The line between a genius and a madman is often wafer-thin. The Toyota Yaris provides that proof, which makes a convincing impression of a rally car and dances exactly on that line. This is guaranteed to make for memorable rides.
There are those experiences that are so incredible that you already know you won’t forget them for the rest of your life. Halfway through a bend on power, letting the rear of a Toyota Yaris overtake the front is one of them. Again: with a Yaris – but not a regular one, of course. Besides its name, the headlight units and the door mirrors, the hottest of all Yaris has nothing to do with its namesakes. That starts with the coach, because the GR is the only one in the range to have a three-door. It is also the only one with a carbon fiber roof and a serious 4×4 system that can actually send more power to the rear wheels than to the front wheels. That power comes from an engine as unique as the rest: a 1.6-litre three-cylinder with a huge leaf blower on top to boost power to 261 hp and torque to 360 Nm. And where we are used to extreme flexibility from small turbo engines these days, this is still one of the old stamps. Nothing happens at all below 2,000 rpm, while the turbo only collapses at 3,000 rpm in one go. Up to 4,000, the power then swells in a large, elastic wave to bizarre values, and then the three-cylinder continues to past 7,000 rpm. Viewed objectively, it makes no sense. The waiting time that the engine needs after accelerating is an eternity in 2021, but the block then bites with such enthusiasm that all complaints about the delay are immediately forgotten. It’s like the Toyota encourages you to keep your throttle especially pressed against the bulkhead. After all, that’s how they do it in rally sport. Actually, it was the intention to use this street version as an above-average good starting point for a competition car. The fact that that rally car never came, and Toyota decided to supply the GR Yaris anyway, deserves a compliment as big as the turbo lag of this engine. The tight-shifting six-speed gearbox with short transmission ratios completes the party. We’re just a little saddened by the synthetic speaker sound. For the rest, the powertrain is a theater of experience.
power slide
It already makes clear at the first bend that the GR Yaris is carved from a special type of wood. With the exception of the brake pedal, which offers a lot of counter pressure, everything on board the GR doesn’t feel particularly firm. The steering is slightly not as direct as expected and the springs are adjusted a bit softer. Not bad news in itself, because the compact Toyota processes unevenness quite easily. It’s certainly not super comfortable, but it does feel like everything is permanently on Sport++++. But when the Yaris is actually in sport mode, it behaves like no other hot hatch in this part of the market. In that position, 70 percent of the 261 horsepower goes to the rear wheels. Not theoretically, but really. That means you can actually make it a powerslide with enough space, dedication and courage. Or you set the four-wheel drive to 50:50, to be able to accelerate out of corners with maximum traction. The Yaris always offers options, but only if you order the Performance version, otherwise there are no Torsen differential locks between the front and rear wheels. The latter would be a shame, because that is precisely what makes the GR Yaris such an unprecedented fun package. Plus, it’s pocket-sized, which means you’ll have plenty of room even on tight roads. Toyota does not often jump out of the band. But when they do, the result is unapproachable when it comes to driving pleasure.
Seat too high
In return for all that fun, there is a sacrifice: the already not exceptionally spacious Yaris still loses some of its deployability thanks to the GR cure. The rear seat is only suitable for children and the remaining trunk space in a Range Rover should not yet pass for a cup holder. Now that is not such a problem, but the too high seating position unfortunately. That makes you feel the car a little less quickly than you would like. Together with the flat A-pillar, it means that you can’t see anything other than your rear view mirror in long swings to the right. We don’t jump on the table with joy either from the finish of the interior and the speed of the infotainment system. Certainly not because the GR Yaris has to cost a lot of money. At least €50,495 and actually €52,995 because the Performance version is almost mandatory if you are going to spend half a ton on this model. Then it is completely ready, except for metallic paint. Things like heated seats, cruise control, climate control and the entire Toyota Safety Sense package are all there. Other than that, there just isn’t much to choose from. Navigation is literally not an option, although you do not miss much in the case of the Toyota.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl