2023 Toyota GR Supra Manual Review Thread!!!

[AndyK5]

Sounds like my MX5. Loved it & still do! I was actually looking on the Toyota website for a GR86 when my wife said why don’t you just buy a Supra. That was all she wrote ?

I will say, I think you’ll be surprised at what you can do in this Supra. It’s more nimble than I was expecting. She can dance brother. When’s your 1st track day with her?

Edit: (scrolled up to the top and looked at the title) - Assuming yours is a manual? ? There. I‘m back on topic. This is my 1st automatic ? (yes that is cringeworthy saying) track car. But I’m surprised in that department too. I never thought an auto could be this much fun on track!! Wish I cold buy a manual for shits and giggles. That would be cool - owning both ?

Yeah its a manual, I was tempted by the auto as it would have been much easier to compete with my friend groups GT4s but I drive one in the street and did not get a lot of excitment.

First track day is soon, waiting on wheels/tires and pads. I always take my cars bone stock first and fry the pads and tires the first day, then when I sell the car I have to buy stock parts again. This time around I want to take them off and keep them.

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[DEupra]

TLDR: The older 1st gen GT86/FR-S/BRZ cars have the dog engine. I've driven them and can attest. The 2022+ 2nd gen GR86/BRZ engine isn't a dog to drive and is fine. And yes, it's actually fun to drive. But if you want a proper "fast" sportscar with big power then buy an MKV of course as we all know.

Or split the difference and buy a GR Corolla which is much faster but not as fast as a Supra MKV.

Valiant effort in your long response. Most times people who respond ignorantly about a car are usually immature or lack perspective/experience. Hive-mind, what can we expect, this is a Supra MKV forum so there will always be overly biased responses. With that said as a new BRZ 2nd gen owner, best car ever lmao...I'm itching to get the chance to drive a MT Supra (and hopefully one day own). When the 1st gen BRZ came out, I was younger and thought that car was so stupid with it's low HP, when I test drove a 1st gen for the first time a few months ago, I could understand why people would love it so much for it's steering 'feel'.

 

[KahnBB6]

I think you guys and bunch of other are missing the point of GR86 and its variants.

I owned a lot of cars and tracked them all over the last 20 years. specifically in the last 2 years I owned a GR86 (23 track days), a GRC CE (2 track days) and currently have a MT Supra. Disclaimer: I love my Supra and currently getting it sorted for track duty.


In its core a GR86 is a fun car in terms of balance. The chassis, suspension, weight and power all complement each other and you get and incredible feel both on side streets, canyons or the track. It just works beautifully. When you drive a GR 86 you get to drive the car and not the other way around, you get to throw it in to corners, lose the back end, catch it with counter steer and all is just simple and intuitive because the car is light, balanced and its power delivery is in check/linear. Most of you will not be doing that in a Supra, I guarantee it.


If you make the GR86 300Hp by putting the 3cyl turbo in it you get a completely different car, an other great car but the experience is going to be completely different, much closer to Supra where the chassis, suspension and brakes will be overwhelmed by the weight (it'll be ~3100 lb with that motor) and the power. So slow in to a corner, hold it steady mid corner, give er the beans at corner exit and haul ass down the straight away.

^^ This is precisely the point, yes. The GR86 isn't going to win any drag races nor will it power down the straights on track the way any high powered car will... but it is just perfect in its delivery of driving feel and handling. It just feels great to drive and is a bit like a 1990's affordable sportscar made in the 2020's.

My big, long, +700lbs heavier grand tourer SC300 (the doors on it alone weigh almost 100lbs *each*) with an inline-six, turbochargers, a physically bigger and beefier gearbox and much wider staggered tires beats it handily in brute muscle and just keeps hauling ass down the road at high speed with great stability.

In turns (as I've set mine up) it handles very well but you can definitely feel the extra weight and it's a chassis design that loves to get tail happy if you push it to. That added weight, longer wheelbase and heavier front-to-rear weight bias all make for a totally different experience. More refined muscle car than sportscar.

However I drove a 2005 Pontiac GTO 6-speed manual just before buying the SC and that car was not only +300lbs heavier stock but also *felt* noticeable less heavier and less nimble than the SC did in stock form.

And the GR86 is a world of difference in terms of lightness, handling and steering feel compared to both those cars. And I am biased about this admittedly but it is hard for me to imagine the GR86/BRZ being *quite* as fun with the automatic compared to the manual transmission version.

There isn't a better choice that Toyota has at this point other than to move ahead with a 3cyl turbo hybrid 3rd gen car so... we'll see how well they do with it. As you say it will still be a little heavier and have a slightly different character than the 1st and 2nd gen BRZ/86 cars.

To bring it back on topic... the Supra MKV, despite having the same 3400lbs as the MKIV model, has better front to rear balance and is superior in many ways in its handling and ability to delivery each horsepower through the chassis more efficiently than the older model. Even if the GR86 is a great little chassis in its own right I am more than sure that even with the MKV's higher limits anyone can still have similar fun with it-- just so long as they're a bit more mindful and careful since everything will happen much faster in an MKV.

And just the same as with my GR86 and my old SC (both manual)... I'm certainly biased in my opinion in favor of the manual MKV : )

 

[KahnBB6]

Valiant effort in your long response. Most times people who respond ignorantly about a car are usually immature or lack perspective/experience. Hive-mind, what can we expect, this is a Supra MKV forum so there will always be overly biased responses. With that said as a new BRZ 2nd gen owner, best car ever lmao...I'm itching to get the chance to drive a MT Supra (and hopefully one day own). When the 1st gen BRZ came out, I was younger and thought that car was so stupid with it's low HP, when I test drove a 1st gen for the first time a few months ago, I could understand why people would love it so much for it's steering 'feel'.

Well yes of course on a Supra forum most of us will be biased in opinion favoring the car the forum is dedicated to. And there's nothing wrong with that. This is an owner's forum after all.

Zoomie just happened to bring up the GR86 in his post as a point of comparison and contrast to the MKV M/T and being a new owner of an 86 I just wanted to offer my firsthand impressions of it if it might help him a little.

The BRZ being nearly the same aside from some differences in the swaybars, shocks and steering knuckles you know how good it is also as you've attested.

I still very much love getting behind the wheel of my turbo car which can now be saved for weekend fun as it no longer has to be a daily : ) They're two very fun but very different vehicle experiences. I prefer to have both types of cars side by side honestly.

I'd like to get behind the wheel of a Supra MKV manual also. You can't usually test drive any of the GR vehicles. I had been able to test drive an A/T FR-S and M/T FR-S years ago and based on that and a lot of reviews I decided to put a deposit down on and buy my GR86 without ever having driven one.

 

[Spart]

I think you guys and bunch of other are missing the point of GR86 and its variants.

I owned a lot of cars and tracked them all over the last 20 years. specifically in the last 2 years I owned a GR86 (23 track days), a GRC CE (2 track days) and currently have a MT Supra. Disclaimer: I love my Supra and currently getting it sorted for track duty.


In its core a GR86 is a fun car in terms of balance. The chassis, suspension, weight and power all complement each other and you get and incredible feel both on side streets, canyons or the track. It just works beautifully.

Sounds like my MX5. Loved it & still do! I was actually looking on the Toyota website for a GR86 when my wife said why don’t you just buy a Supra. That was all she wrote ?

I will say, I think you’ll be surprised at what you can do in this Supra. It’s more nimble than I was expecting. She can dance brother. When’s your 1st track day with her?

Only the MX5 is actually light and is faster than the 86, but with less power.

The Toyobaru twins are only about 500lbs down on a Supra. It's a lot, but it's not ~1000lbs like the Miata.

I've driven Miatas and Toyobarus. I fully understand what they have to offer. The Supra is a more complete vehicle. The Miata still has some special sauce and I love them, but the Toyobaru, for it's size, is just lacking in the power department.

I have felt this way since the first time I drove a FR-S ten years ago. When you can get more straight-line performance out of a minivan (not hyperbole, facts) something is missing from your "sports" car.

Toyota and Subaru should have always offered a second powerplant, just like Toyota is doing with the Supra and Ford does with the Mustang. Instead, it feels like we've been left out to dry with just a base model and not what that chassis really deserves.

I feel this way to an extent about the Miata as well, a Mazdaspeed variant of the ND with 250hp or so could have talked me out of the 3.0L Supra. But the size of a ND has a special quality all of it's own.

When you drive a GR 86 you get to drive the car and not the other way around, you get to throw it in to corners, lose the back end, catch it with counter steer and all is just simple and intuitive because the car is light, balanced and its power delivery is in check/linear. Most of you will not be doing that in a Supra, I guarantee it.

This is gatekeeping and just plain wrong.

Forget the Supra, I did all of this in my S550 Mustangs, which were very easy to drive in performance situations despite being relatively heavy cars.

The Supra in comparison feels like a Miata RF that grew up and hit the gym. It drives much closer to the Miata RF than the Mustang, despite being closer in weight to the Mustang (2450, 3300, and 3800 pounds for the trio.)

The Supra is definitely a car that you can throw into corners (I have) lose the back end (I have) catch it (I have) and is simple and intuitive (once you delete the CDV ? ) because the car is a complete package.

It's also more planted through curves on broken pavement than any of the cars I've mentioned.

I could talk about the downsides of the Supra all day, but you're barking up the wrong tree here.

 

[KahnBB6]

My only problem with the MX-5 Miata despite it being a gold standard small sports car: Unless it's just someone's weekend car or second non-daily car it has the problem of offering only two seats and scant little storage space.

Even the Supra MKV does a better job than the MX-5 does in offering somewhat usable rear cargo space despite being a two-seater. And in the same regard the A80 Supra MKIV as a 2+2 hatchback has the A90 Supra beat in additional passenger and cargo room.

Because of this severe lack of cargo and extra passenger room I wasn't even remotely interested in considering an ND MX-5 Miata over the GR86.

As a secondary car not intended for daily use? Sure! But that's not the kind of car I was shopping for.

The ND MX-5 is a great car but an extremely impractical one compared to the BRZ/GR86. Both are excellent driver’s cars.

 

[Spart]

The MKV is pretty poor on storage space too, I wouldn't recommend it as someone's only car for that reason alone.

I can fit about 3/4 of a cart full of groceries in the Supra. But I just keep in mind what I plan to buy and drive the Taco instead if I need the room.

S550 Mustangs, despite the very poorly sized trunk opening, have a ton of storage space especially with the rear seats folded down. The liftback on the Supra is something I wish the Mustang still had. Back in the day I used to have a 6th gen Celica, and that thing may as well have been a tiny pickup with the rear seats folded flat.

 

[Emspilot]

The MKV is pretty poor on storage space too, I wouldn't recommend it as someone's only car for that reason alone.

I think this would depend on the individual. My MKV is my only car. But I’m single so for me it has plenty of space. I can get weekly groceries, and a Costco run easily in the hatch. I can even fit my road bike in there (pics of that in another thread).

 

[FLtrackdays]

Anyone know when the 1st allocations for the 2024 manuals hitting the dealerships in America? And any improvements being made? Buddy is looking for a 6 speed, blue w/ tan interior. I told him he might be boxing himself into a corner. These 6 speeds are too hard to come by if looking for exact specs, no?

 

[jtsang25]

Anyone know when the 1st allocations for the 2024 manuals hitting the dealerships in America? And any improvements being made? Buddy is looking for a 6 speed, blue w/ tan interior. I told him he might be boxing himself into a corner. These 6 speeds are too hard to come by if looking for exact specs, no?

I stumbled on this article doesn't look like 2024 is getting anything new but a color change and special editon for the US. He could try putting his name for that color combo at more dealers. But production seems to be trending lower each year. As mentioned in the production thread. https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/toyota-details-2024-updates-for-gr-performance-models

 

[BoostedTrojan61]

Anyone know of a big turbo MT yet? Seen a few tuned/bolt on ones on youtube but would like to know the drivability with higher HP 6 speed cars.

 

[FuzzyRev]

Buddy is looking for a 6 speed, blue w/ tan interior. I told him he might be boxing himself into a corner. These 6 speeds are too hard to come by if looking for exact specs, no?

Good luck

https://www.supramkv.com/threads/scarce-supply.19523/

 

[mdpalmer]

That Dude in Blue on the 45th anniversary MKV MT Supra:

 

[BMWAF]

That Dude in Blue on the 45th anniversary MKV MT Supra:

Nothing to see here. Typical YouTube waste of time.

 

[Isaleus]

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