In my mind, there’s always a race happening.
I am not talking about a literal race with checkered flags and crowds. I like to pretend I’m an adequate driver on the open road, just me and the cornfields. I find the racing line, edge myself over to the outer rim of a corner, and make sure I hold tight for the ride. I always, incidentally, obey posted speeds—but it’s still fun to imagine what it’s like to be on the Nürburgring driving 100 miles per hour instead of a country road by myself doing about 60.
Recently, I tested out a 2024 Toyota GR Supra 3.0, and you can’t help but picture yourself hugging the road next to a bunch of other sports cars, trying to come in first. I would say the actual sport of high-speed racing would completely destroy any sense of my ability on the road, considering the precision steering required, shifting ability, and pure athletic prowess. (I’ve heard the key ingredients to being a professional driver are hand-eye coordination, the ability to predict maneuvers, and physical fitness like any other sport.)
For me, the Supra is all about living briefly in a dream world—and by briefly, I mean about a week when I get to drive the car. Thankfully, for people like me, the Supra has some driver aids that bump us right back into reality—in a very literal sense.
On my many adventures on those country roads, angling the car just perfectly to speed around a corner—glancing behind me like there’s any competition or remotely similar sports cars around—the Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist feature kicked in a few times. What that means is that I am not going to be the next Michael Schumacher anytime soon. The Supra helpfully (and rather gently) moved me back into the roadway like a grandma trying to keep her grandson on the straight and narrow. At times, it felt like an auto-correct.
One site describes it this way: “This feature alerts the driver if the car is drifting out of its lane and can provide gentle steering assistance to keep the car in its lane. It works at speeds above 32 mph and when white or yellow lane markings are detected.” And here I thought drifting was a good thing. Not so much, especially if there are obstructions on the side of the road—a mailbox or two, or even a guardrail of some kind. Now, there are many, many different methods to keep you in the lane; some are a bit overly aggressive. I remember testing a Chrysler 200 quite a few years ago (so many that they don’t even make the car anymore) and getting a firm nudge back into the lane. In other cases, I’ve tested lane-keeping systems that barely seemed to work.
In the Supra, it’s more like a “Nope, you are going to stay in the lane” nudge that is quick and to the point, without being overly aggressive. This is actually a really helpful feature for someone like me who thinks I have racing sensibilities.
Another callback that made me rethink my future as a racecar driver—I was on an actual track in Wisconsin once, in a very high-powered Porsche, doing my thing where I imagine what it’s like to be a professional driver. The car skidded maybe an inch on the road—a fraction, really—and didn’t have any lane-keeping. I overcorrected, but it wasn’t a big deal, except for my moment of panic. You suddenly get the sense that maybe there’s a bit more to this racing thing than you realize. Driving really fast in any car can be dangerous, and is best left to the pros. For me, I enjoy the Sunday drives. Lane-keeping just makes them a little safer.