Pros: Paparazzi attention getter Thrilling to drive Competitive price Cons: Polarizing design Needs smooth roads Its OK, just not great First things first. Yes, the 2020 Toyota Supra is built from BMW parts in the same Austrian factory as the BMW Z4 . So, you ask, how come the Supra advanced to the COTY finalist round and the Z4 did not? Naturally, pricing the Supra about $8,000 to $13,000 below a comparable Z4 M40i caught our notice. And although both drew ire for their overwrought coachwork during COTY judging (as well as throughout our annual Best Drivers Car contest in the Supras case), the Supra drew more gas station attention/queries than pricier cars filling up beside it. Read about Car, SUV, and Truck of the Year contenders and finalists HERE . --> Theres no question: For a certain demographic, the A90 Supra is this moments it car. For some people, its quite literally a second coming of a legendary model theyve only seen in movies. The same cannot be said of the Zzzzz4. Since their underpinnings are mechanically the same, albeit with different tuning, it was down to those finishing dynamic touches, the way the two manufacturers chose for their cars to drive: the ride/handling trade-offs, road isolation or lack thereof, the way the steering feels/behaves, the brake feel/boost behavior, and so on. There are myriad ways that they can and do differ despite the shared Bavarian parts supplier. Supra vs. Z4: Read the full MotorTrend comparison here . Editor-in-chief Ed Loh didnt realize it at the time, but he summarized what nearly all the judges had written in their happenstance BMW versus Toyota notes. I appreciate the price of this vehicle and the decision to treat BMW as the supplier of such a sonorous and smooth turbo I-6, he said. It sounds great, and handling is pretty tidy on smooth surfaces, but when you get it loose, stability control intervention is not next-level, as it is with the BMW. But its very good at it, as the Supra really likes to hang its tail out given the opportunity. Its an easier car to set up and just drive than the BMW because there isnt the proliferation of modesjust Sportand then you decide if you want to manually shift or not. Refreshingly simple to drive after all the BMWs this year. Very direct. Its basically a simplified BMW. Thats not to say that the Supra didnt show some kinks in its shapely, bulbous armor. News editor Alex Nishimoto found a rattling cargo cover and creaking noises from the infotainment screen and dash: Its noisy over rough, broken road surfaces, too. There was criticism of the cars interior, as well. Compared to the its flamboyant exterior, Inside were talking all black with some white stitching in the leather and modest use of carbon-fiber trim, Detroit editor Alisa Priddle noted. The BMW-sourced buttons look very dated, and theres a wireless charging tray for your phone but then a flimsy shelf on top of that. Technical director Frank Markus felt that Toyota failed to make good use of the digital display. Theres this big swath next to the tach that does not do anything, unless Im just missing something, he said. But then the trip computer occupies only a little half-inch strip at the bottom. I hate to see misused or squandered opportunity on digital displays. Like a proper sports car should, the Supra needs its driver. Handling requires slow hands, no midcorner corrections, be very sure of your line, and dont get twitchy, executive editor Mark Rechtin said. Straight-line braking is a must. Deviate from this curriculum, and things will get squirrely. Yet it squirts out of corners with a definite thrill. International bureau chief Angus MacKenzie earns the last word: A real sports car, but not the groundbreaker the previous two Supras were. 2020 Toyota Supra Base Price/As tested $50,945/$57,400 Power (SAE net) 335 hp @ 5,000 rpm Torque (SAE net) 365 lb-ft @ 1,600 rpm Accel, 0-60 mph 3.9 sec Quarter-mile 12.5 sec @ 111.2 mph Braking, 60-0 mph 106 ft Lateral Acceleration 1.01 g (avg) MT Figure Eight 23.9 sec @ 0.84 g (avg) EPA City/Hwy/Comb 24/31/26 mpg The post 2020 Toyota Supra Review: Why the Supra Is a Finalist and the BMW Z4 Isnt appeared first on MotorTrend .