If I never read another “Nice BMW” comment regarding the fifth generation Supra, I’ll end my time on this earth in peace. Why internet commentators believe that they have some insider knowledge that no one else has is beyond me. We know who makes it. However, that tension framed my most recent encounter with the GR Supra. I’ve reviewed the Supra two times before, once comparing it back-to-back with it’s BMW Z4 cousin, and the other time pitting it against the plucky little M2. Both times it came out on top, spoiler alert. This time I wanted to just focus on the daily driving experience, and see how it might fit into someone’s active lifestyle.

Or mine, which isn’t that all that active.

2022 GR Supra Overview

The Supra lineup has grown over the short time the 5th gen car has been for sale. Now the smaller 2.0 version is available, priced at just over $43,500 while the six-cylinder 3.0 starts at close to $51,900. New this year is the A91-CF Edition, which looks pretty badass, but generally just includes appearance upgrades like trim-specific 19-inch wheels, plus carbon-fiber body kit and duckbill spoiler. The interior gets red and black Alcantara suede and leather seats. Is that worth another $8,000+, we’ll have to wait until Toyota sends us one to find out. We were able to drive this “Turbulence Gray” over red leather 3.0 Premium for a week and here’s what you get for the cash.

The 3.0 Premium adds a bunch of kit over the regular 3.0 including:

• Full leather upholstery
• Heads-up display
• 8.8-inch touchscreen display with navigation
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless smartphone charging
• Upgraded 2.1 amp USB port
• 12-speaker JBL audio system
• Red brake calipers with cast-iron rear brake discs (vs. aluminum)
• Sport pedals

Some (well, a) good colors are available, Nitro Yellow looks quite good, but will cost you another $425. Other than some carbon fiber mirror (caps) for $925, Toyota doesn’t offer much in the way of personalization. Seems like a missed opportunity to sell some (even dealer-installed) upgrades like wheels or other exterior bits. All-in you’re looking at $56,910 for one just like our loaner, once you tack on the $1,195 Driver Assistance Package (the only package available for the 3.0 Premium).

2022 GR Supra Inside & Out

I won’t spend much time on the Supra’s exterior, it’s a bit polarizing to some. Personally I think it’s a damn good looking car, more interesting than it’s Z4 relative. The rear haunches look robust enough to rest a drink on, and the overall application just says “nothing else looks like this” compared to a lot of the <ctrl><c>;<ctrl><v> designs that have come out in the crossover era. Personally I think it looks best in bright colors, the muted gray on this test car seemed a bit dull. Still, I got a bunch of “wow, cool car” comments during my time in the GR Supra.

The interior is comfortable and would make a solid daily driver. Well, assuming you don’t need back seats that is. It’s pretty tight to get in, at six-feet even I definitely hit my head the first time I tried to gracefully enter. Eventually you adopt a duck and roll approach. Out on the road, the low roofline does obstruct visibility a bit, I had to lean down to see a stoplight at one point, but it’s a minor inconvenience for sporty motoring.

Like every sports car recently, the cupholders are in an awkward position, just even with your right shoulder. I found myself bumping drinks with my elbow, basically you can have a cupholder or an armrest, but not both. But I can’t stay mad with the Supra though, it’s got a real volume knob. Other interior criticism were minimal, it’s annoying how the seat rubs on the strut brace when you have it adjusted pretty far back. If you are the only driver, and it typically stays in one spot, I doubt you’d notice though.

2022 GR Supra On The Road

I’m going to focus my time on this Supra review on my thoughts out on the open road. Honestly the Supra is just fine for daily driving duties, we even took it to hockey practice one evening. The rear hatch has a more-than-reasonable 10.2 cu. ft. of space. It’s sort of hard to tell what the Supra is competing with, for reference the 2022 Mustang coupe has 13.5 cu. ft. of space. Do with that what you will, I doubt most Supra buyers ever know this stat. Suffice to say, it’ll probably be a better road trip companion than you’re expecting; the hatch area would easily swallow a couple of suitcases for a long getaway. Just keep the windows up, more on that in a moment.

Even though it’s a little hard to get into due to that low roofline, I actually appreciated the Supra’s rear visibility. Even though there is a pillar over your right shoulder, it’s pretty easy to see out of on the highway. Speaking of out on the highway, when you put the windows all the way down the entire car rattles and pops your ears. It does this at any speed over 42 mph or so and would abjectly ruin it as a road trip vehicle. I learned via a Supra owner on Twitter that there are fixes out there, lots of aftermarket companies have produced anti-wind buffeting parts like this one. It’s too bad that you have to spring for additional parts to make your (already expensive) car more usable, and it’s also strange that this wasn’t discovered during testing.

When it was raining out, the driver aid system noted that it would provide “decreased assistance”. The only real downside was that it took me forever to clear the message, thus distracting me while driving (with less assistance) in the rain. It actually does really well in wet weather, the traction control system keeps the wheels from spinning too much, but lets them go just a little bit if you so choose. Small detail, but I liked how easy it was to set the windshield wipers. They had a legitimately intuitive auto setting that I didn’t need to fuss with.

The ride quality is noticeably rougher in sport mode, the suspension jumps and hops over irregular surfaces. In regular driving the Supra is very easy to drive, despite the bumps, and feels really tight and sounds excellent in the sportier mode. When you start to push things it will remind you that it’s turbocharged 3.0L inline six puts out 382 hp and 368 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. These days 3,400 lbs. isn’t necessarily light, but the power-to-weight ratio is more than sufficient to have some fun. Just be careful.

Summary

In the end, I’m just happy the Supra exists. Yeah bro, we know it’s a BMW, you don’t have to auto-comment on every post. It’s also a really great driver’s car, and it’s still rare enough to feel special out amongst the anonymous crossovers. According to Good Car Bad Car, there have been 17,722 sold in the U.S. from launch date through May 2022. So, while it’s not exactly rare, it still gets some attention. I had a Subaru Legacy SpecB driver so preoccupied with me in his rearview, that he drove right through a red light. Although maybe he’s just a shit driver.

The big question is going to be how the Supra does against the new Nissan Z? Early reviews and comparisons demonstrate that the Supra still in the hunt, even though the new Z is cheaper and supposedly easier to live with. I look forward to spending a week with the Z to see how it does against the Supra. For now, the GR Supra it’s still one of my favorite enthusiast cars.