Toyota Supra vs Audi Sq8 E-Tron

What's the difference?

The Toyota GR Supra GT is a superb sports car that’s relatively easy to live with in the city even with the manual gearbox and incredibly fun to drive out where the roads are free from traffic.

Not only is the GT great for the price compared to rivals but it’s the pick of the Supra range.   

There’s not doubt large, luxury SUVs like the SQ8 have a lot to gain from electrification in terms of refinement, performance and running costs. The flip-side is the extra mass of the batteries and other electrical gear but, in this case at least, there might be a silver lining there in the way the hulking SUV manages to force the air suspension into agreeable submission.

For our money, the station-wagon variant is the one to buy. It’s cheaper to begin with and with its greater luggage capacity, it simply makes more sense. Which is not to say the Sportback version is compromised in luxury, safety or performance terms, but if practicality doesn’t figure highly in any purchasing decision involving an SUV, then we sense a great disturbance in the force.

Regardless of what’s powering the SQ8, the driving experience is vintage Audi and that’s a good thing, and even that massive kerb mass can’t blunt the sort of chassis dynamics and feedback we’ve come to expect from the brand.

Some buyers will possibly baulk at the projected range and the Audi’s appetite for electrons, but when lined up side-by-side with its major competition, the SQ8 is every chance to emerge as the one to buy. We’ll need a proper comparison for that, of course, but the Audi should be on any short-list of big, deluxe, electric SUVs.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

Perhaps it’s just me but I think the Supra looks exactly how it should look - like a Hot Wheels car.

Seriously, how good does the back view look? I love the spoiler that angles up like a crazy ski jump and the tail-lights integrated underneath it.

I love the huge rear hunches swollen like they’ve been stung by an enormous wasp. Check out the roof - see how it’s curved? And that bonnet with the vent above the wheel arches, I love the styling of every millimetre of this car.

But my neighbour doesn’t. I pulled up and said, “How good does this look?” And he gave me this stare like I was bonkers.

I don’t know, maybe you and I have the same excellent taste, but if there’s anything I hate it's anything that’s boring.

To me the BMW Z4 ‘twin’ is getting very close to the boring end in the styling department. 

Talking of BMW, the Supra's interior is very BMW from the indicators stalks to the media system and climate control set-up.

It’s a modern and minimalist cabin… if only there wasn’t a cupholder right where my elbow goes. That’s a good place to stop and talk about the Supra GT’s practicality. 

Stylistically, the big news is that the SQ8 is the second model to take up Audi’s latest exterior design language. That includes the two-dimensional Audi grille logo as well as a 'singleframe' (Audi’s own word) light bar that links the matrix headlights.

The SQ8 also gets Audi’s Sport Package as part of the price of admission, and that includes black roof rails and other touches.

Of more technical interest is the way the front of the car has been designed to aid air flow around the front wheels. Controllable flaps in the front fascia as well as underbody winglets keep the air flowing around the wheels without contributing to excess aerodynamic drag at speed.

In an engineering sense, the big news is the adoption of a three-motor layout. While some manufacturers are yet to see the value in this, having a motor on each of the rear wheels means there’s no longer a need for a rear differential.

The good news is that if you’re tall like me (189cm) and mainly legs then you’ll have more than enough legroom and headroom because the footwells are impossibly deep and the seats can be lowered to what feels like ground level.

Actually, you are almost at ground height in this car so the bad news if you’re as tall as me you’ll probably have to crawl out of the car on all fours.

The cabin of the Supra doesn’t do the storage space thing well. Sure there are two cupholders but their location is the same place my elbow frequents while changing gears and resting.

The wireless phone charging area is good and easy to access, but the door pockets are as thin as post box slots so if it’s letters you’re storing there you’re in luck.

If it’s anything thicker than that you’ll be left looking around for a place to put your purse or wallet and end up throwing it in the phone charger space if the passenger seat is taken.

You could always ask your co-pilot to hold onto your things which reminds me to tell you that the Supra is a two-seater only. There are no back seats, and there’s no option to have back seats.

If you’re looking for a sports car with rear seats (although space will be limited) for the same money then there’s the Audi A4 45 TFSI and at an even lower price is the Ford Mustang GT.

If you look over your left shoulder while in the driver’s seat of the Supra GT you’ll see into the boot -  there’s no wall separating the cabin from the cargo area. This is handy for throwing a school bag in as I did for my son on the morning drop off, but also means your items may make an unexpected visit to the cockpit if you stop suddenly.

The boot is large for a sports car at 296 litres (VDA) and it managed to fit our large CarsGuide suitcase with space to spare as you can see in the images.

There’s absolutely no question Audi knows a thing or two about cabin layouts and ergonomics. Like other contemporary Audis, this one features the fully customisable Virtual Cockpit with a huge range of possible displays and layouts. And again, as usual, it all works seamlessly and efficiently.

The head-up display is amazingly clear and the twin touchscreens divide the car’s tasks logically. Yes, there’s a lot going on, but compare the way the Audi applies logic to the menu strategy to the scatter-gun approach of many others, and you can see that plenty of thought has gone into this stuff.

Also, it goes without saying, of course, that there are multiple charging points as well as plenty of connectivity with good wireless connections available. That includes wireless phone changing.

The front seats are sporty but not too firm, even if they do give you a bit of a squeeze thanks to high bolsters and lots of contouring. The rear seat is likewise firm initially and is really best for two backsides thanks to the sculpting of the rear bench.

That said, it will accept a centre passenger, but that seat will be the last one occupied. Rear legroom – important in a car like this - is good, there’s enough room for your feet under the front seats and headroom, even in the allegedly racier looking Sportback, is ample if not huge.

The panoramic sunroof means there’s plenty of light to counter the dark interior colours, and the only real surprise is the amount of hard plastic on the upper part of the door trims, just below the glass. Given the acres of much plusher trim farther down the door, this seems a bit odd.

The other comment we’d make is that the SUV body simply makes more sense in terms of load carrying (569 litres plays 528) and makes more of the SUV’s claim to practicality.

The Sportback is also a bit of an acquired taste and while it’s not the first SUV-coupe mash-up we’ve seen, to many eyes, the combination never looks right. Coupe on stilts? Surely, not for everyone.

On that subject of practicality, the SQ8 bucks the trend in EVs by being able to tow up to 1800kg with a braked trailer. The factory towing pack is a $2180 option.

None of the Q8 variants are what you’d call remotely spartan, and even the entry-level Q8 50 gets air suspension, Audi’s 'Virtual Cockpit', 20-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, ambient interior lighting, dual-zone climate control, driver’s seat memory function, a head-up display, digital radio and a 360-degree camera.

The Q8 55 builds on that with the Sportback body (which is not available on the 50 variant) an extra 50kW of power from its twin electric motors, 21-inch alloy wheels, sports front seats and four-zone climate-control. There’s also an electrically adjustable steering column (the 50 has manual adjustment).

What makes the SQ8 the flagship car, of course, is not just more equipment (though there is plenty of that) but rather the optimised driveline with its three electric motors and 370kW output.

Beyond that, you also get a panoramic sunroof, 22-inch alloys, matrix LED headlights, heated front seats and a Bang & Olufsen premium sound system with no less than 16 speakers including 3D loud-speakers.

And because choice equals luxury, the SQ8 can be had in either of the Q8’s body styles; the station-wagon SUV or the Sportback. Neither of which run to a third row of seats.

Option packs include the 22kW charger option at $6900 and the 'Sensory Pack' which gets you headlights capable of branded projections on to your garage wall, e-tron branded puddle lights, powered, soft-close doors, heated rear-outer seats, an interior ioniser and 'fragrancer', extra dashboard leather and manual rear-window sun-shades. Yours for an extra $9600.

And if the SQ8 doesn’t look menacing enough, there’s a black exterior package at $2300 that, um, adds extra blackness.

The one option you need to think about carefully is the virtual mirror package which, at $3500, replaces the conventional mirrors with cameras that show what’s behind on panels in the top corner of the front door trims. It takes a bit of acclimatisation and revision of muscle-memory and is definitely not for everybody.

The price hike over the $140,600 entry level car is a hefty $33,000 for the SUV variant ($173,600) and a neat 40-grand for the Sportback ($180,600).

You’re looking at a Supra that could be the peak of its model evolution because since the generation’s arrival in 2019 Toyota has increased the power of the 3.0-litre turbo-petrol in-line six-cylinder from 250kW to 285kW (torque remains the same at 500Nm) and introduced a six-speed manual. 

This 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-petrol is the only engine you can have with the Supra, there are no four cylinders or V8s - now there’s an idea. 

Toyota says the 0-100km/h time for the GR Supra with the manual gearbox is 4.4 seconds and 4.1 seconds for the automatic which comes with a ‘launch control’ feature.

Of course, all Supras are rear-wheel drive.

While many electric all-wheel-drive vehicles use a motor on each axle, the Audi electric 'Quattro' system here arguably goes one better with a total of three motors.

The front axle features the traditional single motor while the rear axle has two; effectively a motor on each rear wheel.

When they all chime in, they bestow the e-tron with a maximum of 370kW of power and an astonishing 973Nm of torque; more than enough to get the 2.6-tonne e-tron moving.

Enough, in fact to get the car from rest to 100km/h in a claimed 4.5 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 210km/h.

A single-speed reduction transmission is fitted and drive is constantly sent to all four wheels via an electric version of Audi’s famed Quattro all-wheel-drive layout.

Suspension is by adaptive air springs and there’s adjustable (via the steering wheel paddles) regenerative braking.

Toyota says the 3.0-litre six-cylinder straight-six turbo-petrol engine in the Supra GT paired with the six speed manual gearbox should use 8.9L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads.

I did a week’s worth of city commuting and then a couple of hundred kilometres on country roads, but no motorways and the trip computer told me I was averaging 10.3L/100km.

Not bad for a big engine in a car tuned for performance, driven by a big kid who feels like he’s playing with somebody else’s toys.  

Premium 95 RON fuel is recommended, although 'standard' 91 is acceptable. A 52-litre fuel tank translates to a theoretical range of around 580km, dropping to approximately 500km using our real-world number.

Moving this much weight at such velocities and for such distances requires a big battery. In fact, Audi claims the SQ8’s battery, at 114kWh is the biggest in the business.

But, again, it needs to be, especially with the claimed energy consumption of a hefty 28.8kWh per 100km for the SUV version and 28.0kWh per 100km for the slightly slipperier Sportback.

That gives a theoretical range of 417km for the SUV and 430 for the Sportback, both of which are numbers some potential buyers won’t consider sufficient.

But those same people should consider the fact that in a mix of winding country roads and some freeway running, we were able to beat those consumption claims, recording closer to 26 or 27kWh per 100km which, if nothing else, suggests the published range figures might be somewhat closer to reality than the EV (or any other segment of the car industry) market typically gets.

The standard charger runs at 11kW but on a 10-amp household socket, home charging will be limited to 7.2kW, although an optional 22kW charger ($6900) is also available from Audi.

The DC charging is the highlight, however, and the SQ8 can cope with charging speeds of up to 170kWh, meaning it can theoretically get from 10 per cent to 80 per cent charged in about 31 minutes on a commercial charging station with enough grunt.

Ah, but what about living daily with a manual? As a car enthusiast most of the cars I’ve owned have been manuals and I’ve rarely cursed them because I love to drive.

But there were times when they were a pain, such as in traffic, or in traffic on steep streets and in traffic in shopping centres. Did I mention in traffic, also?

But on the nice roads with bends and dips, hills and sweeping corners, hairpins and twisty parts in places without traffic, then all is forgiven. 

And so it goes with the manual version of the Supra. 

Making life easier in the Supra GT is a clutch pedal without much travel so you don’t feel as though you’re at the gym doing a one-sided leg press.

I found the shifts themselves, while short, to be less than smooth. At first, I thought that the clunky changes might have been because the gearbox hadn’t been run in yet, but the odometer was saying 7500km, so this could just be the nature of the gearbox and after a few days I became used to it.

The rev-matching feature of this gearbox is a nice touch, especially on those sporty drives when you change into a gear and you’re thrown straight back into the power band again.

Superb balance, great steering with a nose which points exactly where you want it to and that magnificently smooth turbo-petrol in-line six posting all its meaty grunt to the rear wheels just behind your shoulders makes for a sports car that’s fun, talented and quick.

Good brakes (348mm ventilated rotors with four piston calipers at the front and 330mm discs with single piston calipers at the rear) and grippy Michelin Pilot Supersport tyres (255/40 fr - 275/40 rr) complete a great package. 

A ride that’s still comfortable over bad Sydney roads and surprisingly good visibility made the Supra easy to live with in the city, from parking to school drop offs.

Yes, used it each day for the school run with my older child and the grocery shopping. 

Almost a thousand Newton-metres (not to mention 370kW) infers some pretty serious performance and so it is.

When you press down on the throttle pedal, there’s an instant and somewhat furious response from the driveline. And just as the Audi’s touchscreens have been calibrated to respond on a human scale, so too have the major driving controls.

That said, while there’s more acceleration on tap than most drivers will ever have experienced, the SQ8 doesn’t move forward with quite the irresistible force the bald numbers might suggest.

And that’s purely down to the thing weighing the wrong side of 2.6 tonnes. Sure, Audi claims 4.5 seconds and that seems fairly believable, but it’s not quite as ballistic as some other current EVs.

Still, that’s hardly its mission in life, anyway. Top speed, in the interests of thermal management, has been limited to an entirely understandable – not to mention adequate - 210km/h.

But one thing all that kerb mass has (arguably) done is make the suspension work properly. Speaking purely personally, until I’d sampled the SQ8 over a variety of bitumen joins, potholes of all sizes and even clattering level-crossings, I was yet to drive a passenger car on air suspension that worked as well as the brochure claimed.

Historically, air suspension has been okay on smooth roads and even sometimes bigger lumps and bumps. But it usually fell short of expectations on small amplitude, high frequency stuff that made the suspension judder and stutter. Not this Audi.

Even on the 'Dynamic' setting, the ride never falls beyond plush although you will notice a little more stiffness being dialled into it by the computer.

The best advice is to leave it in the 'Comfort' setting where there’s still lots of roll and pitch control, yet an even higher degree of suppleness that fundamentally refuses to be beaten by a lack of post-Covid road maintenance. And this from a car that rides on 22-inch wheels and tyres.

Perhaps compressed air doesn’t scale in a linear manner, making the addition of a couple of tonnes of sprung mass a positive, rather than a negative.

The other thing Audi has done well to maintain is that almost indefinable corporate steering response.

It’s kind of muted this time around in terms of its ability to talk to you, but there’s still an over-arching Audi-ness to it with an instant pointiness without the frenetic feel often associated with a quick ratio and sticky tyres.

Like any modern, high-end SUV, the Audi is dripping with safety gear, both passive and the latest active driver aids.

Autonomous Emergency Braking is included, of course, but goes a bit further with pedestrian and cyclist detection. There’s also adaptive cruise-control with a speed limiter and the Audi offers assistance rather than just a passive warning with traffic-jam assist, collision avoidance assist, turn assist, exit assist, intersection assist, rear-cross traffic assist and lane-change warning and assist.

There are also front and rear parking sensors combined with a 360-degree camera system which includes a kerb view function for tight parking spots.

Given the bulk of the e-tron, that might be a pretty handy addition. A tyre-pressure monitoring system is also a great standard feature.

The SQ8 hasn’t been locally crash-tested but has scored a maximum five stars in European testing.

What’s missing? Probably only a central airbag to prevent front-seat head clashes in the case of a side impact.

Toyota covers the GR Supra GT with its five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. Servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km and is capped at $415 per service.

The warranty is the industry standard in terms of time and kilometre length, and the capped service prices are very reasonable - a lot more affordable than a car with a prestige badge on the bonnet, too.

Audi’s factory warranty is a good, but no longer remarkable five-year/unlimited warranty on most of the SQ8.

The exception is the battery which is covered by a six-year/160,000km warranty. Audi will also come to your home and connect the standard 10-amp charger and there’s an Origin Energy green power offer that comes with it.

Charging is taken care of for the first six years with a Chargefox subscription as well as Audi Connect. You’ll also get six years of free roadside assistance and the first six years of standard servicing are also included.

The SQ8 also makes good on the EV promise of less maintenance with service intervals every two years or 30,000km, whichever comes first.