Toyota GR Supra 2021 Review

As before, the 2021 Toyota GR Supra is available in two model grades – GT and GTS – priced from $87,126 and $97,126 (both plus on-road costs) respectively. That represents a $2226 increase for both compared to their launch price from two years ago.

Here, we’re testing the flagship Supra GTS, finished in metallic Fuji White ($575) which brings its as-tested price up to $97,701 plus ORCs. And, yes, before you drive it out of the showroom the investment will blow out beyond $100K – to $107,940 in Victoria, for example.

If it sounds like a lot of coin for a Toyota, that’s because it is. If you’re not familiar with the current-generation Supra’s story and how it shares underpinnings with the BMW Z4, you can read more about how “it’s just a BMW” here.

At least that’s what every second Supra fan will tell you.

Semantics (or politics?) aside, once you get to know the Toyota GR Supra, it feels worth every penny.

In 2021, the first update to the fifth-generation sports car gets an extra 35kW of power and a host of chassis improvements.

The GTS forgoes the GT’s 18-inch alloy wheels in favour of larger 19-inch forged alloys, while a crisp 12-speaker JBL sound system is added, alongside sports pedals and a useful head-up display.

Opting for GTS also adds red four-piston brake callipers up front, now with white Supra logos at either side as part of the MY21 update. Larger 345mm rear brake discs are also fitted to the top-spec model.

The only other options for the GTS include matte Nurburg Grey paint and/or Alcantara upholstery, each adding $2500 to the bottom line.

A tyre repair kit is standard across the board.

Toyota covers the GR Supra with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, with visits to the workshop due every 12 months or 15,000km. The first five services are capped at $385 each, totalling $1155 in the first three years.

A noticeable omission since the fifth-generation Toyota Supra arrived is the lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity, and that’s still the case with this MY21 model.

It’s no secret the Supra shares much of its BMW Z4 donor car’s traits, including the Bavarian brand’s iDrive infotainment system, which includes an 8.8-inch central touch-screen with Bluetooth and navigation.

There’s a rotary dial surrounded by a few buttons next to the gear selector that you can also use to toggle through the touch-screen menus, although like the system itself it’s a little fiddly and takes some time to get used to.

Why so many people rave about BMW’s iDrive system is beyond me.

A little further back, you’ll find big buttons for all the important functions, some of which include the engine stop/start, ‘Sport’ button to switch drive modes and a Safety System button that allows you to turn off or change the sensitivity of things like lane assist and forward collision warning.

On the safety front, the Supra hasn’t been crash-tested by ANCAP, which is not unusual for a sports car of this calibre.

It does, however, come standard with Toyota’s Safety Sense suite, which includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with daytime pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition, rear cross traffic alert, a reverse camera and seven airbags.

Excellent adaptive LED headlights are also fitted, along with LED tail-lights.

The driver gets a cool digital dash – unchanged from the MY19 GR Supra – that brings a 3D-like tacho, shift light indicator and digital speed read-out.

There isn’t the option to customise the display, but we doubt many will feel the need to.

Even prior to this power upgrade, one of the best things about the Toyota GR Supra was its thumping BMW-derived 3.0-litre inline turbocharged six-cylinder engine, codenamed B58.

MY21 takes peak power from 250kW to 285kW, now delivered from 5800rpm (up 800rpm) to the same 6500rpm peak. Maximum torque remains at 500Nm, but it, too, has a different band – now 1800-5000rpm, compared to 1600-4500rpm before.

As well as serving in the Z4, the B58 has been seen in a variety of other applications (past and present) across BMW model lines including the 3 Series, 4 Series and X3/X4 SUVs.

In the 2021 Toyota GR Supra, it’s always on, ready to pull like a freight train, seemingly no matter what speed you’re going, or which gear you’re in.

Pound the throttle and you’re met with a slight hesitation as the rear tyres squirm to find traction, before relentlessly launching you into your back rest.

Officially, the 1505kg GR Supra completes the 0-100km/h sprint in a claimed 4.1 seconds – 0.2sec quicker than before. That’s a figure that feels pretty spot on in real life.

Gear shifts are sharp and snappy, with super-quick response from the shift paddles and almost the perfect gear selection every time if you let the eight-speed torque-converter auto do its thing.

The limited-slip diff helps get power to the ground, but given the first few days of our Supra Week coincided with a heavy Sydney downpour, we learnt pretty quickly just how easy it’ll get sideways – even without provoking it.

Unfortunately, something the new Supra seems to have lost somewhere along the way is its growling soundtrack.

Toyota Australia says the new cylinder head design and coinciding engine retune – the culprits behind the straight-six’s 35kW power increase – could be the reason.

It still crackles and pops when you let off the throttle, but it’s not as loud and raucous under load as the Supra that launched in 2019, and you almost notice the blow-off valve ‘whooshing’ more than the exhaust, which is a bit of a shame.

That said, you don’t need an exhaust that smacks to turn heads, with our Fuji White tester gathering eyeballs no matter where it went. Even a push of the start button brings the GR Supra to life with a rev of the engine, before coming back to a steady idle.

Toyota’s combined fuel consumption claim of 7.7L/100km remains unchanged, however we achieved a real-world average of 11.4L/100km across our test.

That’s because we drove the Supra the same way most owners would surely drive it – exploring how many bars the shift lights have to offer and how accessible the torque band is.

When engineers turned their attention to the 2021 Toyota GR Supra, it wasn’t all about the B58.

They also introduced several chassis updates in a bid to stiffen up the coupe’s body, adding a pair of strut braces under the bonnet and a stiffer suspension tune.

Having driven the first of the new-generation Supras in 2019, we reckon you’d have to drive them back-to-back to notice a huge difference, if any. The ride, even with adaptive dampers, still feels just as firm and exceptionally well balanced as before.

It doesn’t thump or break your back when you hit an imperfection in the road, but it’s firm for everyday use even in ‘Normal’ mode and the road/tyre noise from the low-profile Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres filters into the cabin quite prominently.

Still, it’s a small sacrifice to make when you feel how planted and supremely flat the GR Supra sits around a bend.

Even with its relatively large footprint, the Supra responds to quick changes in direction without disagreement, remaining poised and surefooted.

The steering rack is just as quick and precise, making it easy to place on road.

Sport mode sharpens throttle response and makes for even snappier gear changes (among other adjustments), and all that power sent to the rear wheels makes it easy to get loose and squirmy.

It’s a good thing, then, that the traction control and safety systems are dialled up just enough to help you, without taking over completely.

The novelty of the GR Supra only begins to wear off once you get back to the hustle and bustle of suburbia, where it isn’t possible – or legal – to exploit such a glorious machine.

Confined only to public roads during our week with the Supra, it’s clear you’d only ever be able to (legally) explore its full capabilities on a racetrack – hopefully with slightly grippier rubber.

You don’t buy a sports car for its practicality, but the Supra isn’t too bad on this front.

Despite the fact the cabin won’t store much more than two small coffees and a box of mints, the 296-litre boot is surprisingly generous for anything else you might need to carry, like a couple of overnight bags.

You can option a cargo net too, so your groceries don’t have to get tossed around.

Both passengers feel cocooned – if not a little claustrophobic – inside the driver-focused cabin, and the red leather upholstery in our test car brings a welcome pop of colour.

The seats are comfortable and supportive, but I wish I’d found the electric seat bolster adjustment sooner. Otherwise, plenty of electric adjustments – including lumbar – mean humans of most sizes will be able to find a good driving position.

Frustratingly, visibility is poor all round and that can really put a dampener on your confidence driving the Supra, especially if you’re not super-tall in the first place.

You feel miles away from the front-end because of the lengthy bonnet, there are huge blind spots out either side thanks to chunky B-pillars, rearward vision is compromised by a tiny rear window and forward vision – as we found in the Toyota GR Yaris – is hindered by the high-mounted touch-screen and low-slung mirror.

You also feel every millimetre of the Supra’s 1854mm width, and its squat stance makes getting in and out – even for short people – a struggle.

In the grand scheme of things, any new-found shortcomings in the 2021 Toyota GR Supra as a daily driver are counterbalanced by a better and more engaging sports car.

It’s a driver’s car that’ll leave even the naysayers grinning like a Cheshire cat.

That said, the jury’s out on whether the updated GR Supra really is circa-$2500 better than the model that arrived here only two years ago. It’s more powerful, but it’s definitely not as loud.

From the driver’s seat, it’s every bit as good as before, just slightly lacking in aural pleasure.

Overall, it’s not perfect and it’s not very practical. But for the disrupters – or those that don’t mind standing out – it’ll be a superb addition to the garage.

How much does the 2021 Toyota GR Supra GTS cost?
Price: $97,126 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 285kW/500Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 177g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

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