Old-fashioned Japanese sports coupes are very significant if one looks down the line. Known for their loud and powerful engines, every action movie had one of these. Not to forget the famous Fast and Furious franchise that introduced and promoted such cars. No, it is not the Nissan GT-R, but the even older Toyota Supra which is also the only other Japanese sports coupe that has been putting up with all the American and even the German cars.
Initially, the Supra was just a trim of the Celica model introduced in 1978. This remained the same way for the next eight years until the third generation sprung it into life as a completely different model in 1986. With that being said, the 1993 Toyota Supra was the most impressive model back then and with a few modifications is still one of the best coupes ever made.
Nearly after 20 years of going into hiding, the Supra has returned for 2019 and a very inaugural move has already been done by the Japanese automaker. The Toyota Supra for 2021 has been updated and this was made possible with all the minds working together at the Gazoo Racing division of Toyota, which also played a major role in bringing a hell of a car back to the roads.
Just tell us about the upgrades, already?
Alright, so the new Toyota Supra gets two surprises for us, modifying more of that BMW B58 engine. The already-existing 3.0L in-line 6 engine is smacked up to squeeze more power and just a tad bit of torque while a new 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder powerhouse is introduced for 2021. The 3.0-liter now gives about 382 horses of power and 368 lb-ft of torque while the 2.0-liter engine is a punchy little thing that provides 255 horses and 295 lb-ft of torque.
Talking about owning a Supra 2.0, it will surely have more fuel economy and it bags around 25 MPG in the city and 32 MPG on the highway. When equipped with this engine, driving it will be time well spent because its peak value of power and torque match the revs that are practically achieved while driving any vehicle, be it around the town or full-throttling it on the highway. Weighing approximately 200 lbs less, the power-to-weight ratio for the 2.0 is 12.47 lbs/hp which is just about 9 for the higher-spec engine.
With that said, the 3.0-liter 6-cylinder engine does not really feel any different with those extra 47 horses of power. Nevertheless, improving lap times and stepping out the rear end quite frequently will be two things that a 2020 model would miss out on. Moreover, the engine efficiency would notably drop and take down those good MPG figures back to being meh. Yes, a brand like Toyota could come up with better figures than 22 MPG in the city and 30 on the highway.
Which Supra would be the best buy?
We would recommend the Toyota Supra 2.0 not because it is a new arrival but because it has all of those important features that a sports coupe should have. Priced at $43,090, there are a few downsides to it but none of those really matter given that it has impressive MPG figures.
Starting with the looks, this base trim sits on a set of sporty-looking 18-inch cast-aluminum 10-spoke wheels which are accompanied by a pair of glossy-black heated, auto-folding side mirrors. The drivers side has an auto-dimming outside mirror whereas the passengers side has the smart auto-tilting passenger mirror when put in reverse for better views. Except for dual exhaust outlets having polished stainless steel tips, all other technical features like lighting and aerodynamic components are in sync with the lineup, which is great.
Diving inside the cabin, the seats are very comfortable with the only negative being that they are manually adjusting. Besides that, a 3-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel along with Black Alcantara/ leather upholstery is standard regardless of being a 2.0 or a 3.0. An 8.8-inch full digital TFT LCD gauge cluster and a carbon fiber interior trim are two other features that are also standard in the 3.0.
Moreover, the base trim also gets most of the creature comforts like dual-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry with push-button start, and an auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror. The only plus side of having the top-spec 3.0 Premium and the A91 Edition is having leather-wrapped seats and sport pedals.
The new Toyota Supra makes enough space for two and offers nearly 51 cubic feet of total passenger volume. A decent headroom of 38.3 inches and a shoulder room of 54.4 inches feels pretty roomy. On the other hand, a great 42.2 inches of legroom is standard on all the Supra models. Besides a small 10.2 cubic feet of trunk, a small glovebox and plenty of space in the door pockets are provided whereas two good-sized cup-holders are also standard on this Japanese sports coupe.
Talking about the infotainment system, where the Supra 2.0 suffers a heavy hit by having an 8.8-inch center screen that can be operated using specified buttons only and has limited connectivity with only AM/FM, SiriusXM, USB, and Bluetooth being the options for integrating devices and only a 4-speaker audio system. Having said that, for another $3,485 one can get a touchscreen display, wireless Apple CarPlay, and touchpad control with voice-assisted navigation, which is also a good deal except that it does not make the Android users happy.
Moving over towards the safety and security tech; a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning with steering assist, and automatic high beams are all standard on the 2.0 trim. Moreover, all the necessary passive features are standard including tire pressure monitoring system and hill start control. A Supra 3.0 would bring in a driver assistance package that adds features like blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and dynamic radar cruise control.
