2020 Toyota GR Supra Review

Expectation versus reality. That’s the hurdle that many car reviewers tend to struggle with on a daily basis. Whenever a new car comes out, based on how that car is first presented, standards are set and standards are met, but when the bar is set pretty high, then the car needs to be extraordinarily good in order to meet expectations and live up to its name. 

That’s the dilemma of the 2020 Toyota Supra. The Supra name is legendary without a doubt, so living up to the expectations set by the Mark IV, is what appears to be an insurmountable challenge. However, is that really the case? Did Toyota do the right move with the route that they took with the new Mark V? In some ways yes, in others, no. Let’s dive in. 

Say what you will about how it’s too stubby or short. We particularly like the gorgeous and glamorous appeal of Toyota’s flagship 2-door. Granted, the Mk. IV is longer and more for touring, and this new generation seems to have adopted a shorter wheelbase in favor of sharper handling. Though, enough about comparing it to its predecessor. On its own, the Supra is a moving sculpture. You might feel emotions just walking up to it, just don’t get super close to see the infamous fake vents tatted all over the car. 

Aside from those minor details, the front of the Supra is all sorts of gorgeous and functional, at least in terms of lights. You have multi-LED projectors that get very bright, no fog lamps, but you do get some supposed venting for on the front bumper along with a large intake up front. We will remark, however, that the hood looks all sorts of cool, with its wraparound and round design – but admittedly, this isn’t our favorite part of the car. 

The side and rear profile is just amazing whenever we look at the Supra. Design-wise, just don’t get too close, but from afar the car is just all sorts of good-looking. The swooping lines and the aerodynamic look make this coupe an extremely attractive sight especially rolling down the road. Now, it may not stir everyone’s emotions, and it does look smaller in person, but it’s hard to deny that it has a presence. 

We’ll be honest here, we expected a bit more special in the interior. Typical of a certain German marque, but it is definitely going to stand the test of time with its simple and no-frills layout. There are bits of flair, however, with the carbon fiber accents and that trick digital gauge cluster and the HUD. It’s evident that driving is the primary focus. The seats even feature adjustable bolstering to ensure that you’re snuggly seated for sportier bits of driving. 

Just on looks alone, however, it won’t wow you. It makes up for it in the quality department. There aren’t a lot of nitpicks that we have with this car except for the given fact that it is a bit cramped. It’s a given because it’s a sports car, and you’re going to have to compromise a bit in terms of space. Though if you take it as a driver’s car, it cocoons you and envelops you in quality materials and understated driving-focused design. 

As for the practical amenities of the Supra, you don’t get a lot of storage space. Door cards and just enough cup holders, but you do at least get about 190-liters of space once the rear liftback is opened, and it is a liftback, so you get a wide opening and the floor area is pretty large which makes up for its rather short max cargo height. 

Now, this is one of the areas that we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Toyota Supra. When you get into a sports car, the first thought that will run through your head is, “It’s going to be a bumpy ride,” but not, in the GR Supra. Astonishingly, it is very comfortable. If you’re used to European cars and the stiffness of their chassis, then the Supra will be no alien to you. Going over small to medium imperfections on the road wasn’t that much of a problem, and the chassis of the car wasn’t misbehaving at all. It didn’t even scrape over humps which adds to the comfort for a car like this. 

NVH insulation is on the quieter side of the spectrum.  The sound deadening is definitely premium, with only road noise from the tires that tend to permeate the cabin, which is fine given how wide the rubber is. Wind noise is definitely kept down to a minimum even when going at 200 km/h. We don’t normally say this, but the Supra even feels like a good enough car to take on your daily commute, considering you don’t need the extra seats or cargo space. 

The infotainment system in the Supra is an 8.8-inch touchscreen unit with a very familiar interface. Familiar in the sense that it looks like another brand. You also get a great sound system in the form of a 12-speaker JBL audio system. Couple that with the superb sound insulation, and you haverself a recipe for a great drive thanks to the high quality audio pumping through the speakers. 

Other tech features include the backup camera, which is good enough, all things considered. There are spots on the bumper for parking sensors, but Toyota didn’t include them, so they’re just missing. Though, we think that Toyota could have done better with regard to tech. Perhaps a blindspot camera could have helped along with a blind spot monitoring system because there isn’t enough visibility. You really have to turn your head to make sure you’re not getting in anyone’s way. We also wish that Android Auto and Apple CarPlay were accessible right out of the box, but really, with this car it is all about the driving. 

Though, driving-related tech is amazing. The all-digital cluster is clear and easy to read with a good refresh rate. After that, the HUD further adds to the driver-centric character of the car. Really, for tech, there is nothing to distract you from getting out on the road and doing a few pulls and or going on the twisties. It’s very focused, but again, more would have been fine. 

You get the full suite of airbags in the Supra as expected. You get dual front, side, curtain, and even a driver knee unit. ABS is also standard, as is vehicle stability control, traction control, and also a tire pressure monitoring system. You don’t get ISOFIX tethers of course, so leave the kids at home. 

All in all, it’s a pretty standard set of equipment if we are being honest, but then again, there is nothing to distract you from the driving experience of the Supra, and that’s one way of looking at it.

It goes without saying, but the Supra drives amazingly well. Everything about the car feels very well put together and tight. You feel one to one with the car when you are turning. The seats hold you nicely in place while you are contending with the G forces during hard cornering. You can also vary the steering feel by putting it into sport mode. Puttering around in the city in your posh sportscar is very easy to do. The electronic steering can alternate between a heavy and light feel, and getting feedback from the tires is excellent when engaged in sport mode. Although, we will have to say that the brakes are a bit lacking. In our testing, the pads began to fade quite a bit as they were formulated for street use more than performance driving. Swapping them out for a different set will do you some good especially if you are going to be taking this car out on the race track on a regular basis. Although, if you only go occasionally, we don’t recommend you do as they are good enough out of the box. 

The B58 engine is a straight-6 right out of one of Germany’s best car manufacturers. With a twin-scroll turbocharger and 3.0-liters of displacement to play around with, the motor produces 335 hp and 500 Nm of torque. The thing is, 335 horses doesn’t sound like a lot, but we think that it’s just a very conservative figure, and we’re not the only ones that think this. Even other journalists who’ve tried this car know that 335 hp is a white lie. However, we can attest to the torque figure being what it is and we’re stunned because of how fast that turbo spools up. At 1,600 RPM, you get all 500 Nm of torque pushing you in the back of your seat and that’s impressive. The car will do 200 kilometers per hour no problem, or so we’ve been told. 

Now, we’re going to make a separate section for the gearbox because it is just that good. The ZF transmission is an 8-speed automatic that is a ridiculous amount of responsiveness and even more impressive amounts of strength. Think about it this way, the engine braking in the Supra is so strong that you can slow down to a crawl just by letting off the accelerator if you’re rolling at maybe 30 km/h. The explanation there is that the Supra, being what it is, needs to lock down a lot of power and a transmission like the ZF 8-speed helps ensure that power-hungry owners can tune to their heart’s content. Of course, however, don’t throw caution to the wind with the mods. 

Yeah, we know, this section is pointless for sportscars, but not for the Supra. We were able to average 5 kilometers per liter while in city traffic. We don’t understand how a straight-6 like managed to get that nice of a figure. It was even more bewildering when the traffic cleared up because we were able to get 11 km/L, and on the highway, we got a whopping 17 km/L. 

Just for laughs, we decided to do a fuel economy test on the race track. We managed 5.7 kilometers per liter, better than our city consumption, which is absolutely insane and nothing short of witchcraft. 

When the car went back to Toyota, we got pretty sad. We felt that our drive with the Supra was a little short-lived because time flies really fast when you are having fun. We will say that there are a few shortcomings for this sportscar, and it is one of the best driver-centric cars that we have tested with all the modern chops and tech to make the driving experience sheer pleasure. It’s not a car that you can just rave about on the internet. To actually be behind the wheel of one is needed if you are going to put your opinions out there. At first, we thought this car was all hype. In some ways it was, but driving it and living with it was a pleasantly surprising experience. Other people might tell you that it’s not actually a Supra, and they can have that. It’s not exactly what the Supra used to be, but it is what Toyota wants its halo car to be in this day and age. 

To hold down a lot of power and be stable on the highway, you needed a long wheelbase, and the old Supra had that dimension helping it keep stable, however with better engineering and technology, a shorter and more playful wheelbase can be just as stable as a long one nowadays. Before, you needed two turbos back in the 90s because turbo technology just wasn’t there yet and it was very slow to spool up, now twin-scroll units just boost the performance and efficiency of just one turbocharger which also reduce the complexity of the system in the engine bay. Finally, automatic transmissions that are geared for performance are now in a league of their own, and it’s not always fair to write off a sports car because it doesn’t have a manual transmission option. Really, however, we still wish it did, but if it wasn’t as good as the ZF 8-speed, then that would be problematic. 

In other words, the Supra isn’t free from criticism. For as low as P4,990,000, you can get this model, however, we feel it is a bit too expensive. If it were P500,000 less in price, then the value proposition will be so much better. With a nameplate like that though, how can you not get some flack from the original fans? Viewing it as just a car, however, it’s just an amazing engineering marvel. So if someone decides to give you flack for driving a “Supra”, at least you’re in one, and you can drown out the sound of their hating with some pops and bangs as well as that sweet sweet inline-6 induction noise.