline six was the calling card of the last Supra, but Toyota no longer has one in its lineup. Instead of spending the money to develop a new engine on just one model, Toyota borrowed BMWs.

Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends

The 3.0-liter turbo engine is shared with the Z4 and numerous other BMW models, as is the eight-speed automatic transmission (if you want a manual transmission, get an 86). Our 2020 test car made 335 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque, but 2021 models get a boost to 382 horsepower and 368 pounds per foot. Toyota will add a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine to the range for 2021. All Supra models are equipped with rear-wheel drive to ensure the best possible handling.

Toyota says the 2020 Supra 3.0 can go from zero to 60 miles an hour in 4.1 seconds. That's about as fast as a Porsche 718 Cayman S (the basic Cayman is 0.1 seconds slower, but 0.1 seconds faster with the optional Sport Chrono Package). According to a Motor Week test, it's also 1.0 seconds faster than a 1993 Toyota Supra Turbo, if you're wondering how the modern Supra compares to its movie star predecessor. According to estimates by both manufacturers, the more powerful 2021 Supra 3.0 reaches zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds and thus corresponds to the six-cylinder BMW Z4.

What differentiates the Supra from other sports cars is its maturity.

The Supra felt quick, but that wasn't the biggest impression. What differentiates the Supra from other sports cars is its maturity. It was comfortable and quiet enough for a long road trip and agile enough to make the back roads fun. The Supra offers a better balance between comfort and sportiness than its Z4 sibling, which feels more like a traditional luxury car than a real sports car.

Toyota has also achieved this with its own tuning. While some other automakers offer a confusing set of driving modes and expect customers to find out what works best, Toyota stuck with just two modes: normal and sport.

Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends

While the engineers nailed down some details, they missed others. Toyota could have spent a little more time tweaking the steering, which has the same feedback as a worn arcade game. While the Supra is admirably refined, this also makes for a less appealing driving experience. The car only really comes to life when you reach extra-legal speeds. The Supra was also not designed to drive with the windows down, a compromise that would likely result in higher aerodynamic efficiency. Lower the windows at more than the speed of the parking lot and the buffeting noises become unbearable.

Fuel consumption and security

The 2020 Supra has a total output of 26 mpg (24 mpg city, 31 mpg highway), which is identical to the Toyota BMW Z4 sibling and slightly better than a Porsche Cayman S. Over a week's drive, we have an average of 24 mpg in the car's on-board computer.

Since the Supra is a new vehicle, crash test assessments from the Road Safety Insurance Institute (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are not yet available, and predicting future reliability is difficult. However, expect the Supra to resemble a BMW rather than a Toyota in this area, as all of the main components come from the German company. This means that reliability may not be in line with Toyota's reputation.

Toyota offers a three-year comprehensive warranty of 36,000 miles and a five-year warranty of 60,000 miles for the powertrain, which are average for a new car.

How DT would configure this car

Toyota keeps things simple with just two trim levels: Base and Premium. You want to choose the latter if you want the most technology. The premium model comes standard with a larger 8.8-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and a head-up display. On the driver's side, the optional driver assistance package, which offers adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, rear traffic warning and parking sensors for $ 1,195, is required to use all functions.

Earlier generations of the Supra have been well served by the aftermarket, and we assume that this will be the case with the new model. Parts may take some time to launch, but numerous upgrades should be available in due course. Papadakis Racing has already brought the BMW engine of the Supra to 1,000 hp, which shows that the engine has great tuning potential.

Our opinion

The wait for the Toyota Supra 2020 was worth it. It is a well-designed sports car that combines driving pleasure with everyday usability and sophistication. Some fans may not like Toyota's use of a BMW platform, but they probably haven't driven the new Supra. From the infotainment system to the engine, the BMW bits make this car so good.

However, this goodness comes at a price. The base price of the Supra of $ 50,920 undercuts the Porsche Cayman and the Chevy Corvette. However, if you activate the check boxes for optional technical functions, this gap is largely closed. The Corvette starts at $ 59,995 – just $ 3,380 more than our test car – and offers a different level of performance. If you're not connected to the idea of ​​a two-seater, you can also have a pretty Ford Mustang for the same price as a basic Supra.

For much less money than the Supra, two sports cars – the Nissan 370Z and the Toyota 86 – offer more personality. With available gearboxes and more visceral driving experiences, they leave the Supra out in sensations. However, no one can keep up with the Supra in terms of performance or technology, and the Supra is the only one of the three we'd like to take on a road trip.

Should you get one?

Yes. The Supra is a great sports car that you can drive every day.

Editor's recommendations