Lauren
Totally Hooked
Manual Supra 15 October 2022
It’s been just over three years exactly since I first drove the Supra, which back then was only available as an eight speed auto. So what took Toyota so long to finally come out with a manual? As ‘progress’ happens and people get lazy and used to the ease and lack of effort it takes to drive a manual car and with the increasing amount of electric cars, the demise of the manual car and three pedals seems to be in sight. There do remain those of us who love the interaction of swopping cogs manually and enjoy the extra degree of driver involvement and precision that this requires. But, we are it seems a dying breed. Still, one must take a positive from this in that Toyota have listened and given us the chance to own a manual Supra. Quite possibly the manual Supra fits better with the Gazoo Racing mantra of manual cars given there is the GR Yaris (which I own) and the much anticipated GR86 when it eventually gets released.
The GR Yaris is only available in manual form as is right for a homologation special, which is how it should be and those buying a GR86 as an automatic, I can’t help but feel are simply missing the point of the car when there is the opportunity to enjoy a manual, naturally aspirated rear wheel drive sports car. Enjoy it before its gone forever I say. But what of the Supra, more the grand tourer of the three cars and perhaps more suited to being an automatic?
It must be two years since I last drove a Supra and there is something nice with getting in this one and finding a gear stick fall nicely to hand. At first I pondered whether the gear stick itself sat back a little more back than I was expecting, so that you don’t smash your hand into the air con controls, but surely it must just be muscle memory from my GR Yaris or where I’ve got the seat. This manual car is some 38kg lighter than the auto and has manual seat controls. I’m told you can spec the ‘Pro’ version to get the 12 speaker JBL, electric leather seats and the like, but going with the whole more focused manual drivers car vibe is the order of the day here.
Red Supra badge reserved for the manual;
The seat and driving position feels great as I remember and you sit low with legs outstretched, just like in my old GT86. I love that there are electric lumber supports that enable me to pin my slender frame between the seats. They feel better than the ones in my GT86 and much better than the ones in my GR Yaris where you tend to sit a bit more on than in them. A good start so far. Starting that powerhouse of a sweet six cylinder three litre engine brought back memories of how the experience was dominated by it and again it did not disappoint. You can’t buy the two litre with a manual, which in some ways is a shame as its perhaps a bit more agile handling wise though the B48 two litre lacks soul and doesn’t have the punch of the three litre. A Supra with a two litre is akin to a cooking version in my experience.
Moving off the change is nice and direct, though it took a few attempts to find reverse to get out the car park at RRG Macclesfield. The clutch feels light enough too and well judged, I quite like the throw too, which may be a little longer than I expected it to be. I can report no knuckles were grazed on the climate controls and soon enough it feels natural. Straightaway my experience is dominated by that lusty straight six which is a real peach of an engine. So smooth and doubtless with a little aftermarket massaging of the exhaust would sound epic as well. As it is its slightly muffled but does give a nice rumble. The difference this time is that I’m totally in control of that engine and I haven’t got what felt like in manual mode last time with the eight speed auto, simply too many gears to work out. Six is all you need and Toyota have of course shortened the ratios and final drive for it to work effectively as well as beefed up the clutch.
I notice that the brakes bite very quickly at the top of the pedal and though no other reviews I looked at seem to mention this, they feel powerful, but I wonder if the servo assistance is a little high for my tastes. This car has auto throttle blip or ‘iMT’ as Toyota call which is on by default. Thankfully my well versed Supra co-driver, Mark is able to scroll through the menus and turn it off. The grabby brakes make heel and toeing a little tricky and it reminds me of years ago when I had an E36 and you could only really heel and toe when you’re on it.This feels much the same, though a floor hinged pedal isn’t really the problem. It’s more likely a lack of familiarity on my part.
Toyota have revised the chassis, which means mainly the bushes to sharpen the handling up and this is true for all 2022 Supra’s. It’s been too long since I’ve driven one so I cannot comment on the difference, but nonetheless the car feels sharp and on it’s toes. The steering doesn’t ooze feel, but is well enough weighted. The temperature is <10C and the roads are best described as greasy with a fair mulch of wet leaves strewn helpfully on the corners as we get a quick burst of acceleration turning onto the A54 at Bosley. The car turns in keenly and my co-driver adjusts various settings for the steering as I don’t quite yet have the confidence to push it. A flickering of traction control happens as the rear squirms on the damp tarmac and I remind myself that I’m in the director of RRG’s car again and I fully expect just like last time this is the only so specced Supra in the North West. Caution pays then. Besides I remind myself this isn’t about setting some kind of hill climb record, it’s about how having a manual gear change alters the characteristics and perhaps more importantly the feel of the car. As my experienced passenger comments, he’s happy with his auto Supra, but if he had drove this first he would have bought the manual. I concur as this is the more natural feeling car. It feels all of a piece and swopping cogs yourself and choosing when it does brings the thrill of driving to the fore. As a manual stalwart in my 33 plus years of driving, this is the one for me and in so many ways it doesn’t matter how much anyone extols the virtues of how amazing the automatic version is, I could never be swayed. I’d even sit in stop start traffic and still maintain that its worth the effort for the greater interaction it brings and how it makes you work with your machine.
As we top the Cat and Fiddle Road, fog descends, making us wait for photo locations. Thankfully the fog soon clears and doesn’t impinge on progress anything like the lovely 50mph average speed cameras do. Whilst I’d love to fully stretch the Supra’s legs, I’ve been there before and the public road isn’t the place for it. Needless to say this car piles on the speed and the whole 380bhp definitely feels like it’s all there. But then again averaging 50mph through the myriad of hairpins on the ‘Cat would be some achievement so fun is had, turning in and then immediately getting off the power, changing down to second and reducing the next straight to a short burst. This car has serious punch and has some ability to reduce roads like these to a succession of booting it out of the last hairpin, smearing the tarmac with expensive Michelin Super Sport rubber, and then seemingly immediately getting on the brakes, heel and toeing (I still found this a challenge) down to second and balancing the power through and out of the corner before the next one beckons. This is what it’s about and I start to find some more rhythm with the Supra’s alert and pointy chassis as I gain confidence in how the tyres conjure up an impressive amount of grip in such greasy conditions. It really shouldn’t be able to get the power down this well, but it does.
You are never in doubt that this car is powerful rear wheel drive car as the rear will squirm under exit as my co-driver point out on a number of occasions. This is fun as it ought to be. We talk about how a car like this begs an Alpine jaunt and how it would just eat up the miles storming the autobahn and would be just as competent to punt hard up an Alpine pass or three.
As I drop down the ‘Cat back to Macc, I’ve enjoyed driving this car. Have I enjoyed driving it over the automatic Supra? Without a doubt. For me part of the process is changing gear with the involvement that brings. Whilst I know and accept with something of a heavy heart that manuals will not exist in the not too distant future, I’m so glad I can still enjoy them and that I’m old enough to have driven manual cars for well over 30 years. I will cling to it as a driver and pity those that don’t get it. It’s their loss, not mine.
A big thank you to Richard at RRG Macclesfield as ever for letting me loose in the manual Supra. It was definitely worth the early start on a damp and chilly Saturday morning. Is there any chance of taking this car down the Susten/Grimsel Pass?
It’s been just over three years exactly since I first drove the Supra, which back then was only available as an eight speed auto. So what took Toyota so long to finally come out with a manual? As ‘progress’ happens and people get lazy and used to the ease and lack of effort it takes to drive a manual car and with the increasing amount of electric cars, the demise of the manual car and three pedals seems to be in sight. There do remain those of us who love the interaction of swopping cogs manually and enjoy the extra degree of driver involvement and precision that this requires. But, we are it seems a dying breed. Still, one must take a positive from this in that Toyota have listened and given us the chance to own a manual Supra. Quite possibly the manual Supra fits better with the Gazoo Racing mantra of manual cars given there is the GR Yaris (which I own) and the much anticipated GR86 when it eventually gets released.
The GR Yaris is only available in manual form as is right for a homologation special, which is how it should be and those buying a GR86 as an automatic, I can’t help but feel are simply missing the point of the car when there is the opportunity to enjoy a manual, naturally aspirated rear wheel drive sports car. Enjoy it before its gone forever I say. But what of the Supra, more the grand tourer of the three cars and perhaps more suited to being an automatic?
It must be two years since I last drove a Supra and there is something nice with getting in this one and finding a gear stick fall nicely to hand. At first I pondered whether the gear stick itself sat back a little more back than I was expecting, so that you don’t smash your hand into the air con controls, but surely it must just be muscle memory from my GR Yaris or where I’ve got the seat. This manual car is some 38kg lighter than the auto and has manual seat controls. I’m told you can spec the ‘Pro’ version to get the 12 speaker JBL, electric leather seats and the like, but going with the whole more focused manual drivers car vibe is the order of the day here.
Red Supra badge reserved for the manual;
The seat and driving position feels great as I remember and you sit low with legs outstretched, just like in my old GT86. I love that there are electric lumber supports that enable me to pin my slender frame between the seats. They feel better than the ones in my GT86 and much better than the ones in my GR Yaris where you tend to sit a bit more on than in them. A good start so far. Starting that powerhouse of a sweet six cylinder three litre engine brought back memories of how the experience was dominated by it and again it did not disappoint. You can’t buy the two litre with a manual, which in some ways is a shame as its perhaps a bit more agile handling wise though the B48 two litre lacks soul and doesn’t have the punch of the three litre. A Supra with a two litre is akin to a cooking version in my experience.
Moving off the change is nice and direct, though it took a few attempts to find reverse to get out the car park at RRG Macclesfield. The clutch feels light enough too and well judged, I quite like the throw too, which may be a little longer than I expected it to be. I can report no knuckles were grazed on the climate controls and soon enough it feels natural. Straightaway my experience is dominated by that lusty straight six which is a real peach of an engine. So smooth and doubtless with a little aftermarket massaging of the exhaust would sound epic as well. As it is its slightly muffled but does give a nice rumble. The difference this time is that I’m totally in control of that engine and I haven’t got what felt like in manual mode last time with the eight speed auto, simply too many gears to work out. Six is all you need and Toyota have of course shortened the ratios and final drive for it to work effectively as well as beefed up the clutch.
I notice that the brakes bite very quickly at the top of the pedal and though no other reviews I looked at seem to mention this, they feel powerful, but I wonder if the servo assistance is a little high for my tastes. This car has auto throttle blip or ‘iMT’ as Toyota call which is on by default. Thankfully my well versed Supra co-driver, Mark is able to scroll through the menus and turn it off. The grabby brakes make heel and toeing a little tricky and it reminds me of years ago when I had an E36 and you could only really heel and toe when you’re on it.This feels much the same, though a floor hinged pedal isn’t really the problem. It’s more likely a lack of familiarity on my part.
Toyota have revised the chassis, which means mainly the bushes to sharpen the handling up and this is true for all 2022 Supra’s. It’s been too long since I’ve driven one so I cannot comment on the difference, but nonetheless the car feels sharp and on it’s toes. The steering doesn’t ooze feel, but is well enough weighted. The temperature is <10C and the roads are best described as greasy with a fair mulch of wet leaves strewn helpfully on the corners as we get a quick burst of acceleration turning onto the A54 at Bosley. The car turns in keenly and my co-driver adjusts various settings for the steering as I don’t quite yet have the confidence to push it. A flickering of traction control happens as the rear squirms on the damp tarmac and I remind myself that I’m in the director of RRG’s car again and I fully expect just like last time this is the only so specced Supra in the North West. Caution pays then. Besides I remind myself this isn’t about setting some kind of hill climb record, it’s about how having a manual gear change alters the characteristics and perhaps more importantly the feel of the car. As my experienced passenger comments, he’s happy with his auto Supra, but if he had drove this first he would have bought the manual. I concur as this is the more natural feeling car. It feels all of a piece and swopping cogs yourself and choosing when it does brings the thrill of driving to the fore. As a manual stalwart in my 33 plus years of driving, this is the one for me and in so many ways it doesn’t matter how much anyone extols the virtues of how amazing the automatic version is, I could never be swayed. I’d even sit in stop start traffic and still maintain that its worth the effort for the greater interaction it brings and how it makes you work with your machine.
As we top the Cat and Fiddle Road, fog descends, making us wait for photo locations. Thankfully the fog soon clears and doesn’t impinge on progress anything like the lovely 50mph average speed cameras do. Whilst I’d love to fully stretch the Supra’s legs, I’ve been there before and the public road isn’t the place for it. Needless to say this car piles on the speed and the whole 380bhp definitely feels like it’s all there. But then again averaging 50mph through the myriad of hairpins on the ‘Cat would be some achievement so fun is had, turning in and then immediately getting off the power, changing down to second and reducing the next straight to a short burst. This car has serious punch and has some ability to reduce roads like these to a succession of booting it out of the last hairpin, smearing the tarmac with expensive Michelin Super Sport rubber, and then seemingly immediately getting on the brakes, heel and toeing (I still found this a challenge) down to second and balancing the power through and out of the corner before the next one beckons. This is what it’s about and I start to find some more rhythm with the Supra’s alert and pointy chassis as I gain confidence in how the tyres conjure up an impressive amount of grip in such greasy conditions. It really shouldn’t be able to get the power down this well, but it does.
You are never in doubt that this car is powerful rear wheel drive car as the rear will squirm under exit as my co-driver point out on a number of occasions. This is fun as it ought to be. We talk about how a car like this begs an Alpine jaunt and how it would just eat up the miles storming the autobahn and would be just as competent to punt hard up an Alpine pass or three.
As I drop down the ‘Cat back to Macc, I’ve enjoyed driving this car. Have I enjoyed driving it over the automatic Supra? Without a doubt. For me part of the process is changing gear with the involvement that brings. Whilst I know and accept with something of a heavy heart that manuals will not exist in the not too distant future, I’m so glad I can still enjoy them and that I’m old enough to have driven manual cars for well over 30 years. I will cling to it as a driver and pity those that don’t get it. It’s their loss, not mine.
A big thank you to Richard at RRG Macclesfield as ever for letting me loose in the manual Supra. It was definitely worth the early start on a damp and chilly Saturday morning. Is there any chance of taking this car down the Susten/Grimsel Pass?
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