We Break in the GR Supra! First Opinions...

They say patience is a virtue. But it sure doesn’t seem that way during break in of our GR Supra. The suggested 1,200 mile break in period feels like every mile goes by in slow motion. The urge to introduce the go-fast pedal to the floor is a constant temptation. Sport mode and manual mode sure made the break in period more entertaining. However, during that time there were a lot of learnings about living with a GR Supra on the street. Some of those learnings may contradict what is commonly discussed about the Supra. Some were pros, some were cons.

• The Supra is actually a great daily driver. It is comfortable and the powertrain is rather smooth. The hatch is quite convenient and can be used as a normal car. One of our employees Australian Shepard fell in love with making nose marks on the hatch glass while watching the world go by.
• The B58 is a powerhouse while being rather efficient. In the 1,300 mile break in we averaged 32MPG. Did we average that post break in?......absolutely not. But never the less a fuel economy north of 30MPG paired with great power and torque….rad.
• Do you smack your head when getting in and out like everyone talks about? No. That is entirely dependent on your torso/leg height and your experience getting in and out of a performance car. It is really a matter of perspective. Is it as easy to get in as a vehicle with higher ride height and massive cabin space? Also no. But is it harder to get in and out of than a caged GR86? Absolutely not.
• The back up camera at this price point is quite poor. Pair that with the fact that BMW…oops Toyota, decided to tip the passenger side mirror down when reversing can be frustrating. Back up cameras are great but you know what is great and has been great since they found their way into cars? Standard side mirrors that only pivot when the driver decides to do so. We will be deleting that auto mirror pivot ASAP.
• The 8-speed automatic is a good automatic. At times we do miss a manual….that might be why we still have a manual transmission car parked next to the Supra in the garage.
• Wind buffeting….yup it is there. It is not quite as bad as it is made out to be. Many sports cars have wind buffeting but the supra is on the louder end. We can live with the buffeting for a time but not for long stints. If you drive with the windows half way down the buffeting is greatly reduced.
• If you pop the hatch from the door and close the driver door hard it can relatch the hatch. A release on the rear of the car would be a nice addition.
• The Supra is quite tech heavy. Setting up a driver profile and your preferred default settings is a must. The biggest thing that we wanted was to always start with the lane keep assist disabled.
• The stock brake pads dust quite a bit and to be honest the pedal modulation is not great. When street driving and coming to a slow and complete stop the pads tend to squeal or be jerky.

Post-Break In:

We took the long way back from the warehouse when we were going to cross the break in threshold. The road we chose had a few tight sections but some decent sweepers. It became apparent that the Supra handled well. However, the standout feature was the B58 and 8 speed. Full throttle on this particular road was a rare occurrence. After the first spirited back road drive we are expecting it to be impressive on the track. The Supra has more than enough power for our favorite local back roads. Is it an ideal back road or togue car? No, it is too fast for our local backroads and our supra does not have a manual, a must in our opinion for extracting maximum fun from a back road.

In conclusion the supra doesn’t disappoint. It is almost too good at driving like a normal car that you forget it is something unique. While pushing the car it can become too much car depending on skill and selected back road. It is a car that you can daily drive easily and economically. The Supra is not the end all be all sports car but it certainly checks a lot of boxes. We are looking forward to exploring its limits at autocross, track, and skid pads.