Skip advert
Advertisement
In-depth reviews

Toyota GR Supra review - performance and 0-60 time

Does strong work with its modest power figures, but both engines work most effectively in the mid-range

Evo rating
Price
from £54,340
  • Agile chassis and polished powertrains
  • Lacks feel, feedback and bite; best class rivals are more capable

The way it goes about achieving that speed feels… well, quite BMW-like. There are worse engines to listen to than the 3.0’s straight-six, but the engine and transmission’s character is quite laid-back compared to Porsche’s 4-litre flat-six and Audi’s turbocharged five-cylinder in the TT RS.

Toyota has worked to give the car some aural character, and in the sportier driving modes there are the obligatory crackles when backing off the throttle. And seat-of-the-pants it feels comfortably as quick as the 4.3sec 0-62mph time suggests (or 4.6sec for the manual version), punching hard from very few revs and the acceleration never really tailing off until you bump into the limiter. It responds well in-gear too, taking off with the merest hint of throttle input.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Perhaps it’s a symptom of the low-set driving position or the minimal glass area but it seems to accentuate the car’s performance too – there’s a proper muscle car vibe. The transmission is one of several areas the car feels short on interaction, as good though the ZF is, it’s not as sharp as the dual-clutch ’boxes offered elsewhere, and the process of switching the car into sport mode, knocking the gear shifter into manual and then changing down half a dozen gears just to wake everything up feels neither efficient nor fun, or interactive.

This is where the manual gearbox option comes in – the extra engagement instilled by needing to stoke the engine yourself makes a big difference day-to-day, with a robust and positive shift quality. The gearbox uses a unique set of ZF internals and Toyota has honed the feel across the gate and into gears; this is no slap-dash installation, and it shows. The clutch pedal action is intuitive too, while Toyota’s iMT auto-blip function has been integrated into downshifts. 

The entry-level 2.0 model’s performance on paper is impressive, with 62mph reached in just 5.2sec, but that’s about where the 2.0’s performance good points end. As it is in most other applications, the B48 just doesn’t make a very good fist at being a sports car engine. Its low-down torque negates it having any enthusiasm to reach the red line, and while the engine is responsive, you find yourself driving it like a diesel, relying on the torque and short-shifting up the transmission to keep it in its useable (rather than sweet) spot. All Supras have a 155mph top speed.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

The new Mercedes-AMG G63 has arrived, and it still has a V8
Mercedes-AMG G63
News

The new Mercedes-AMG G63 has arrived, and it still has a V8

Some of Affalterbach’s range-toppers are swapping eight cylinders for four, but the AMG G-class retains its V8 for 2024
26 Mar 2024
Land Rover Defender OCTA: twin-turbo V8 and McLaren-style suspension tech for hot off-roader
Land Rover Defender OCTA – front
News

Land Rover Defender OCTA: twin-turbo V8 and McLaren-style suspension tech for hot off-roader

The OCTA promises to be the fastest, toughest and most capable Defender yet when it launches later this year
26 Mar 2024
The new Toyota GR Yaris costs £44,250 – too much for a hot supermini?
Toyota GR Yaris Gen 2 – front
News

The new Toyota GR Yaris costs £44,250 – too much for a hot supermini?

Our early impressions of the Gen 2 GR Yaris suggest that it’s an improvement in every area that counts, but can it be worth £18k more than an i20 N?
27 Mar 2024