It’s a stylish two-seater that’s good enough for Goldilocks
2023 Toyota GR Supra 3.0T MT is a rear-wheel-drive sports car with a slick manual transmission
Quiet countryside roads on a sunny, Sunday morning provide the perfect setting to experience the handling prowess of the Toyota GR Supra. Leather wrapped bucket seats hold me firmly in place as I devour corners in it. I press down firmly on the accelerator and the stylish two-seater surges ahead thanks to its powerful six-cylinder engine, which emits all the right sounds through its beefy, dual exhausts. The confidence-inspiring poise of this GR Supra reminds me why we love these cosy performance coupes; they fit like a glove and put a smile on your face.
The big news for the Toyota GR Supra is that, for the first time in more than two decades, you can connect its silky smooth six-cylinder engine to its rear wheels via a manual transmission. Is this six-speed any good? Using the Goldilocks analogy: some of the manual transmissions in the cars I’ve driven over the past year have been too firm and notchy and just not that enjoyable to use on a daily basis, while others were way too soft, vague and rubbery, and quite unsatisfying to drive. The six-speed manual in this Toyota GR Supra is right in the middle. It is exactly what I had hoped it would be. Perfect!
Row your way up through the manual box and each shift adds to this engaging driving experi- ence. On your way back down through the gears, you can opt to use the Intelligent Manual Transmission (iMT) rev- matching. It works flawlessly as it blips the throttle to perfectly match the revs with each down- shift. It can easily be deactivat- ed so you can heel-and-toe it yourself, but using the iMT in stop-and-go traffic is very con- venient.
But … the manual equipped GR Supra is slower and gets worse gas mileage than its eight-speed automatic coun- terpart. Sprints from 0-100 km/h take four seconds for the automatic and 4.4 for the man- ual. The manual is rated at 12.7 litre/100 km in the city, 8.8l on the highway and 10.9l combined. The automatic gets 20 per cent better fuel economy achieving 10.2 litre/100 km in the city, 7.7l on the highway and 9.1l combined.
But the manual GR Supra is far more than 20 per cent more engaging and rewarding to drive. It just feels right when you climb into this stylish twodoor coupe and press in that third pedal with your left foot before you reach for the Start/ Stop button. Slide that stalky little GR Alcantara gear lever into first gear and away you go. Each shift feels just right.
Adding to the driving experience is this torque-y, BMWbuilt, three-litre, twin-scroll, turbocharged engine, which generates 368 pounds-feet of torque at just 1,800 rpm. That means you almost always have enough grunt to get you going, no matter how low you let the revs drop. Horsepower is rated at 382 at 5,800 rpm on the way to its 7,000 rpm redline. Yes, the Toyota GR Supra and the BMW Z4 are built by BMW at the Canadian-owned Magna Steyr factory in Graz, Austria.
The Z4 and GR Supra were launched in 2020 with eightspeed automatic transmissions. Only Toyota added a sixspeed manual to the GR Supra lineup in 2023. We applaud Toyota for doing this as more than 98 per cent of new vehicles sold in North America last year were purchased with automatic transmissions. Thank goodness, Toyota offers all three of their performance cars, the GR 86, GR Corolla and GR Supra with a shift-it-yourself gearbox. The red Supra badge on the trunk tells everyone who knows, that this Supra has the six-speed manual, as the The Supra badge is black when the car is equipped with the automatic.
The exterior of this fifth generation Supra is bold, curvaceous and exudes attitude, especially in this CU Later grey exterior paint with Frozen Gunmetal grey wheels. Most of the air vents don’t actually function, but they add to the overall performance vibe of this stylish two-seater.
The interior is a bit claustrophobic, but the Cognac Tan leather lightens everything up and adds to this car’s premium feel. Side and rear outward visibility isn’t great. Lane changes, parking and backing up need to be done with caution. The backup camera is essential but the display is quite small. The interior is full of buttons and switches, which is now considered a bit old school, but they are so easy to use.
The GR Supra does have its flaws. Android Auto isn’t available, just Apple CarPlay. The Toyota GR 86 and GR Corolla have Android Auto, but not this more expensive GR Supra. You can’t sync the dual climate control, and there is no trunk release button on the trunk. To open it you have to use your key fob or press the trunk release button inside the driver’s door.
But if you are in the market for a front-engine, rear-wheeldrive sports car with a beautiful shifting six-speed manual transmission, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.
Take one out for a spin and see whether you think it’s just right for you!