Performance car head-to-head: Toyota GR Supra vs Nissan Z vs Honda Civic Type R
Tuesday, 11 April 2023
Supra, Z, Civic Type R. Close your eyes and it sounds a bit like the 1990s. NSYNC cranking on the radio, not a smart phone in sight, and a blissful carefree motoring industry humming along unabated. It isn’t the nineties though, it’s 2023, and three of the most loved and respected names amongst the world’s car enthusiast crowd are still giving us goosebumps.
How long this will continue is a mystery, but it’s hard to imagine that we’ll ever get a chance to host a gathering quite like this again. The likelihood of these three cars living on into their next generations as pure internal combustion engine machines is very low. They may go hybrid, or even ditch gas completely in favour of full electrics.
What we have here are three quite different answers to the question; what is the most entertaining way to defy physics?
The new Nissan Z is a love letter to a bygone era, both in motoring and in Nissan’s history. It might be more powerful and more expensive, but there’s little doubt that the Z’s key rival is the Toyota GR Supra. Something of a Stuff favourite, the Supra now comes with a 6-speed manual – and that’s what we had on test.
**READ MORE:
* First drive: Toyota GR Corolla
* Road test: Honda Civic Type R
* The Toyota Supra is getting a manual transmission
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The Honda Civic Type R is clearly the awkward third wheel here. Two more doors, two less cylinders, power sent to the front wheels not the rear. Truth be told, we had hoped to get a certain V8 coupe with a shiny chrome pony on the grille to join in the fun, but one wasn’t available. Nevertheless, the Type R is a fascinating pigeon lobbed amongst the cats – a steaming hot hatch that has pushed the boundaries of the genre to the extreme and then some.
Inviting the Civic to this throwdown is appropriate for another reason, too.
Whilst the hot hatch segment has thrived, the market for somewhat affordable rear-wheel drive sports cars has wilted. Yes, the Z and Supra are both quick sellers, but the quantities are tiny. Many of their peers have quietly faded away, too. The Mazda MX-5, GR 86, Ford Mustang, and these two. That’s it. That’s what’s left of the segment today. Consumer need for practical, do-it-all cars have made hot hatches a darn attractive alternative to the once prolific sports coupe. Hotted SUVs, even more so.
The Z’s exterior and interior are brimming with references to Nissan’s rich past. It took a little while for me to wrap my retinas around the perfectly rectangular front grille. But looking at it now, parked up with beads of water running down its bonnet, I’m happy to say that Nissan knocked the Z’s retro Easter-egg-filled styling out of the ballpark. It’s just a shame that there’s quite a lot of carryover switchgear inside, like the 370Z door handles and Navara air-conditioning switchgear.
Those wanting a sports car for daily use should note that the Nissan’s cabin is also much roomier and easier to access than that of the much more ‘fitted’ Supra. It’s very BMW inside the GR, down to the BMW infotainment software and the dashboard’s textures. Outside, the Supra’s swooping, curvy styling is most likely to snap necks. Those who’ve asked why someone would have a Supra instead of its BMW-badged Z4 cousin have obviously never experienced the amount of attention it gets from onlookers.
Inside, being a hatchback, the Honda is obviously a completely different kettle of fish. Honda has righted some of the outgoing R’s biggest flaws, having bestowed the new model with more plush surfaces and a much improved infotainment system. Those up front get two of the best bucket seats in the biz, and those behind get buckets of leg- and head-room. Although as with all other Type Rs, there’s sadly no fifth seat.
If this were a game of Top Trumps, of these three it’s the Supra you’d most want in your hand. Toyota gave the B58 straight six a squirt of extra power a few years ago, squeezing 285kW/500 out of the twin-scroll single-turbo 3.0-litre. The Nissan is actually quite a close match on paper, with its old-but-new Infiniti-sourced twin-turbo 3.0-litre six producing more power (298kW) but less torque (475Nm). Driving them back-to-back on twisty roads around Auckland’s outskirts, the performance gap between the pair becomes more apparent.
Both sixes are at their best when exploring higher rpms, both for bite and for the ears. The Supra has the more broad and versatile power band, delivering more immediate punch when you command it. It’s also happy to simply be left in third gear if you want its low-down torque to do the work for you.
The Z might pack twice the number of turbos, but its hardware is ultimately not a match for the Supra. At least when it comes to point-and-squirt driving. The Red Sport hand-me-down is undoubtedly quick, and carries a 43kW/102Nm advantage over the old 370Z V6. But in order to not lose the Supra’s tail lights you’ll need to be leaning into every one of its 298 kilowatts, wringing it out to 7000rpm constantly. High revs are also where the Nissan sounds its best, too. The soundtrack is a little pedestrian under 4500rpm.
It’s at this point that it’s worth talking about gearboxes. Mmm, exciting I know.
When the Supra was first unveiled in 2019, Toyota diehards had two sticking points – its clear BMW DNA, and the lack of a manual transmission option. On the topic of the latter, yes, Toyota has finally corrected the record by launching a new 6-speed this year. There wasn’t much wrong with the standard 8-speed ZF auto, but it did set the tone for the car somewhat. I’ve always considered the Supra’s main positive to be how accessible it is, and a large chunk of that came down to the clever, forgiving torque-converter auto.
Toyota’s boffins have put their spin on the BMW-sourced 6-speed via a heavier weighted knob and new linkages. The result is a precise, burly, but occasionally rubbery shift action. It blips the throttle on downshifts, and also blends throttle on upshifts – perfect for smooth operation in town.
There’s a minor ergonomic bugbear in that engaging sixth gear positions the driver’s elbow close to the edge of the driver seat and bulkhead. While the heavy clutch pedal wasn’t an issue when I had a hoon in a GR Supra around Highlands Motorsport Park last month, it becomes more of a chore on civilian roads.
Regardless of its faults, the 6-speed flips the Supra’s character on its lid, in a good way. The additional element of control gives the GR that wide-eyed white-knuckle edge that the auto at times lacks. It somehow magnifies the Supra’s other distinctive traits, like its tiny 2470mm wheelbase and how pointy and nervous it can feel underneath you. It makes it a bit scarier. I like that.
The Supra’s manual would’ve probably scored a little better during this test if we didn’t happen to have one of the best 6-speeds ever produced in the trio.
Honda has a long, extremely consistent record of incredible manual transmissions. And the FL5’s is no exception. Those familiar with the last Type R’s manual will feel instantly at home with its snickety action, short throws, and wonderful weighting. It’s the best manual in a sub-$100k performance car, and probably the best manual in a sub-$200k car whilst we’re at it. Porsche could perhaps have a worthy challenger in its ranks. Few others would.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Civic has no problem keeping up with the two bonafide sports cars on a winding piece of back road. What might surprise is that, between myself and my offsider Nile Bijoux, on these traditional Kiwi roads, we thought it was actually the quickest of the three.
You lose the playful rear-wheel drive hip swinging, but gain an almost endless mountain of lateral grip. It’s so simple and clinical to drive quickly, any amateur enthusiast could be made to feel like they’re Ayrton Senna by lunchtime.
The grip factor stems from arguably the most significant changes Honda rolled out between generations. It’s longer and wider than its predecessor, and packs an extra 35mm between the axles. Its wheels have been dialled back from 20s to 19s, but now come wrapped with enormous 265/30 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber – bigger tyres than the Supra and Z, and bordering on the kind of rolling stock you might see on a McLaren or Porsche.
Bigger footprint, stickier rubber, and new two-piece brake rotors are where the Type R has made its biggest gains over the last R. There will be those that get more engagement from the old FK8, maybe thanks to its grip reduction and tighter wheelbase. Your results may vary.
Its 4-banger K20CI turbo is a largely known quantity by now. Only on a track or while doing straight 0–100kph runs will you feel the 7kW/20Nm advantage over its predecessor. Its ability to procure power even relatively low in the rev range, while handy, is bested by how satisfying it is to simply drop it down a cog or two.
Its rev-matching functionality now works all the way down to first gear (although you’d need to be on some truly challenging roads to be dipping into first), and it gets a lighter flywheel. Such is the 2.0-litre’s capability that it offers more than enough puff low down to negate shifting into first, with second, third, and fourth gears all separated by short ratios.
The Z doesn’t feel as quick as the Supra (or the Type R) on these roads, and a big part of that is to do with its Mercedes-sourced 9G-Tronic automatic. Its calibration feels too sedate and sluggish too much of the time, needing an extra blink of the eye to decide to swap gears relative to my recollection of the Supra’s equivalent auto.
There’s a manual, flappy paddle mode of course, but it too is a little disappointing in its lack of urgency. With the Z shod with comparatively soft damping, a delayed downshift on corner entry can occasionally cause a bit of unceremonious dive when you least desire it. I’m yet to drive the 6-speed manual – but Nile has, and it’s the better option.
If it wasn’t already bleedingly obvious, the Z is the least sophisticated of the trio. It’s the only one to forgo adaptive dampers, change in feel and sound between its two drive modes (Standard and Sport) is meagre, its Bridgestone Potenzas aren’t as sticky as the Michelins on the other two, and under the skin its architecture is closer to that of its 370Z predecessor than Nissan is likely to want to admit.
Indeed, the Z is rough around the edges everywhere. But for those who have been patiently crossing their fingers and toes and waiting for Nissan to rebirth its beloved sports car, a lot of these quirks become characterised as old-school charm. For those jaded by performance cars that have become too technical and too disconnected, it might be exactly what the doctor ordered.
The Civic is at the other end of the scale. It’s surgical in its execution, redefining how quick and planted a front-wheel drive platform can be. Undoubtedly there will be those shopping in this space who will completely ignore the Type R. It might be extremely rapid, but strictly speaking it’s not a proper sports car with proper rear-wheel drive thrills. Still, in this cost of living world, it’s nice to know that a roomy, comfortable, FWD hot hatch can not only keep up with these cars – but also teach them a lesson or two.
Last but not least is the GR Supra, with its fandangled new transmission. Yes, manual transmissions aren’t popular anymore, and Toyota is unlikely to get much in the way of tangible financial return on this newly introduced ‘box. But, yes, this is how the Supra should have been offered from the outset. Its unique feel and broad capabilities only become more apparent and appreciated when the duty of shifting from cog to cog is given to the driver.
The Supra isn’t the best car here, that’s the Honda. But, it is the most rewarding.
Bonus photos