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Just happened across an interesting article in autoblog (article here) comparing the evolution of the supra from 1993 to 2020, and I thought it would be interesting to do the same comparison with the C4 vs the C7. I know a lot of people aren't considering the vette a direct comparison to the Supra, which I think is dumb, because I don't see how you wouldn't cross-shop the two since they are so close in price. I think it's really cool to see how GM has improved every aspect of the Corvette over the last 25ish years, whereas Toyota seems to be content with marginal gains against an ancient car. I say this as a fan of Toyota products.
My 2 cents is that the C7 is a much better deal, of course.
Here is a screenshot of the google spreadsheet. Raw data is here, pulled from various sources. Enjoy.
This just tells you how GOOD the old Supra was. Well other then its price which was insane at the time. The new one? Not feeling it. I think the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport is a better choice. The upmarket Nissan is heavily but has more power along with AWD and looks much better, especially the interior. Plus if you want a BMW Z4 just buy one. A Supra with no targa top, no hatch and no manual transmission is not a Supra in my book. About the only thing I like about it is the smaller size. The 'Vette is a step above.
Let me respectfully suggest that there is much more to determining to "cross-shop" sports cars than price. Given that I paid less for my new '18 base Vette (in late 2017 no less, and with a stick-shift) than for a base Supra, even that would not make sense... at least not to me.
Good points, the 93 supra compares exceptionally favorably vs. the C4. A lot of people talk about size like the C7 is massively bigger than the supra. It's really only 4 inches longer and an inch wider, but is shorter overall. Would you really consider it to be a smaller car? The C7 is also lighter. I will admit that the C7 has kind of a strange bigness to it when you drive it, I guess cause of how wide it is, but on paper they are very similarly sized.
This just tells you how GOOD the old Supra was. Well other then its price which was insane at the time. The new one? Not feeling it. I think the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport is a better choice. The upmarket Nissan is heavily but has more power along with AWD and looks much better, especially the interior. Plus if you want a BMW Z4 just buy one. A Supra with no targa top, no hatch and no manual transmission is not a Supra in my book. About the only thing I like about it is the smaller size. The 'Vette is a step above.
I have to agree with this statement. The new Supra will probably be good, but it won't be a legend like the original. I also can't help but think that with the BMW engine, Toyota is "marrying down". It will be Toyota in name but BMW in reliability and cost of ownership.
I always chuckle when people bring up BMW’s reliability as a detriment to the brand.
I’ve had maybe a dozen BMWs in my life. And I’ll agree BMW deserve every bit of the “break my wallet” nick name...IF you buy any of their high strung M cars with bespoke engines, or any of their V8 equipped 5, 6, or 7 series. I suppose that’s the majority of cars they make?
But their bread and butter base 3 series with the inline 6? Rock solid. I’ve had:
1991 E30 318is: Driven to 320,000+ miles on the Odo. Needed NOTHING but oil change and your normal wear and tear items like tires and whatnot. Alternator replaced at 175,000, clutch at 120,000 and 275,000. Diff at 300,000. Rock. Solid.
1997 Z3 1.9L: Had to replace the rear plastic vinyl window when some ******* slashed it to steal CHANGE out of the car. That’s IT. Really. And wear and tear (brakes/tires/wipers etc)
2000 E46 323Ci #1: 1 window regulator. Ran for 125,000 miles before some lady pulled out of her driveway without looking.
2000 E46 323Ci #2: This one was a little more troublesome, has 2x VANOS position sensor failure, 1x oil level sensor, 2x window regulator. Sold it at 75,000 miles.
2003 Z4 3.0i: Sequential shift gearbox controller replaced when it wouldn’t shift out of neutral. That’s it.
2006 Z4 M Coupe: 1x MAF sensor in 2014. THAT’S IT.
2008 E92 328i: No visits to dealership and mechanic. EVER.
2011 E90 335D: This one was a little surprising, since I thought the diesel would be bulletproof. But so far it’s had to have all the glow plugs and glow plug control module replaced, the urea tank was replaced, engine mount, and I had to pay for a carbon deposit cleaning (because DI turbo diese).
The ONE that gave us a ton of trouble was the E60 545i. Once warranty was over it was $2,000-4,000 a year on repairs related to the V8, not counting a slew of other electrical issues I’ve chosen to live with. Truly nightmare to keep and upkeep. This car alone was deserving of Breaking My Wallet. Not to mention the number of times we had to drop it off at the dealership for a variety of broken stuff.
The Supra with the Turbo gasoline direct injection inline 6 from BMW is likely going to be rock solid, IMO.
This just tells you how GOOD the old Supra was. Well other then its price which was insane at the time. The new one? Not feeling it. I think the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport is a better choice. The upmarket Nissan is heavily but has more power along with AWD and looks much better, especially the interior. Plus if you want a BMW Z4 just buy one. A Supra with no targa top, no hatch and no manual transmission is not a Supra in my book. About the only thing I like about it is the smaller size. The 'Vette is a step above.
Agree, my wife is madly in love with her Q60 Red Sport. It is a very nice car.
I would not even think to cross shop, never a dollar spent on an Japanese/ Korean car.
Oh, I don't mind a Japanese car--I've had several and the quality and reliability was great. My 370Z (sold at 49K) only had one thing on it fixed (new battery) in the 8.5 years I owned it.
But back to cross-shopping the OP cars? No way ! The Corvette is hands down gorgeous/sexy compared to the new Supra. In fact, the new Supra--to me--has no design. Reading about how the stingray figured into the Stingray design--it was a concept that was a success through production.
Agree, my wife is madly in love with her Q60 Red Sport. It is a very nice car.
My wife has a Q50 3.0T, really nice engine for what the car is. super comfortable ride, the infotainment system seems to be from decades past. Doesn't matter to her as she ignores it anyway but seriously for a car like this, it's pathetic. Also the amount of add on's we had to get to get the same basic safety stuff in a base Camry or Accord was ridicules On the plus side the discount was huge on the car. Anyway she loves it so that's cool. She needs 4 doors for Grandkid patrol but that's a nice looking car.
The new Supra doesn't really hit it for me, visually it's just to um ricer for me. I'm sure it will be a very nice car for what it is but not trading in a C7 for one.
Last edited by cheapthrills; Jan 18, 2019 at 06:10 PM.
I had a 92 and a 99 Supra. Both were great cars. I'm quite disappointed in the 2020 as it looks too much like the Miata. Before the 2020 was announced I was hedging towards buying - now the decision is no way. Happy with my 2016 but may wade into the C8 water when the mid-engine comes out.
Supra evolution vs. Corvette evolution
