The new Toyota GR Yaris has changed more than you think

After our first introduction to the GR Yaris on the circuit, we were now able to test it with tires set on ice. There the differences from the old style were clearly visible.

After an unexpected huge success, Toyota’s street rally car has been given a sequel. The updated GR Yaris got more power, a new interior, an improved chassis and better control of the four-wheel drive system.

Nieuwe Toyota GR Yaris

The base remained (thankfully!) largely the same: a one-and-a-half-liter turbocharged three-cylinder light bomb that now pumps out 280 hp and 390 Nm. Four-wheel drive with a Torsen limited slip differential on each axle and a central clutch that distributes power between the front and rear axles ensure that no horsepower and Newton meters are wasted.

Over the past four years, the Toyota GR Yaris development team has gathered a lot of valuable information about all-wheel drive. There is still a choice of three programs to give 4WD some character, but all three have been completely rewritten. In conjunction with the reinforced chassis, the GR Yaris has become more sophisticated and predictable.

Driving on ice

Driving on ice greatly enhances the driving characteristics of the vehicle. Due to the reduced grip, the understeer and oversteer are more continuous and the steering, brakes and systems in the car also react with delay. This makes the difference easy to spot. Toyota first let us open the ice circuit with the old GR Yaris, after which we could immediately switch to the new one to see for ourselves.

The Toyota GR Yaris is not only available with a manual gearbox, but now also with an eight-speed automatic transmission. This also proved its advantage on ice, because shorter gears provide more pulling power. You’ll soon feel like a professional rally driver with this car, as you intuitively dance from bend to bend. But that’s just an appearance, we saw, because after our own test we were allowed to sit in the passenger seat next to professional Toyota driver Elfyn Evans, who is currently second in the world rally championship. It showed what a true professional can do with a throwaway car like the GR Yaris.

Road behavior
Practical interior
Unique in its kind

Price (Netherlands)
Slight engine noise
More than three driving lanes would be nice

Thanks to modern software and hardware modifications, Toyota GR Yaris is even more agile and controlled than before. You have to pay more than 70,000 euros for it!

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