2023 Toyota GR Supra GT Manual Review

It’s difficult to think of iconic Japanese cars without at least mentioning the Toyota Supra. First launched way back in 1978, the Supra is a legendary sports car synonymous with movies like the Fast and the Furious series, as well as big performance. The current shape ‘J29’ Supra, launched in 2019, differed from the traditional Supra recipe however, with Toyota heavily leaning on a surprise partner – BMW – for many of its features, including the engine, gearbox and many interior parts. As a result, it was a great grand tourer but some of the Supra magic was missing. But now, according to Toyota, the magic is back and a big part of that was the gearbox. Finally, there’s a manual option, so we tested the 2023 Toyota GR Supra GT manual to see if the modern day Supra is still a Supra. Let’s find out.

Especially in today’s automotive climate, it’s very rare for a company to add a manual option to a car mid way through its life cycle, but Toyota has done just that – despite the BMW Z4, of which the Supra was developed with, not offering one. The gearbox itself isn’t just a BMW gearbox either, with Toyota mixing and matching bits from the BMW parts catalogue. Why build a manual now? For the enthusiasts, really – Toyota likely won’t get the development cost for the manual back but for enthusiasts, there’s no other choice. Let’s see if the new gearbox changes the GR Supra.

Price & Equipment: 7.5/10

The 2023 Toyota GR Supra comes in two guises: the entry-level GT tested here that is priced at $87,000 plus on-road costs (around $94,000 drive away depending on your location) and the upper-spec GTS is $10,000 more at $97,000 plus on roads (around $105,000 drive away).

The 2023 Toyota GR Supra GT is equipped with 18-inch wheels, adaptive suspension, light- and rain-sensing automatic all-LED exterior lighting with LED daytime running lights, automatic wipers, a rear fog light, keyless entry and start, heated and auto-folding exterior mirrors, dual-zone climate control, leather upholstery with heated and electrically adjustable seats, a leather steering wheel and gear knob, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay (but no Android Auto), satellite navigation, digital radio, an 8.8-inch driver’s display, a 205W 10-speaker sound system, one USB-A charging port, a wireless charger, an auto-dimming rear mirror and cruise control. 

Safety inclusions include seven airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist avoidance, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, auto high beam, front and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera, tyre pressure monitoring, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and speed sign recognition. Automatic variants add adaptive cruise control and automatic low-speed rear braking.

For colour options on the GR Supra GT, just ‘Monza Red’ is a no-cost option with ‘Fuji White’, ‘Silverstone Yellow’, ‘Copper Grey’, ‘Bathurst Black’ and our test car’s ‘Azure Blue’ adding $575 to the price. For the GT, black leather is the only interior trim option. Stepping up to the Supra GTS adds $10,000 to the price and adds larger 19-inch alloy wheels, a 425W 12-speaker JBL sound system, slightly larger rear brakes and a heads-up display. We don’t think this extra kit is worth the extra spend over the GT.

Compare the GR Supra GT to its only real direct competitor – the Nissan Z – and you’ll note that it is more expensive. The Z is priced from $73,300 plus on-road costs (roughly $80,500 drive away) and does lose out on some equipment compared to the GR Supra: auto wipers, wireless Apple CarPlay, an airbag (six versus the GR Supra’s seven), auto-folding mirrors, satellite navigation, eight speakers sound system compared to the GR Supra’s 10-speakers, dual zone climate control and a pollen filter.

Do we think that all this extra kit is worth the extra $13,700 spend? Based on equipment alone, we’re not so sure and the Z makes the Supra seem expensive. But compare it to cars with similar performance and fancier badges – like those from Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and BMW – and the Supra seems like a relative bargain. Even the least expensive Porsche 718 Cayman is priced from $134,000 plus on-road costs and that’s before even considering the Porsche options list, which can easily double the cost.

Engine & Performance: 9/10

Powered by a BMW-derived 3.0-litre twin scroll turbocharged ‘B58’ straight six-cylinder petrol engine, the 2023 Toyota GR Supra really is quite fast. It produces 285kW of power between 5,800rpm and 6,500rpm and a massive 500Nm of torque from 1,800rpm to 5,000rpm and while the manual variant’s 0-100km/h sprint time is slower than the automatic, it’s still a very quick 4.4 seconds. In comparison, the Nissan Z also employs a six-cylinder petrol engine, though with an extra turbo for 298kW of power and 475Nm of torque.

The engine has huge grunt low in the rev range – peak 500Nm hits at just 1,800rpm – and emits an almost addictive growl when accelerating, with a lovely turbo-derived whoosh. Let the revs rise and the noise gets even better, as does the performance and it really moves higher in the rev range near the 7,000rpm redline. The twin-scroll turbo does a fantastic job of providing boost throughout most of the rev range – the power band is very linear and makes driving the Supra such an enjoyable experience. We definitely prefer this engine to the Z’s thanks to its added character – the Z offers more power, but the Supra definitely sounds better.

New for the 2023 model year is the six-speed manual option, which was certainly a big surprise and a big nod to enthusiasts from Toyota. The clutch in particular took a little bit of time to get used to, but once we were adjusted, we found it to be an excellent transmission that is very well suited to this coupe. The clutch releases right from the floor meaning there is not much room for error, though the shifter offers a satisfying feel when it goes into gear – we love a notchy gearbox. Rowing through the gears in the Supra is a joy to do and the auto rev matching works well too.

The claimed average fuel consumption figure of the 2023 Toyota GR Supra GT fitted with the manual transmission is 8.9L/100km – almost 2L/100km less than the Z – which is reasonable for the amount of power on offer. In our week behind the wheel of the Supra, with a mixture of motorway and city driving, we saw a figure of 11.1L/100km – more than acceptable especially when testing the performance of the car. The Supra requires minimum 95RON premium unleaded fuel to fill its 52-litre tank.

Ride & Handling: 9.5/10

Despite its appearance, the 2023 Toyota GR Supra GT is more comfortable than you might expect and it suits its grand tourer vibe quite well thanks to its well tuned ride, excellent chassis and comfortable seats. It is firm when compared to a regular passenger car but for a low slung sports car it is pretty forgiving. The adaptive dampers do a good job of altering the ride between normal and sport mode, where the ride becomes firmer and more engaging. Helping the driving experience further of the Supra manual is that it weighs 40kg less than the auto at 1,471kg, which is relatively light for a big six-cylinder coupe.

The handling ability in the GR Supra is sublime, largely thanks to its perfect 50:50-split weight distribution and mechanical limited-slip differential. The 18-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres with wider wheels at the rear make the Supra grip very well. The manual variant also coincided with a mild mid-life update for the GR Supra, which included updates to the stability and traction control systems, retuned steering and revised dampers for improved ride comfort. In our view, the steering could do with more weight and feel – with the strangely thin steering wheel exacerbating that a touch – but the retuned dampers have made its body control better, and the handling better too.

Interior & Practicality: 7/10

The interior of the 2023 Toyota GR Supra is a pleasant place to be, though it’s hardly spacious. The major controls – such as the climate controls, light controls, even the steering wheel buttons – are all from BMW, and even the infotainment system is BMW’s previous generation iDrive user interface. Considering the lacklustre infotainment system that’s been used in most Toyota products for the last few years, we think that’s a pretty good thing. The GR Supra’s quality is pretty good too, with a decidedly premium feel – soft touch plastics cover the dashboard and the leather quality is excellent.

As we’ve experienced in BMW products that use the same system, the 8.0-inch touchscreen in the Supra is quite easy to navigate, the quality of the screen is fantastic and the system can be used either via touch or the rotary dial in the centre console. The navigation is easy to set and the map is clear and crisp, though its lack of live traffic updates and integrated apps like Spotify (which equivalent BMWs are equipped with in Australia) is annoying. There is wireless Apple CarPlay that connects quickly, though sadly, no Android Auto.

Unfortunately there is not too much to say practicality wise for the interior in the 2023 Toyota Supra as there is almost no storage. There is no centre console, the door bins are tiny and awkwardly shaped and the awkwardly placed wireless charging tray is pretty difficult to use (especially in the manual) – it has a strange hump to keep the phone in place but means it is hugely impractical to put anything else there.

There is also just two cup holders in the entire cabin where the centre console would be and the actual space on offer isn’t plentiful either, as space for even six-footers is tight. Add in small windows and a low-slung driving position and the Supra’s cabin is tight. Compared with the much more open Nissan Z, the Supra’s cabin feels almost claustrophobic to sit in. The Z also has covered storage.

There are no rear seats as the Supra is a two-seater – behind the seats is a reasonable amount of storage, though no covered places like in the Z. Open the rear hatch of the 2023 Toyota Supra, with its pretty narrow opening, and there is 290-litres of cargo space (more than the 217L boot in the Corolla hatchback and the 241L boot of the Nissan Z, though its opening is larger). The Supra’s boot is well trimmed and has a strap to hold items, but there’s no spare wheel.

Service & Warranty: 8.5/10

Like all other Toyota products, the Supra comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty that is identical in length to that offered by Nissan on the Z. Unfortunately, the Supra does not come with any form of roadside assistance, whereas the Nissan has five years of roadside assist included.

Servicing the 2023 Toyota GR Supra is due every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first, and servicing the Supra over five years/75,000km will set owners back $1,950 as the first five services are capped at $390 each. In comparison, the Nissan Z needs to be serviced more often with its yearly/10,000km intervals and it costs $2,491 ($498 per service) to service over five years and that’s to only 50,000km thanks to its shorter intervals.

2023 Toyota GR Supra GT DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.4/10

There’s no question that Toyota has added to its flagship sports coupe with the 2023 Toyota GR Supra GT manual. In a very rare win for enthusiasts, the manual gearbox adds a layer of driver engagement that just isn’t present with the automatic. Sure, the ZF-sourced eight-speed auto is great, but in a sports coupe like the GR Supra, a manual is what you need. The gearbox used is nicely precise, and with the upgrades to the car like retuned suspension and steering, the GR Supra also moves more excitingly and with more involvement than before too.

It isn’t perfect, of course. The interior is decidedly cramped and somewhat claustrophobic thanks to its small windows, the lack of interior storage is appalling, it’s missing features like Android Auto and its main rival, the Nissan Z, is priced thousands less. But as an overall package, we think it’s better than the Z because it has more character and it feels lighter on its feet. It also feels quicker, which is handy. Overall, we think those in the position to buy a manual GR Supra should do so right now because it’s not going to last forever, and as a last hurrah for the petrol-powered sports coupe, it’s excellent.