The better Supra?

We've all seen the jokes and the mockery towards Toyota and we also mentioned it in our Supra 2.0 review. To be 100% honest, the similarities are noticeable, but not to an extent to say that the Supra is a bad car. Let us elaborate. It costs car manufacturers a lot of money to develop new cars and especially low-volume and high-cost sports cars like the new Supra. Toyota knows this and they are especially in a pickle because they don't have any high-performance engines in their lineup. So it's very logical to share powertrains. Aston Martin and Pagani are borrowing engines from AMG and Lotus are still using Toyota Camry engines in the Exige. The Supra is a different story though, especially for the hard-core Supra Mk4 fans. But for any other person, it's logical to share powertrains. We haven't driven the new Z4 but the two cars don't have the same purpose. The Supra is a purist sports car and the Z4 is an open-top cruiser. The fact that the new Supra has a shared powertrain isn't even the main issue in our minds, it's the smaller Supra 2.0 that's the real problem. Shockingly, we think that the Supra 2.0 is almost as good of a sports car as its bigger brother, the 3.0. Both Supra models were tested on twisty roads and long distances. The 2.0 is almost as fun on a twisty road and the 3.0 is better at cruising. That doesn't mean the 3.0 isn't a good driving experience, but the 2.0 is almost as good. So is it justifiable to spend more on the 3.0? But for now, let's talk about the 3.0 itself. As mentioned, the new Supra 3.0 has a BMW-derived 3.0 liter straight six with 340 horsepower powering the rear wheels only. The design is pure Japanese, on the outside. On the inside, it's all very German, obviously. Considering you have enough grip, it's fast but not balistic. It's more fun to throw it around corners. One good thing the Supra borrows from BMW is the traction control. You can have it in a setting where it's off, but it saves you when you get it wrong. It allows a surprising amount of slip so you look like a hero. Let's get to practicality, the boot is massive, we fit skis in the back and all the gear associated with skiing. But the car itself is smaller than we though. It looks small, very small but the boot and interior is spaceous. Our car was the 2020 model and at the time the 2021 wasn't available yet. That car would have a bit more power and a more sophisticated LSD, but for now that's all we're getting. Obviously Toyota is lying about that 340 horsepower figure, it has been tested at more than 380 horsepower. Back to the main comparison with the Supra 2.0. Even though the 3.0 is faster, more comfortable, better equipped and sounds better, the 2.0 wouldn't be a bad alternative. You don't have to justify buying the 2.0 over the 3.0 because the 3.0 isn't as different as you think. Both cars are classic front-engined, rear-drive sports cars and they're very good. The decision is up to you then, but we wouldn't fault anyone for buying the 2.0. We're not even mad that the Supra has shared parts with the Z4 because noone is going to compare them in the real world because they are two different cars. The rear comparison is between the 2.0 and the 3.0, and frankly we expected more of a difference.