2024 Toyota GR Yaris | PH Review

It’s been four years since the Toyota GR Yaris blew up the internet (including PH forums) with unprecedented levels of anticipation and hype. All the ingredients of hot hatch greatness were there: an all-wheel-drive chassis homologated to a (sadly defunct) World Rally Championship regulation, the most powerful three-cylinder turbo engine ever to appear in a production car, and a few more Enticing finance options had rally fans asking their local Toyota dealer to put their name on the waiting list. As we all know, the wait was worth it.

Enter the present and there’s a new GR Yaris in town. Sure, a facelift is never going to send its target audience into overdrive like the original did, but there’s a comprehensive list of improvements, tweaks, and fixes that aim to improve many of the parts that worked and address a handful that didn’t. they worked. t.

For the latter, there’s a refreshed cabin with a dash that sits 50mm lower to correct the letterbox look of the launch car up front, and seats that are mounted 25mm closer to the ground to combat the high driving position of the old model. Analogue shapes make way for a digital panel because, says Toyota chairman Akiyo ‘Morizo’ Toyoda, it’s what the WRC cars use and it’s mounted in a new (and very blocky) housing that’s designed to house all the controls inside driver capabilities.

Of course, everything that made the original great remains. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, so it goes, but Toyota encouraged its engineers and test drivers to break the car (not on purpose) in order to know where improvements are needed. This includes revisions to the 1.6-liter turbocharged engine (lighter pistons and stronger valves) along with a cooling package with a new sub-radiator and intercooler spray resulting from lessons learned in racing. The same goes for the reworked styling, with the front bumper now split into three smaller pieces to make it easier and cheaper to replace once you’ve laid it out on a special stage.

It’s even tougher. The amount of adhesive tape and spot welds have 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. However, more importantly, spring rates are increased all the time to keep a lid on body control. Oh, and the price has gone up significantly too. The original Yaris started at £30k in 2020, with the Circuit Pack cars adding £3k on top of that. Nobody bought the other versions, so in Britain we’re only getting the circuit pack – which will now set you back £44,250. Oof.

Everything costs the moon these days, of course, but an £11k premium over the old car is quite a lot. To see if it’s really worth the extra money, Toyota asked us to test it in all conditions. You may recall that we’ve already driven the new model on a frozen lake in Finland (and had a lot of hilarious fun doing it), which revealed that it’s much sharper to walk sideways on loose surfaces than his predecessor, oddly enough. However, the conditions couldn’t be more different for our final test: a fast technical circuit in Southern France in the middle of a heatwave.

Immediately, it’s clear that all the work that’s gone into strengthening the GR Yaris has paid off. The old car’s tendency to roll is all but gone, as the stiffer suspension setup keeps the 1,280kg hatchback well balanced through the circuit shifters and cone chicanes. With this comes a noticeable improvement in steering feel. The old car was a touch vaguely off-centre; it’s much faster and heavier this time around, delivering waves of rumble strips straight to your fingertips.

Catch levels are exceptional. Just when you think you’re at the limit, the front end somehow manages to summon climb out of thin air to pull you even closer to the top. Granted, with track temperatures at boiling point, it’s no wonder the Yaris pulls out of corners with unbreakable traction, although we also have to consider the revised Track differential mode, which changes the torque split between 60:40 and 30 :70 for maximum bite. . There’s a moment of hesitation on the way out as the turbo spins, but it just forces you to get the power earlier, managing the torque curve to spit you out the other way. With all the revisions and improvements, it has lost none of its old-school charm.

Conversely, the vibration you’d expect from a short-wheelbase, all-wheel-drive hot hatch never seems to materialize. The Circuit du Laquais is full of ridges right in the middle of fast sweeping corners and at the entrance to blind corners, a recipe for squirrel braking and heaving oversteer. At no point does the GR lag, though, with both axles sticking hard when the circuit cam does its best to push you away. It’s only under hard braking that the rear becomes light, but not to the point where it feels like it wants to overtake the front. The same goes for mid-corner turn-in, with the car rolling sweetly under your rear end with that sure-footed Michelin Pilot Sport 4Ss bed-like bite under acceleration. It’s not overly playful, but it adjusts nicely right on the edge.

It makes for a capable and exciting track car, then, especially now that it’s a bit stronger and drives with more conviction. But where the previous GR Yaris really shined was on a tight, greasy B-road. Fortunately, there’s a glorious convoy that was part of the Monte Carlo Rally in the 80s and early 90s , with its cracked and very tight bends that served as the perfect substitute for the Welsh mountain road – only with much more spectacular views and no errant sheep for it. take care of.

Interestingly, the new version has a slightly different character than its predecessor here. Gliding through the column’s countless hairpins would have been easy with the older car’s lighter steering, and while the new model is more inclined to turn with less input required, the heavier rack gives you more exercise in slower corners. And it’s all the more enjoyable for it, making you feel like double WRC champion Kalle Rovanpera battling a Rally1 car along the rock-strewn roads of Rally Monte.

Additionally, it took the better part of 20 minutes before I realized that the GR Yaris assigned to me for the road section was in Eco mode. Drive modes weren’t available on the old car, but you can now sharpen throttle response by flipping the switch to Normal or Sport. In the latter, as you might expect, the GR feels a little sharper under acceleration than before, but the extra 20bhp from all the engine upgrades means it’s keener to keep pulling higher up the rev range . For what it’s worth, there’s some fun to be had leaving Eco mode. Lazier throttle combined with turbo lag does a good impression of an old B car (at least in my opinion), where the pace comes from carrying momentum from corner to corner.

Predictably, it’s still complete mayhem on a tight, narrow road. If there is a criticism, however, it has to be found in the firmer suspension. What was so refreshing about the old car was the feeling that it was always on top, floating over ridges and breathing with the topography of the road. The new model feels like a more conventional hot hatch: improved lateral composure, yet doesn’t soak up the surface in the same way its predecessor managed. Ride comfort takes a small but noticeable hit as a result.

What about the car, then? Toyota hinted in 2020 that the flappy paddle option wasn’t off the table, taking the form of an eight-speed torque converter here. Of course, it comes into its own at a circuit, with the track-friendly setup working well with the car’s quick paddle-activated shifts. However, it is not so smooth on the road. It can sometimes take a long time from pulling a paddle into gear, and when cruising on a motorway it often refused to engage in eighth, instead preferring seventh and the extra 2000rpm that came with it – and that was in Eco mode.

Regardless, this is a sharper and more focused GR Yaris. Admittedly, part of me misses the slightly more supple, racing-style ride, and the lack of it may become increasingly important when we drive it on home soil – but, for now, there’s no denying that the most strong has resulted in a more rewarding car on track. That makes it a step up from the 2020 model, though it doesn’t make the £44k asking price any easier to swallow. Not that Toyota will have any trouble filling the order books, in part because it’s only bringing ‘a couple of thousand’ to Europe. This should create the usual confusion (and seething resentment), but it’s probably worth considering that the original is almost as good as its replacement, and potentially a little easier to live with. And you will definitely find them cheaper in the classifieds.

Engine: 1,618cc three-cylinder, turbocharged
Transmission: six-speed manual, all-wheel drive (eight-speed automatic optional)
Power (hp): 280@6500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 288@3,250rpm – 4,000rpm
0-62 mph: 5.2 seconds
Maximum speed: 143 mph
Weight: 1280 kg
MPG: 34
CO2: 187.9g/km
Price: £44,250