Toyota Supra 3.0 (6MT) // BMW or Not, This Thing is a Blast // Full Review

The Toyota Supra made a splash in 2019, but enthusiasts wanted a manual transmission. Well, this sports car now has a manual and it is excellent. The 2023 Toyota Supra's 6-speed manual is paired with a twin-scroll 3.0L 6-cylinder B58 motor that makes 382 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque. With minimal nannies, the focus of this car is on the driving experience, and man have they nailed it. Let's take a look.
2023 Toyota Supra Premium 3.0 6MT Review
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0:00 Intro
0:20 Overview
0:56 Driving Impressions
9:35 Exterior
13:50 Engine / Power
14:23 Interior
20:25 Final Thoughts
#supra #toyotasupra #lowkeycarreviews #manualtransmission #savethemanuals #toyota #stickshift #carreviews #gearboxcarreviews
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Track Name. Make Me Feel

[@chrisginoc]

To anyone on the fence, I've had the manual since February and every time I drive it it's fun. I literally find any excuse to just drive nowhere and run errands in order to hop in the car. The only warning is watch out for those Chargers, Challengers and Mustangs because they will try anything to try and race you.

[@GearboxCarReviews]

That's awesome! I felt that way after a week, but it's tough to know if the feeling will last. Glad to hear you're still loving yours!

[@chrisginoc]

@@GearboxCarReviews You mean like get bored of it or you mean reliability? My only complaint is that the car feels like a cockpit rather than a spacious luxury car which it's not. And a part of me also wishes it had a little more horsepower, but thankfully the aftermarket support for the MKV is absolutely insane. So many easy options to add power.

[@GearboxCarReviews]

@@chrisginoc I meant getting bored of it. I loved driving it and I kept wanting to find reasons to drive it, but I didn't know if that would fade after a while. I don't think reliability is a big concern for the Supra. Yeah, it's definitely far from a luxury car, but the power should be pretty easy. My neighbor had one with a tune (and some bolt-ons) and I wanna say it was 450-hp or so. The problem is once you start chasing more power you always want to just keep adding ha.

[@chrisginoc]

@@GearboxCarReviews That's what I've been told. LoL It gets addictive. Discipline is needed when modding a car. I'll never be faster than a Lamborghini. People forget to just drive for themselves, not because they want to be the fastest ever or impress everyone because it's a losing game. There will always be someone faster. As long as the owner enjoys the car is all that matters. Doug DeMuro recently said in an interview that historically cars that are misunderstood or not liked the first few years are usually the ones that end up being future classics or sought after and he named a few old cars. I think the MKV will be a future classic in 10-15 years

[@GearboxCarReviews]

​@@chrisginocYeah, 100%. There are some horsepower wars going on and there's a lot of talk about 0-60s and I understand the wanting to go fast thing, like it's definitely fun, but I'm more about smaller, lighter, better handling in general, so I'm more than happy to take something with lower power that I can wring out to the moon on a twisty road and just enjoy the drive. It makes perfect sense that misunderstood cars could end up being future classics. It's unpopular during production so not very many get made, then people either start to realize the potential or find a story about the car that they latch onto and then desirability + rarity makes them collectible. I'm not sure that I agree about the mkV being a future classic. I do think people will still seek them out as driver's cars, and don't get me wrong I love the car, but I don't see them getting quite the same treatment as the mkIV. There's definitely some misunderstanding and some dislike going on, but I think that's more prevalent with everything just because of the way the internet and social media are, but the car is well-liked by the media and other people who have driven them and I think that more were sold in the first 3 years than the entire run of the mkIV. Still not huge production numbers, but I guess time will tell ;)

[@mccitstudent]

Thanks for the advice!

[@zalo.arteaga]

Great review.

[@GearboxCarReviews]

Thanks!

[@BeyondTheTestDrive]

Excellent! That manual sounds sweet!

[@GearboxCarReviews]

It is! This car has carved out some space in my brain 😂 love this thing!

[@YellowJacketGarage]

The availability of a manual is a huge selling point for the Supra for me. They're such a great looking car but the auto was a killer for me.

[@GearboxCarReviews]

Yeah, it definitely brings it back into the conversation for a lot of people, myself included. The auto is really good, but the manual is a game-changer.

[@YellowJacketGarage]

Gearbox Car Reviews I'm not necessarily a purist, but I feel a proper sports car should have a manual.

[@drewgunner14]

I hope after im done with school like in 2 years, I finally narrowed down to two; id either get this or the gr corolla. I hope both are still around lol

[@GearboxCarReviews]

Nice! I hope they're still around too. I've heard rumors of the Supra dropping after the 2025 model year, but nothing from Toyota themselves yet. Hope you get to grab one before they're gone!

[@rudyoliver4950]

Driving in the wet weather is a true test, and I haven’t seen any tests

[@GearboxCarReviews]

Unfortunately I didn't get any rain during the time I had the car.

[@apone12]

I’ll grant you that the shift feel isn’t like a typical BMW manual, but I would not say it’s a good as a Mazda. A Miata shifter has that smooth rifle bolt-like feel, that most cannot match.

[@GearboxCarReviews]

The Miata still has a leg up on this gearbox for sure, but I think they got close and overall they did a really good job with it.

[@u2bgeye679]

The ZF is so good in this car but still manny tranny exactly what it needed. Now we wait for the C8 to follow suit…(won’t happen lol)

[@GearboxCarReviews]

100%! Yeah, the ZF is excellent, but the manual is too. Definitely the way I'd spec it! Yeah, unfortunately the C8 has too many roadblocks, it won't happen. Would be pretty cool though if they did.

[@BlackNAVYAmericanVET]

North America is starving for Toyota supply

[@GearboxCarReviews]

100% Yeah it's a huge problem. It's a problem across a lot of automakers right now, but Toyota definitely seems way behind on supply vs demand

[@kevindepew8193]

My concern with this car is reliability and maintenance costs. My don't likes are the fake vents and visibility out of the cockpit. My likes are the looks, the weight (at least for a modern car), the handling, and availability of a manual (don't want a car that is not a manual). But the reason I hesitate with this car is that the engine and transmission (and many of the parts) are BMW. BMWs aren't generally reliable and their maintenance costs and parts are insanely high. I started looking into it and the VANOS system is supposed to have the seals replaced at 50,000 miles, and it isn't that easy or cheap. That seems ridiculous. The Toyota GR86 is another car I like. It doesn't look as good, doesn't have a nice an interior, and isn't as fast. It is lighter and many say more fun to drive. The big advantage is that it is a Subaru (would rather it was really a Toyota), and I trust Subaru reliability and maintenance costs over BMW anyday.

[@GearboxCarReviews]

Subaru has actually pretty consistently been ranked far below BMW in reliability rankings in recent years. The B58 motor used in the Supra has been around for a while and is generally regarded as pretty stout. And the transmission is from ZF, and I haven't really heard any issues in general about them. Maintenance won't be super cheap, but that's typically true when you're talking about a car with any sort of performance. As far as the VANOS system, I'm coming across some articles about solenoids failing around 70k miles and being a few hundred dollars to replace, which doesn't seem too bad, but maybe I'm missing something. I'll have to look into that some more. I'm also not a big fan of the fake vents, and visibility isn't great, but it's not typically great in this segment. The GR86 is a great car as well, especially if you're someone that likes to wring the car out a bit more. There's definitely something to be said about a lightweight, naturally-aspirated, low-ish powered car that you can just toss around and wring out. Personally, the Supra left a bigger impression on me than the 86, but I've heard plenty of people that would go the other direction.

[@willembaaij4098]

One of the reasons I love the Supra, is because of its automatic transmission, specifically if you use it as your daily, what I do.

[@GearboxCarReviews]

You won't find me knocking the auto. It's a really good auto, and definitely still an absolute blast. I'm just happy to see a manual and one that definitely wasn't phoned in, and I thought it was actually surprisingly easy in traffic.

[@dancooper6002]

Why buy a supra then? If you are incapable of driving the manual buy a minivan like every other over the hill middle aged guy out there.

[@GearboxCarReviews]

What are you cross-shopping? Are you picking the manual or the auto? Want to hear about the Nissan Z 6MT? Stick around for that one!

[@aky19832001]

It lacks that dead null steering feel that bmw has. Somehow the steering always feels null and Intrusive

[@user-cj7dv2kc6d]

Pls don't do the mini pauses when you talk, like some other reviewers do. It is annoying dude.