2024 Toyota GR Yaris | PH review

It’s been four years since the Toyota GR Yaris broke the internet (PH forums included) with an unprecedented level of anticipation and hype. All the hot hatch-sized ingredients were there: an all-wheel-drive chassis homologated to the (sadly defunct) World Rally Championship ruleset, the most powerful three-cylinder turbo engine ever to appear in a production car, and some very tempting stuff. finance options prompted rally fans to push their local Toyota dealer to get their name on the waiting list. As we all know, it was worth the wait to see.

Enter the present day and the new GR Yaris is in town. Sure, the facelift will never drive home the intended audience the way the original did, but there’s a comprehensive list of upgrades, tweaks, and tweaks that aim to improve the many bits that worked and address the handful that didn’t. t.

For the latter, there’s a refreshed cabin with a dashboard that sits 50mm lower to correct the mailbox-like front view, and seats that are mounted 25mm lower to the ground to match the old model’s lofty driving position. Analogue dials make way for a digital instrument panel because, says Toyota chairman Akiyo ‘Morizo’ Toyoda, that’s what WRC cars use, and it’s mounted in a new (and very angular) housing designed to have all the controls within reach of the driver.

Of course, everything that made up the original brilliant remains. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” goes, but Toyota encouraged its engineers and test drivers to break the car (not on purpose, obviously) to know where improvements were needed. This includes revisions to the 1.6-litre turbocharged engine (lighter pistons and stiffer valve train), along with a cooling package with a new aftercooler and intercooler, the result of rally experience. The same goes for the redesigned styling, with the front bumper now split into three smaller pieces to make it easier and cheaper to replace after a scratch on a speed test.

It’s also harder. The amount of bonded adhesive and spot welds has increased by 24 percent and 13 percent, respectively, and the suspension struts are now mounted with three pins instead of one to maintain geometry under load. Crucially though, the springs have been increased all around to maintain body control. Oh and the price has gone up significantly too. The original Yaris started at £30,000 in 2020, with Circuit Pack cars adding £3,000 to that. Nobody bought the other versions, so in Britain we only get the Circuit Pack – which will now set you back £44,250. Phew.

Of course everything costs a month these days, but the £11,000 premium over an old car is quite a lot. To see if it’s really worth the extra money, Toyota let us test it under all conditions. You may recall that we’ve already driven the new model on a frozen lake in Finland (and had a ridiculous amount of fun doing it), revealing that it’s surprisingly much more aggressive on loose surfaces than its predecessor. However, the conditions for our latest test couldn’t be more different: a fast technical circuit in the south of France in the middle of a heat wave.

Right from the start, it’s clear that all the work that went into making the GR Yaris tough has paid off. The old car’s tendency to slide has been all but eradicated, as stiffer suspension settings keep the hatchback’s 1,280kg nicely balanced through the circuit’s switchbacks and cone chicanes. With this comes a noticeable improvement in driving feel. The old car was a little fuzzy off-center; it’s much faster and heavier this time, bringing the rippling of the rattling bands straight to your fingertips.

Grip levels are huge. Just when you think you’re at the limit, the front somehow manages to summon adhesion from the air to pull you even closer to the apex. Admittedly, with track temperatures at boiling point, it’s no surprise that the Yaris exits corners with unyielding traction, although we also have to reckon with the revised Track differential mode, which changes the torque split between 60:40 and 30:70 for maximum shot. . There’s a momentary hesitation on the way out when the turbo kicks in, but that just forces you to put the power in earlier and handle the torque curve in a way that spits you out the other side. With all the revisions and improvements, it has lost none of its old charm.

Conversely, the twitchiness you’d expect from a short-wheelbase hot hatch with all-wheel drive never makes an appearance. The Circuit du Laquais is full of ridges right in the middle of fast sharp corners and when entering blind corners, a recipe for hard braking and oversteer. Still, the GR doesn’t come off at any point, and both axles grip tightly as the circuit’s bends do their best to throw you off. Only under hard braking does the rear start up slightly, but not to the point where it feels like it wants to overtake. The same goes for mid-corner spin, where the car under your rear turns sweetly with a certain bite like a bed of Michelin Pilot Sport 4Ss under acceleration. It’s not overly playful, but it’s beautifully adjustable right on the border.

So it makes for a capable and exciting car on the track, especially now that it’s a bit firmer and drives with more conviction. But where the previous GR Yaris really shined was on the narrow, greasy B-road. Fortunately, there’s the gorgeous saddle that formed part of Rallye Monte Carlo in the 1980s and early 1990s, with its cracked and heavily cambered corners that served as the perfect substitute for a Welsh mountain road – only with far more impressive views and no stray sheep. watch out for.

Interestingly, the new version has a slightly different character than its predecessor. With the old car’s lighter steering, it would be easy to navigate countless hairpins, and while the new model is sharper when cornering with less need for intervention, the heavier rack will give you more practice in slower corners. And it’s all the more gratifying when you feel like two-time WRC champion Kalle Rovanpera battling the Rally1 car around the cliff-lined roads of Rally Monte.

Additionally, it took me almost 20 minutes to realize that the GR Yaris assigned to me for the road section was in Eco mode. Drive modes weren’t available in the old car, but now you can sharpen the throttle response by flipping the switch to Normal or Sport. In the latter case, as you might expect, the GR feels a bit sharper under acceleration than before, but the extra 20bhp from all the engine upgrades means it’s still more eager to pull in the higher rev range. For what it’s worth, it’s a bit of fun to leave it in Eco mode. Lazier throttle combined with turbo lag gives a good impression of an old Group B competition car (at least in my opinion) where pace comes from maintaining momentum from one corner to the next.

Predictably, it’s still a total hoot on the narrow, narrow road. However, if there is any complaint, it can be found in the firmer suspension. What was so refreshing about the old car was the feeling that it was constantly alert, hovering over ridges and breathing the topography of the road. The new model feels like a more conventional hot hatch: improved lateral composure, yet it doesn’t soak up the surface like its predecessor could. As a result, ride comfort has a smaller but notable impact.

What about the car? Toyota already hinted in 2020 that a variant with flip-up paddles was off the table, taking the form of an eight-speed torque converter here. It naturally comes into its own on the circuit, with the track-friendly setup working well with the paddle-activated automatic gearshift. However, it is not so smooth on the road. At times it can take too long to get the paddle to the cog to come into play, and in highway driving it often refused to engage eighth, instead preferring seventh and the extra 2000rpm that came with it – and that was in Eco. .

Regardless, this is a sharper and more focused GR Yaris. Admittedly, part of me misses the slightly more compliant rally-style ride, and its absence may be increasingly noticeable when we’re driving it on home soil – but for now, there’s no denying that the firmer setup has resulted in a more rewarding car. on the right track. That makes it a step up from the 2020 model, although that doesn’t make the £44,000 asking price any easier to swallow. Not that Toyota has trouble filling its order books, partly because it only brings “a few thousand” to Europe. This should cause the usual stampede (and some seething resentment), but it’s probably worth bearing in mind that the original is almost as good as its replacement, and potentially a bit easier to live with. And you can definitely find them cheaper in the classifieds.

Engine: 1,618 cc three-cylinder, turbocharged
Transmission: six-speed manual, all-wheel drive (eight-speed automatic on request)
Power (hp): 280 at 6500 rpm
Torque (lb ft): 288 @ 3250rpm – 4000rpm
0-62mph: 5.2 seconds
Top speed: 143 mph
Mass: 1,280 kg
MPG: 34
CO2: 187.9 g/km
Price: £44,250