MKIV vs MKV Supra Video Review - Is the A90 a Worthy Successor to the A80?

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What was your favorite part with the car? And your least favorite? Did they mention any lap times for other tracks by chance?

And I've also got a ton of shops around here that are just itching to get their hands on one.
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What was your favorite part with the car? And your least favorite? Did they mention any lap times for other tracks by chance?

And I've also got a ton of shops around here that are just itching to get their hands on one.
Cosmetically, my favorite thing on this car might be those rear hips. They are sooo wide, it looks super exotic when you're right up close with the car. Least favorite might be the blacked out pillars, I'm just not a fan of the floating roof design.

Dynamically, favorite thing is the balance. This chassis is so beautifully balanced. Extremely predictable limit handling, just a sweetheart of a car. Least favorite thing is probably the lack of a third pedal, which is a dead horse I know. If I can't choose that, then visibility is probably the one.

No mention of lap times. If I'm being honest, it's probably not going on record breaking world tours like ACR Vipers lol, but it seriously doesn't matter, this car is all about fun. That being said, I would love to see this car on a stickier tire. The MPSS* got a little greasy after about 5-7 laps on the Shenandoah circuit, which is typical of MPSS. This car on a Cup tire would be a real weapon.
 

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Great video, and loving reading all the questions and answers here too! Making me really excited for seeing it for real and the drive in June.

Sounds like the performance and handling is exactly what I'm looking for, just steering feel is what I'm most interested in.

I've seen mentions of a larger dead zone than the 86 and less feel as well. Does it impact much on spirited road driving? I won't be on track much and driving the Z4 M40i and the 86 back to back it was no contest, 86 wins. The Z4 weights up fine when really pushing it but by that point it's almost too fast for the road and still very numb feeling. If the Supra is good on the road feel wise at reasonable speeds then happy days.
 
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Great video, and loving reading all the questions and answers here too! Making me really excited for seeing it for real and the drive in June.

Sounds like the performance and handling is exactly what I'm looking for, just steering feel is what I'm most interested in.

I've seen mentions of a larger dead zone than the 86 and less feel as well. Does it impact much on spirited road driving? I won't be on track much and driving the Z4 M40i and the 86 back to back it was no contest, 86 wins. The Z4 weights up fine when really pushing it but by that point it's almost too fast for the road and still very numb feeling. If the Supra is good on the road feel wise at reasonable speeds then happy days.
It is definitely fine pushing it on the street. I always understood what the front tires were doing and the weight and speed never once made me lose confidence. It just doesn't wriggle around in your fingertips like the 86 does, but to be fair, my BRZ on 255/40/17 fronts lost a little bit of the feedback I had on the stock setup, so the Supras setup would the same.

tl;dr:
The steering rack is good, but not great like the 86.
 

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I was curious if theey had mentioned lap times so we could see how it compares to the Cayman without having to wait. Ah well, soon.

Thanks Guff. Appreciate the answers
 

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1). Did they talk at all about the Supra Connect app? Specifically remote start with the app?

2). How big are those subs on the upgraded JBL system? They look pretty good sized, 10”+??
 
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1). Did they talk at all about the Supra Connect app? Specifically remote start with the app?

2). How big are those subs on the upgraded JBL system? They look pretty good sized, 10”+??
Oh yeah, we didn't talk about Supra Connect at all. They may have mentioned it in the briefing but only quickly.

Yeah the subs are 10s. I couldn't find an EQ menu though, so it didn't sound too hot out the box. Got solid rattle from the subs at about 75% volume playing Hip Hop by Dead Prez, which was concerning. Need more time with it to really see.
 

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Oh yeah, we didn't talk about Supra Connect at all. They may have mentioned it in the briefing but only quickly.

Yeah the subs are 10s. I couldn't find an EQ menu though, so it didn't sound too hot out the box. Got solid rattle from the subs at about 75% volume playing Hip Hop by Dead Prez, which was concerning. Need more time with it to really see.
Besides the rattle, which I am guessing could pretty easily be located and resolved, did it sound good, volume wise??

I am sick of buying cars and then dropping another 5k to get a decent stereo setup. I would love to keep the stereo factory....
 

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Also, now that the big test week is done, wouldn’t you think the dealerships would be getting more info? I talked to mine on Saturday....they had no idea about the July 22nd “official release date.”
 
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It sounded fine, but I would have wanted to mess with EQ a little. Vocals seemed a little muddy and overall it was a little flat. There's 500 watts and like 12 speakers though, so it's got to be decent. JBL was even on site at the race track answering questions. Sadly I was too busy beating a pre production car senseless on track haha.

This is lower key, but I'll go ahead and mention it: all the district managers for the dealer networks in the US are meeting up in Texas at the end of June for training on the Supra. So expect dealers to have proper info and training around the first week of July. I'll be at the dealer event myself so I'll keep y'all updated.
 

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Hey Guff, since U own 86, how would U compare it to Supra? I mean the sitting position which I find spot on in 86 and the steering feel. After 86 every car I drive feels fake and numb in steering department I was especially disappointed with BMW M2 and since Supra has BMW parts... I suspect this car is less raw overall? Something like Cayman 987 (raw) to 718 Cayman (not so much, muted). I red in 1 interview the steering is not as sharp as 718...and I found steering in 718 not so gr8 actually after driving 987, 86 or 458... thats my biggest concern :p
 
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Hey Guff, since U own 86, how would U compare it to Supra? I mean the sitting position which I find spot on in 86 and the steering feel. After 86 every car I drive feels fake and numb in steering department I was especially disappointed with BMW M2 and since Supra has BMW parts... I suspect this car is less raw overall? Something like Cayman 98 (raw) to 718 Cayman (not so much, muted). I red in 1 interview the steering is not as sharp as 718...and I found steering in 718 not so gr8 actually after driving 987, 86 or 458... thats my biggest concern :p
Seating position is good, nice and low down. The seat is also very good. Adjustable bolstering and overall very comfortable.

I wrote a bit about steering in the previous comments so I'll repost that here.

Okay, I'll touch on steering first. It's faster than the A80 Steering, and much better weighted. The A80 is incredibly overassisted, and that's one of the A80's biggest pitfalls IMO. The A90 doesn't quite have the same level of feel as the A80, and by feel I mean specifically the vibration and feedback that comes through the wheel that indicates what the front tires are doing. Of course, this is the sad reality of electric vs hydraulic steering, but the 86 is def a better tuned electric rack. Now, granted, there are other factors, such as tire, caster angle, etc that play a part in this, so its not necessarily the EPS by itself. Overall, the steering is good though, easy to read, enough feel (much better than a BMW), and quick enough to be fine on a very technical track like Summit's Shenandoah. It has a very predictable amount of springback, very easy to predict, and when you get into oversteer, its' intuitive enough to easily correct.

There is a little deadness in the center as I mentioned earlier. It is likely to make the car a better highway car. and by deadness, I don't mean feel/feedback, I mean actual steering output. There's some footage of Zain testing how much steering input it takes to actually move the car on the road, I'll post that sometime.
If I were to nitpick some things, I'd say that I wish the steering was a little bit quicker off center. It loads up nicely once you get some lock into it but on-center its pretty slow, likely for highway cruising. The feedback is decent, I wish it was 86-good, but at least its better than any BMW.
It is definitely fine pushing it on the street. I always understood what the front tires were doing and the weight and speed never once made me lose confidence. It just doesn't wriggle around in your fingertips like the 86 does, but to be fair, my BRZ on 255/40/17 fronts lost a little bit of the feedback I had on the stock setup, so the Supras setup would the same.

tl;dr:
The steering rack is good, but not great like the 86.
 

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Mate what do you think of the white? It looks nice and pearly, but the pics look quite bland. Does it look better in person?

I've got a Renault RS265 in pearl white and it looks really good and the metallic shows the curves nicely... Hoping the A90 is the same.
 

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Yeah the subs are 10s. I couldn't find an EQ menu though, so it didn't sound too hot out the box. Got solid rattle from the subs at about 75% volume playing Hip Hop by Dead Prez, which was concerning. Need more time with it to really see.
That's unfortunate to hear but something also mirrored in the DSport review. There really is no reason for JBL to mess this one up especially with the stats of the sound system and how much of the trunk they sacrificed for it.
 
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Mate what do you think of the white? It looks nice and pearly, but the pics look quite bland. Does it look better in person?

I've got a Renault RS265 in pearl white and it looks really good and the metallic shows the curves nicely... Hoping the A90 is the same.
The white is lovely, one of the better colors for sure. I think it complements the car really well. With the launch edition wheels, the White really pops, just need to get rid of those damned red mirrors lol.
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