Few car manufacturers bother to modify the entire body of a car to make a hot version. Let alone developing a completely new engine for it. Fortunately, the effort was rewarded and Toyota sold 18,000 copies of the GR Yaris. The party number has now been tightened up a bit and you can now order it from a vending machine.
The updated Toyota GR Yaris has become 20 hp and 30 Nm stronger and now offers 280 hp and 390 Nm. This is partly due to a stronger camshaft, new material for the exhaust valves, higher petrol injection pressure, new pistons and a new sensor that measures the intake pressure. The brand does not say what the extra power does to performance.
When the GR Yaris appeared in 2019, it was the most powerful three-cylinder ever in a production car. Unfortunately for Toyota, Koenigsegg came along a year later to take over that record with the Big Friendly Giant located in the Gemera. After the adjustments, the engine is just under 320 hp to come close to 'BFG'. Oh well, give it sixteen more updates and they'll be in sync.
You don't buy the Toyota GR Yaris with an automatic, do you?
In our opinion, the Toyota GR Yaris is typically a car where you want to shift gears yourself and fortunately the hatch comes standard with a manual gearbox. But with the facelift, Toyota also offers the option for an automatic transmission. And maybe that's not such a bad idea: there are quite a few videos on the internet of people choosing the wrong gear in the heat of battle and causing the engine to explode.
Another advantage is that the automatic transmission has eight gears instead of six. For example, the gears can be shorter for faster acceleration. Toyota also believes that this GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission ensures faster lap times. The automatic transmission was also used in the Japan Rally Championship, the Toyota GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge and the Super Taikyu Series.
Gadget borrowed from Subaru
The body of the new GR Yaris is stiffer than before and the dampers have also been adjusted for more balance under high loads. In addition, the GR Yaris gets a trick that you may know from sporty Subarus: the intercooler spray. A water spray provides extra cooling for the intercooler so that the engine receives extra cold air. The air intake has also been optimized.
Another adjustment indicates Toyota's intention with the GR Yaris. The fog and reversing lights are no longer incorporated in the bumper, but integrated into the rear light units. Why? If you drive on the circuit (or participate in a rally), you may want to give out a bumper kiss. Now you don't keep breaking your fog light.
The interior of the GR Yaris is also sportier
Toyota is also making some changes inside to make it feel a bit sportier. The top edge of the instruments has been lowered by 50 millimeters, so the driver should see more of what is happening in front of the car. This is in turn offset by half because the seat and steering wheel have been lowered by 25 millimeters.
The screen is 12.3 inches by the way. There is a special sports mode for the screen where you don't see any 'unnecessary decorations', so you get all the information you need at a glance. Toyota made the box in the dashboard in front of the co-driver larger, so there is now room for extra counters, a display or a notebook with pace notes.
When will the new Toyota GR Yaris arrive?
Toyota will hold the launch party of the new GR Yaris sometime next summer. The brand is not yet telling us what it will cost in our corner of Europe. In the Netherlands, its predecessor costs at least 68,995 euros (or 70,995 euros for the Performance version). Would it be as successful as its predecessor?
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