Revivals are risky business for any product. A lot of said products hold sentimental value to many people, skewing what the original purpose or meaning of the product was actually supposed to be. Sex And The City and the Chevy Blazer are perfect examples of things that have been rebooted for the modern market with mixed to negative reception due to the original format having x y and z over the newer version. The whole concept of rebooting, remastering, or reviving anything is a mess that could use an article on its own. That being said, revivals can work. Take, for instance, the Toyota Supra mk5.
Doing any sort of history lesson or preamble on the mk5 Supra would be useless. From the moment the car was announced, eyebrows were raised for dozens of reasons, some legitimate and some a bit ridiculous. So, the question is: Is this a BMW Z4? Yes and no.
Is the exterior a BMW Z4?
No, stop lying to yourself. The exterior of the GR Supra (just an FYI, I will be flip-flopping between referring to the car as the Supra and the GR Supra) looks nothing like the car that it shares its platform with. Yes, they both have two doors, two seats, and a long hood, but that’s what a sports car is. My personal bias says that this is the better-looking car. It is perhaps mildly overstyled in the front, but compared to the awkward-looking kidney grills of the Z4, it is a much more pleasing auto to stare at from all angles. The rear of the car features real dual exhausts as well as an F1-style rear light/diffuser that isn’t strictly needed but looks cool, so I’ll give it a pass. There isn’t too much to separate the 2.0 from the 3.0 in terms of noticeable styling differences say from different wheels and some carbon fiber-type trim, besides that, the two Supra models visually are the same.
Is the interior a BMW Z4?
I went into this review with my nose turned up at all the Instagram comments from people claiming that this car is a Z4. I expected to sit in the driver’s seat and laugh at all the keyboard warriors who swore by the fact that this wasn’t a Supra. Unfortunately, they might have a point. The first thing of note in the interior is the screen and center console. It is from a BMW. Now, that isn’t entirely bad, I love the Drive system and I think it’s very easy to use, but seeing the model of a Supra show up on the screen instead of say, the Z4, didn’t make me sit back and go “wow, this is an entirely different vehicle!”
With that being said, the rest of the interior isn’t too BMW. The drivers’ screen and steering wheel are Toyota products, the seats are MUCH more comfortable than anything a Z4 has, the dashboard is exempt from any major hard plastic, and overall the general quality and finish of the car seems pretty Toyota to me. In the Supra 2.0, you are left out of some more comfort-oriented features that the more expensive 3.0 has such as power seats, heated leather seats, and some more sensors to make sure you don’t hit anyone. What you do get as standard that makes your life easier is cruise control, a backup camera, heated front and rear windows, a USB port, voice control, dual-zone climate control, and a cigarette lighter if you’re into that.
Is the underneath stuff a BMW Z4?
I can’t sugarcoat this one, so yes. The Supra shares the same engines, transmission, drivetrain, and floorplan as the Z4. The 2.0liter 4-cyl in the 2.0 (guess how they named it) makes 255hp and 295lb-feet of torque, which is the same as the Z4. it gets 25mpg city and 32mpg highway, which is also the same as the Z4. I guess you could criticize Toyota for this, but I’m happy that they chose to share these parts with another sports car instead of with something like the RAV4 or Sienna, so give them credit where credit is due.
Does it drive like a BMW Z4?
I am happy to report that this car is much better to drive than a BMW Z4. BMW has a tendency of fitting extremely uncomfortable seats to whatever new car they put out on sale. They hurt. Thankfully, the seats in the Supra have more support (the leather ones are even better) and make for a more comfortable driving experience. In sport mode, the Supra sounds meaty for a 4cyl engine and will rev high if you want it to. 0-60 happens in 5.0 seconds which felt about right to me. It handles about as well as you would expect it to, in the best possible way. At slow speeds, the Supra turns in tight and feels connected even on a damp road. The 8-speed automatic shifts fast and let the engine do mildly-erroneous things, and I’m sure that the upcoming manual Supra will be even better. This car is a driver’s car, no question about it.
So, is it a BMW Z4?
No. The Z4 costs more, looks uglier, doesn’t ride as well, and doesn’t come with as good a warranty as the Supra. Granted, most of those are my opinion, but the Supra’s identity has always been a two-seat sports car with power and comfort available to you at an upper middle-class price. The car keeps the same formula as the old Supra, too. This isn’t a case of Chevy turning the Blazer into a crossover or Mitusbishi turning the Eclipse into uh, a crossover. This is still a sports car, a fun, easy-to-live with, sports car. So, no it’s not a Z4. If you want a relatively inexpensive way to get around fast, and are willing to put up with what the internet thinks of you, the new Supra is a great addition to the Supra family, and a great car to own. I said what I said and I’m turning comments off.
Huge thank you to Brian from Antwerpen Toyota for letting me review the new Supra 2.0. You can view their website and inventory here.
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