2023 Toyota GR Supra Manual Review Thread!!!

[johnnyskids]

You’re going to get a bunch of different opinions on this. Probably a different one from each person who responds.

Personally, I wouldn’t have gotten a Supra without a 6MT. Idk if I would say the manual is more engaging than the auto, but definitely a different type of engaging, and that’s the type of engaging that I like. With that being said, I’m also coming from an 86, and the Supra does not feel nearly as engaging as an 86 (last gen) to me.

It’s all going to come down to your personal preference.

Do you think that your notion of the 86 being more engaging was due to how much more you have to shift and managing that dead spot in the powerband? The Supra seems to have power everywhere so less managing of powerband plus of course by the time you are shifting into 3rd in the Supra you are pretty much at illegal speeds.

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[Spart]

Do you think that your notion of the 86 being more engaging was due to how much more you have to shift and managing that dead spot in the powerband? The Supra seems to have power everywhere so less managing of powerband plus of course by the time you are shifting into 3rd in the Supra you are pretty much at illegal speeds.

So on this topic, I find the Supra to be more fun around town than my GT350 was.

In the Supra, you can short-shift and still have power available almost everywhere in the rev range.

The GT350 it didn't come to life until 4000RPM.

 

[johnnyskids]

So on this topic, I find the Supra to be more fun around town than my GT350 was.

In the Supra, you can short-shift and still have power available almost everywhere in the rev range.

The GT350 it didn't come to life until 4000RPM.

That's the beauty of modern turbo vehicles, they have torque early and turbo lag is mitigated a lot over the past decade or so. But I don't really give a beans about around town, I care more about back road driving on deserted twisty roads.

 

[Marsone]

Do you think that your notion of the 86 being more engaging was due to how much more you have to shift and managing that dead spot in the powerband? The Supra seems to have power everywhere so less managing of powerband plus of course by the time you are shifting into 3rd in the Supra you are pretty much at illegal speeds.

Barely at all, honestly. The gears are taller in the Supra as they should be but at city speeds, you’re short shifting either car.

Again, this is all subjective, but to me the 86 is a more engaging car. The driver inputs feel better to me. (Steering feel, pedal placement, seat position, NVH, all feel better than the Supra)

The supra is incredible though, you can reach “get yourself killed” speeds on an on ramp before you even get on the highway.

 

[johnnyskids]

Barely at all, honestly. The gears are taller in the Supra as they should be but at city speeds, you’re short shifting either car.

Again, this is all subjective, but to me the 86 is a more engaging car. The driver inputs feel better to me. (Steering feel, pedal placement, seat position, NVH, all feel better than the Supra)

The supra is incredible though, you can reach “get yourself killed” speeds on an on ramp before you even get on the highway.

City speeds? Yeah that's not really the engagement that I'm looking for, heck my Civic Si is likely just as engaging as both vehicles in city.

NVH? Man I drove the previous generation BRZ and the new gen BRZ this past week, neither has NVH that I would enjoy. Buzzy, agriculture engines.

Pedal placement I have no idea as the Supra I drove was auto, seat position is likely better in the BRZ, but that's more to do with the extra space for me at least.

Steering feel was likely better in the previous gen BRZ but the new one and the Supra are pretty similar.

The HUGE difference is of course the power. After a half hour drive in the Supra, getting into my Civic Si was crazy just how slow it felt, for obvious reasons of course, just that you get used to the speed in the Supra fairly quickly. Maybe that's why so many Supra buyers are keen to up the HP to levels that are less comfortable to get used to.

 

[Marsone]

City speeds? Yeah that's not really the engagement that I'm looking for, heck my Civic Si is likely just as engaging as both vehicles in city.

NVH? Man I drove the previous generation BRZ and the new gen BRZ this past week, neither has NVH that I would enjoy. Buzzy, agriculture engines.

I know that city speeds aren’t fun, but I figured it’s worth mentioning since that’s where the majority of our cars will spend most of their time. My civic si was so fun around town with the k20, so I get it.

The 86 engine does sound like a garbage disposal? but the car has a ton of character that I get on with and others won’t/may not. I can’t comment on the steering feel of the new 86 as I haven’t driven one yet. It was just a lot of little things that added up in favor of the 86 for me.

Also, they both feel great on track for what it’s worth.

 

[AJRMKV]

City speeds? Yeah that's not really the engagement that I'm looking for, heck my Civic Si is likely just as engaging as both vehicles in city.

NVH? Man I drove the previous generation BRZ and the new gen BRZ this past week, neither has NVH that I would enjoy. Buzzy, agriculture engines.

Pedal placement I have no idea as the Supra I drove was auto, seat position is likely better in the BRZ, but that's more to do with the extra space for me at least.

Steering feel was likely better in the previous gen BRZ but the new one and the Supra are pretty similar.

The HUGE difference is of course the power. After a half hour drive in the Supra, getting into my Civic Si was crazy just how slow it felt, for obvious reasons of course, just that you get used to the speed in the Supra fairly quickly. Maybe that's why so many Supra buyers are keen to up the HP to levels that are less comfortable to get used to.

The GR86/BRZ is perfect sports car weight and very good dynamics for a car in it's price range, 2800lbs and change. It's not very fast, but it's a very good entry level track/sports car that you can max out early on with confidence while you're learning.

Wouldn't trade it for my supra, but i can see why it would be more engaging than a supra in certain scenarios where weight might come in to play.

 

[johnnyskids]

The GR86/BRZ is perfect sports car weight and very good dynamics for a car in it's price range, 2800lbs and change. It's not very fast, but it's a very good entry level track/sports car that you can max out early on with confidence while you're learning.

Wouldn't trade it for my supra, but i can see why it would be more engaging than a supra in certain scenarios where weight might come in to play.

Yeah I feel that in order to get the full enjoyment of the 86/BRZ you really need to track it, which unfortunately is not easy where I live as the closest track is a days drive away.

I felt that both generations are 100% sports car, so very single minded. Cars nowadays wear many hats, from being a daily driver, comfy GT, utility, etc, the 86/BRZ are only a sports car. It doesn't offer much else, that being said, for the money, you can't expect it to be many different things, especially when it's so very good at that one thing. After driving the current BRZ I came away knowing that having it and my Civic Si in the driveway I'll choose the Civic's keys 90% of the time and that's not what I am looking for. The Supra is much more appealing in what it offers to me.

 

[AJRMKV]

Yeah I feel that in order to get the full enjoyment of the 86/BRZ you really need to track it, which unfortunately is not easy where I live as the closest track is a days drive away.

I felt that both generations are 100% sports car, so very single minded. Cars nowadays wear many hats, from being a daily driver, comfy GT, utility, etc, the 86/BRZ are only a sports car. It doesn't offer much else, that being said, for the money, you can't expect it to be many different things, especially when it's so very good at that one thing. After driving the current BRZ I came away knowing that having it and my Civic Si in the driveway I'll choose the Civic's keys 90% of the time and that's not what I am looking for. The Supra is much more appealing in what it offers to me.

The Supra has a similar dynamic in it's price range. Far less versatile than similarly priced competition. But it's also more of a pure sports car as a result.. Dynamically at least.

Unfortunately where I live is known for having the worst most pothole ridden roads in North America. Whenever I get out of my Supra and into my daily I literally feel like i'm on vacation from babysitting a toddler.

 

[jtsang25]

The Supra has a similar dynamic in it's price range. Far less versatile than similarly priced competition. But it's also more of a pure sports car as a result.. Dynamically at least.

Unfortunately where I live is known for having the worst most pothole ridden roads in North America. Whenever I get out of my Supra and into my daily I literally feel like i'm on vacation from babysitting a toddler.

What city? My city is pretty bad to haha.

 

[BMWAF]

Do you think that your notion of the 86 being more engaging was due to how much more you have to shift and managing that dead spot in the powerband? The Supra seems to have power everywhere so less managing of powerband plus of course by the time you are shifting into 3rd in the Supra you are pretty much at illegal speeds.

Exactly this. I haven't broken the Supra in yet but even under 4500RPM there is power everywhere. My Type R requires me to seek and stay in the power band because if I don't I'm slow af. In the Supra, there is less risk of being slow which in turn makes the perfect gear change less.. rewarding. ?‍

City speeds? Yeah that's not really the engagement that I'm looking for, heck my Civic Si is likely just as engaging as both vehicles in city.

The HUGE difference is of course the power. After a half hour drive in the Supra, getting into my Civic Si was crazy just how slow it felt, for obvious reasons of course, just that you get used to the speed in the Supra fairly quickly. Maybe that's why so many Supra buyers are keen to up the HP to levels that are less comfortable to get used to.

This too. And I don't think this can be understated. The relative acceleration of the 4 pots is snail-like in comparison and I suspect, once you get used to it, it will be very difficult to go back to.

Yeah I feel that in order to get the full enjoyment of the 86/BRZ you really need to track it, which unfortunately is not easy where I live as the closest track is a days drive away.

I felt that both generations are 100% sports car, so very single minded.

I don't think so. If you need to track a car to enjoy it, it's missed its brief. The twins have far more compromises than legitimate sports cars - just like hot hatches. Too many seats, a largely unassuming street presence and for the most part, they're just too slow.

The Supra has a similar dynamic in it's price range. Far less versatile than similarly priced competition. But it's also more of a pure sports car as a result.. Dynamically at least.

And this. All cars have compromises but the compromises the Supra makes are mostly erring towards bratty sportscar; No back seats; Properly quick; Missing features and basic functions; Looks like it eats lunch with supercars; etc.

I mean, lets face it, the Supra has very little utility other than high speed transportation. ?

 

[Spart]

I mean, lets face it, the Supra has very little utility other than high speed transportation. ?

If my Tetris game is decent, I can fit 2/3rd of a cart full of groceries in the back!

 

[BMWAF]

If my Tetris game is decent, I can fit 2/3rd of a cart full of groceries in the back!

With some wrangling, I managed to fit a petrol receipt in the door card. ?

 

[kaj]

Are you still on a Supra forum trying to convince Supra owners that another car is better in any way? You should know better than that. ?

 

[FLtrackdays]

Yeah I feel that in order to get the full enjoyment of the 86/BRZ you really need to track it, which unfortunately is not easy where I live as the closest track is a days drive away.

I felt that both generations are 100% sports car, so very single minded. Cars nowadays wear many hats, from being a daily driver, comfy GT, utility, etc, the 86/BRZ are only a sports car. It doesn't offer much else, that being said, for the money, you can't expect it to be many different things, especially when it's so very good at that one thing. After driving the current BRZ I came away knowing that having it and my Civic Si in the driveway I'll choose the Civic's keys 90% of the time and that's not what I am looking for. The Supra is much more appealing in what it offers to me.

Same for my MX5. I absolutely love rowing through the gears in town and how easy it is to toss around 2300lbs. But it’d be hard to go back to it on track. Which I have and wow. I’m so spoiled now ? The Supra torque is fantastic. I personally love the B58 mated to that ZF transmission. And… Like the MX5, I don’t mind an occasional short drive around town here and there. Overall mega satisfied!

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