Audi’s e-Tron Sportback under scrutiny

STARRING NEW TOYOTA SUPRA + GOODBYE CLIO, HELLO ZOE + BIG PEUGEOT ESTATE GETS SWAPPED FOR A BIG ELECTRIC AUDI + VOLVO XC40 HYBRID JOINS THE FLEET

station and nav destination. The interior even smells distinctly BMW. This seems strange at first, like opening your front door but walking into someone else’s house. Equally, though, I’d rather use BMW infotainment than Toyota’s.

For all the commonality, Toyota has been free to take this car in its own direction, with Tetsuya Tada (the engineer behind the GT86) leading development and giving the Supra his own distinctive signature. Not forgetting that the Supra is available only as a coupe, the Z4 only as a cabriolet – the only bespoke small sports car BMW makes and it lets Toyota do the more sporting version!

More than the platform, the bigger mental block for me was performance. The Mk4 Supra went head-to-head with the R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, so I was sceptical on first hearing the Supra would produce 335bhp – comparable to the last of the UK models sold two decades earlier and far short of the now-ancient R35 GT-R’s 562bhp.

But then the new Supra is also £31k cheaper than the £84,035 Nissan GT-R, and this is a more compact Supra than its predecessor – 131mm shorter overall and with a wheelbase 80mm shorter, which has played a useful part in keeping the weight down to a comparable 1495kg despite two decades of safety kit and technology added in.

The latest Supra GR (for Gazoo Racing, the umbrella for all Toyota racing exploits/racey road cars) comes in either entry-level or Pro trims. Our car is a Pro, which costs £54,340 and adds wireless phone charging, head-up display, 12-speaker JBL audio, full leather (standard is alcantara and leather) and a luggage net to an already strong standard spec.

Considering that Pro is but a £1305 premium, it’s hard to imagine Toyota selling any entrylevel Supras at all. Refreshingly, the only option added to our car is £710 for metallic white paint. It leaves the final tally at £55,050.

When I first drove the new Supra last year, I said I’d happily own one. This long-term loan will be the acid test.

It even smells like a BMW inside. It’s like opening your front door but walking into someone else’s house