2020 Toyota GR Supra

So you're halfway sold on buying a Supra, but you need to know how much it'll set you back. Well, the cheapest way of getting behind the wheel of the 2020 Supra is the base 3.0, which carries an MSRP of $49,990 before options, tax, license, registration, and Toyota's $955 delivery and handling fee. A step up to the 3.0 Premium sees the MSRP rise to $53,990, but if you want to celebrate the return of the Supra nameplate with the Launch Edition, you'll need to set aside $55,250. For the sake of comparison, the six-cylinder BMW Z4 sDrive M40i starts at $63,700.

Anyone who detracts from the Supra probably hasn't driven it yet. While the last generation felt like a large grand tourer, this new car's platform is smaller and more tossable like a sports car should be. The steering has a nice weight and gives a decent amount of feedback compared to most of its rivals but Porsche 718 owners may not be as impressed. Toyota aimed the Supra squarely in the sights of the 718 Cayman and in many respects, it has hit the mark.

The ride is remarkably comfortable for a two-seater sports car even over rough pavement. This feels like the type of car you could easily drive to work every day. The Supra's lone weak point is the steering, which can't match the pure magic feel found in a Porsche. But considering that an equivalently-optioned 718 Cayman would cost nearly $100,000, we'll give Toyota a pass here.

Compared to most other vehicles in the $50,000 price range, the Supra is a sheer delight. It puts down power easily in a straight line using launch control but the car loves to get sideways on the race track. We've had several opportunities to drive the Supra on the track and the car feels like a drift missile. Even a novice driver will have no trouble sliding the Supra with a huge grin on their face.

If you have around $50,000 to spend on a new sports car, the Supra is the one we recommend. It offers a brilliant combination of speed, head-turning styling, and everyday livability. If we wanted to be nitpicky, the Porsche 718 Boxster GTS is more enjoyable to drive but at more than double the price, and until such time as the GTS 4.0 arrives, half the character.

The Supra ended up being everything we wanted it to be: relatively affordable, shockingly quick, premium, and a halo model for Toyota. Some critics might say that this Supra can never be a true halo car because it has too much BMW DNA. We'd argue that what Toyota has contributed to the formula - namely the styling and suspension tuning - proves that the company still knows how to engineer a brilliant sports car.

There are only three trim levels available for the Supra and with only 1,500 examples of the Launch Edition coming to the US, it may already be too late to get one. This leaves just the 3.0 and 3.0 Premium trims. If you plan to add the Driver Assist Package and the JBL audio with navigation to the 3.0 trim, it makes sense to just spend a bit more to get the heated seats, wireless charger, and larger brakes found on the 3.0 Premium. Otherwise, just get the standard car for just under $50,000. If you are able to nab a Launch Edition, do it, because we prefer the wheel design and the added rarity should help when it comes time to sell it.

The comparisons were bound to be drawn between these two, after all, the Supra utilizes the Z4's chassis and B58 six-pot engine, even if the Z4 generates 47 hp and 3 lb-ft more torque, enabling it to run from 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds - 0.2 quicker than the Toyota. But while they share bones, the Supra was developed by Toyota from an early stage in its developmental lifespan, so the suspension geometry and tuning on the ZF eight-speed automatic gearbox are unique to it. That, and the fact that it's more rigid as a result of the coupe body style, is why it's a suppler ride than the Z4, while also being more incisive and more connected with the driver. The fact that the Supra starts at $14,000 less than a six-cylinder Z4 is an added cherry, although if you desperately desire an open-top model, the Z4 also offers a 254-hp four-cylinder for around the same money. If it were our name on the check, though, it'd have to be the Supra - Toyota just seems to have done more with what they've got than BMW did.

Many have said that with 'only' 335 horsepower on tap, the Supra would've been better suited as a replacement for the aging Toyota 86 that first graced our shores as a Scion FR-S. But while the Supra might only have two seats and occupy less space than the 86, in every other way it's the big brother of the Toyota/Subaru sports car duo. The 86 only musters up 205 hp and 156 lb-ft from its Subaru-sourced naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder, but it also makes use of a six-speed manual gearbox, something you won't find in the new Supra at all. That's the biggest hint at the separation between these two models, as the 86 is geared towards driver involvement and usable power, rivaling the MX-5 Miata in the process, while the Supra is a more serious sports car that looks to tackle racetracks and mountain roads alike. The purist in us would love to say the 86, with a manual gearbox, is the better buy, but the 86 is ill-equipped, and the singing straight-six of the Supra is too good to overlook.