2024 Toyota GR Yaris | PH Review

Four years have passed since the Toyota GR Yaris broke the internet (including PH forums) with unprecedented expectations and hype. All the ingredients for hot hatch greatness were there: an all-wheel drive chassis, homologated for a (sadly defunct) ruleset in the World Rally Championship, the most powerful three-cylinder turbo engine ever to appear in a production car and some very tempting… financing options, rally fans harassed their local Toyota dealer to get their names on the waiting list. As we all know, the wait was well worth it.

Step into the present and there’s a new GR Yaris in town. Sure, a facelift is never going to send its intended audience into overdrive like the original, but there’s an extensive list of upgrades, tweaks and modifications that aim to improve many of the things that worked, and address the handful that didn’t. T.

For the latter, there’s a revamped cabin, with a dashboard that sits 50mm lower to correct the launch car’s letterbox-like look to the front, and seats that are mounted 25mm closer to the ground to counter the old model’s high driving position. Analogue dials make way for a digital dash – because, says Toyota chairman Akiyo ‘Morizo’ Toyoda, that’s what the WRC cars use – and it’s mounted in a new (and very blocky) housing designed to put all the controls within easy reach of the driver.

Of course, everything that made the original brilliant is retained. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” the saying goes, but Toyota encouraged its engineers and test drivers to break the car (not intentionally, of course) so that it knew where improvements were needed. That includes revisions to the 1.6-litre turbo engine (lighter pistons and harder valves) alongside a cooling package with a new sub-radiator and intercooler spray that comes from lessons learned in rallying. 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 it after being placed on a dedicated stage.

It is also sturdier. The amount of glue and spot welding has been increased by 24 percent and 13 percent respectively and the suspension legs are now mounted with three pins instead of one to maintain geometry under load. Crucially, however, spring rates have been increased all around to keep body control in check. Oh, and the price has increased significantly too. The original Yaris started at £30,000 in 2020, with Circuit Pack cars adding another £3,000. No one bought the other versions, so in the UK we only get the Circuit Pack – which will now cost you £44,250. Oof.

Of course, everything costs the moon these days, but an £11,000 premium over the old car is a significant increase. To see if it’s really worth the extra money, Toyota put it through its paces in all conditions. You may recall that we drove the new model on a frozen lake in Finland (and had a ridiculous amount of fun doing so), and it was surprisingly much happier to drive sideways on loose surfaces than its predecessor. Conditions couldn’t have been more different for our latest test, however: a fast, technical circuit in the south of France in the middle of a heatwave.

It’s immediately clear that all the work that went into making the GR Yaris tougher has paid off. The old car’s tendency to roll has all but disappeared, as the stiffer suspension keeps the 1,280kg hatchback nicely balanced through the circuit’s hairpin bends and cone-shaped chicanes. This brings a noticeable improvement in steering feel. The old car was a little vaguely off-center; it’s much faster and heavier this time, communicating the ripples of the rumble strips directly to your fingertips.

Grip levels are immense. Just when you think you’re on the limit, the front end somehow manages to summon grip out of nowhere to pull you even closer to the apex. Granted, with track temperatures reaching boiling point, it’s no surprise that the Yaris powers out of corners with unbreakable traction, although you also have to account for the revised Track differential mode, which varies the torque split between 60:40 and 30:70 for maximum grip. There’s a moment of hesitation on exit as the turbo spins, but that only forces you to get on the power earlier, managing the torque curve to spit you out the other end. For all the revisions and refinements, it’s lost none of its old-school charm.

Conversely, the nervousness you might expect from a short-wheelbase, four-wheel-drive hot hatch never seems to materialise. The Circuit du Laquais is littered with apexes, right in the middle of fast corners and on the entrance to blind bends, a recipe for squirrel-like braking and lift-off oversteer. Yet the GR never loses its way, with both axles gripping tightly as the track’s camber tries to throw you off. Only under heavy braking does the rear end get light, but not to the point where it feels like it’s trying to overtake the front. The same goes for the mid-corner rotation, the car gently rotating under your backside with that reassuring bite as the Michelin Pilot Sport 4Ss beds in under acceleration. It’s not overly playful, but it is wonderfully adjustable to the limit.

It’s a capable and exciting track car, then, especially now that it’s firmed up a little and steered with more conviction. But where the previous GR Yaris really shone was on a tight, greasy B-road. Thankfully, there’s a glorious pass that featured on the Monte Carlo Rally of the ’80s and early ’90s, with its cracked, heavily cambered bends that serves as the perfect substitute for a Welsh mountain road – only with far more spectacular views and no stray sheep to worry about.

Interestingly enough, the new version has a slightly different character than its predecessor here. Navigating the pass’s numerous hairpin bends would be effortless thanks to the old car’s lighter steering, and while the new model is sharper on turn-in and requires less input, the heavier rack gives you more of a workout in the slower corners. And it’s all the more satisfying because you feel like two-time WRC champion Kalle Rovanpera wrestling a Rally1 car around the cliff-lined roads of Rally Monte.

What’s more, it took me a good 20 minutes to realise that the GR Yaris I’d assigned to the on-road section was in Eco mode. The drive modes weren’t available in the old car, but you can now sharpen the throttle response by flicking the switch to Normal or Sport. In the latter case, as you’d expect, the GR feels a touch sharper under acceleration than before, but the extra 20bhp from all the engine upgrades means it’s keen to pull higher up the rev range. For what it’s worth, there’s some fun to be had in leaving Eco mode. The slacker throttle response combined with turbo lag gives a good impression of an old Group B rally car (in my mind, at least), where pace comes from maintaining momentum from one corner to the next.

Predictably, it’s still a complete riot on a tight, narrow road. If there’s one criticism, though, it’s the firmer suspension. What was so refreshing about the old car was the sense that it was always on its toes, floating over ridges and breathing with the road’s topography. The new model feels like a more conventional hot hatch: improved lateral composure, but not quite as responsive to surface conditions as its predecessor. Ride comfort takes a small but noticeable hit as a result.

And what about the car? Toyota already indicated in 2020 that a flappy paddle option was not excluded, in the form of an eight-speed torque converter. Naturally, it comes into its own on a track, with the track-friendly setup working well with the car’s quick paddle-activated shifts. On the road, however, things aren’t so seamless. Sometimes it takes too long from pulling a paddle until the gear engages, and when cruising on a highway it often refused to engage eighth gear, instead preferring seventh gear and the extra 2,000 rpm that came with it – and that was in Eco mode.

Either way, this is a sharper and more focused GR Yaris. Admittedly, part of me misses the slightly smoother, rally-like ride, and its absence may become increasingly significant when we drive 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 path. This is a step up from the 2020 model, although it doesn’t make the £44,000 asking price any easier to stomach. Not that Toyota will have any trouble filling the order books, partly because it is only bringing ‘a few thousand’ to Europe. That should generate the usual stampede (and some simmering resentment), but it’s probably worth bearing in mind that the original is almost as good as its replacement, and possibly a little easier to live with. And you will certainly find them cheaper in the classified ads.

Engine: 1,618cc three-cylinder with turbocharger
Transfer: six-speed manual transmission, four-wheel drive (optional eight-speed automatic)
Power (hp): 280 at 6,500 rpm
Torque (lb⋅ft): 288 at 3,250 rpm – 4,000 rpm
0-100 km/h: 5.2 seconds
Top speed: 233 km/h
Weight: 1,280 kg
MPG value: 34
CO2: 187.9 g/km
Price: £44,250