It seems almost as if the word "hot hatch" gets thrown around without much meaning behind it. Back in the day, a hot hatch was considered to be any small three-door hatchback car with a fun, tossable chassis, nimble handling, and a 0-60 time below 7 seconds, like the 2022 MINI Cooper S, but since then times have changed, and technology has reached heights we never thought were possible. Take for instance the Mercedes-AMG A45 S, its turbo-four produces more than 400 hp, and it can reach 60 mph from a dig in less than 4 seconds, or even the Renault Megane RS that set a lap time around the Nurburgring in the same time as a Mercedes-Bens SLS AMG – that's not even considering the new Honda Civic Type R even. These are super hatches, if not hyper hatches.
That being said, the world is evolving, and so are carmakers. Toyota's racing division, Gazoo Racing, has jumped head-first into the hot hatch moshpit. Currently, we're waiting for the GR Corolla to make its arrival, but in the meantime, Toyota GR has treated us with the GR Yaris, and here's why you need one.
10 A Turbocharged Three-Cylinder Engine
Most of the cars we mentioned throughout our intro adopted a four-cylinder engine of sorts, but Toyota took a less traveled road when conceiving the GR Yaris. So instead of following the conventional four-banger route, they decided to ditch one of the cylinders and add an even more potent turbocharger into the mix.
As a result, the GR Yaris is powered by a 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-three that emits 257 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque, and all of this is transmitted to all four wheels.
9 The Toyota Gr Yaris Is A Proper Super Hatch
Sure, 257 hp might not be nearly as powerful as the GR Supra, or other super hatches, but the GR Yaris has a few tricks up its sleeve. Since the Yaris only weighs around 2,900 lbs, is all-wheel-drive, and has some clever differentials, it achieves things no one expected.
0-60 happens in just 5.3 seconds, and because it has a wheelbase just of just over 100 inches, it jolts into corners without hesitation, and might even slide through the corner if you ask nicely.
8 The Toyota GR Yaris Comes Only With A 6-Speed Manual Gearbox
Nowadays, everyone is only building their cars with either 10-speed automatic transmissions to improve fuel economy or dual-clutch transmissions to have shorter shift times, but Toyota on the other hand still fits their sports cars with classic stickshift transmissions.
Unlike the Supra's choice to be had with or without a manual gearbox, the GR Yaris comes fitted with the 6-speed standard transmission mandatory – they know what the purists want.
7 The Toyota GR Yaris Has A Fun, Rewarding AWD System
As we've stated, the GR Yaris' power gets sent to all four wheels, but that doesn't mean it suffers from understeer and acts like a slob around corners, after all, it is supposed to be a homologation special road-ready rally car.
For that exact reason, the GR Yaris is as talented on road, as it is on gravel and dirt roads. Oh, and there's a nifty little system the GR team added to the Toyota's power delivery, but more on that in a bit.
6 The Toyota GR Yaris Provides Some Unorthodox Handling Characteristics
Usually, cars of this caliber tend to stomach a ton of body roll, but because the GR Yaris is so wide and low to the ground, not only does it have minimal body roll, but it also snaps into a corner as precise as you'd like.
On long straights, the GR Yaris won't necessarily feel quite at home, but around tight bends and hefty braking points, it excels. This can be seen when the GR Yaris went around the Anneau du Rhin (near Biltzheim, France) in 1:03.31, which was just 0.11 seconds behind the BMW M2.
5 The Toyota GR Yaris Makes For A Great Daily Driver
The GR Yaris might not be the most comfortable daily driver ever, but it has adequate space for four adults, a trunk the size of 174 liters, and of course all-wheel-drive to make it viable in all weather conditions.
On top of that, it features traditional Toyota reliability, and won't leave you bored behind the wheel for one second, don't worry.
4 The Circuit Pack Toyota GR Yaris Is Over-The-Top In All The Right Ways
So, let's say the GR Yaris isn't sporty enough for you, and instead, you'd like a complete track-focused variant thereof... well Toyota thought of thought, and they offered the Yaris with an optional Circuit Pack.
On top of receiving a carbon fiber roof, the GR Yaris also gets treated to a stiffer suspension setup, stronger, lighter alloy wheels, and clever differentials that alter which wheels gain the most power depending on which has the most grip.
3 The Toyota GR Yaris' Drive Modes Make A Difference
There are three different drive modes to choose from in the GR Yaris, and on the surface, they sound rather bland: Normal, Sport and Track. But fear not, these different drive modes alter more than just the steering feel and more exciting exhaust noise.
In Normal mode, the majority of the Yaris' power is sent to the front wheels (60% to be exact), in Sport mode, the majority is sent to the rear (70%) to allow for some drift action, and when put into Track, all 257 hp is evenly distributed to all four wheels providing a perfectly balanced experience.
2 The Toyota GR Yaris Is A Future Investment Piece
Only 25,000 GR Yaris models will ever be produced for the entire world. But neither the U.S, nor Canada will have the opportunity to drive them, they'll have to wait for the GR Corolla to go on sale, unfortunately.
But for those of you living in European countries or elsewhere where the GR Yaris is sold, we highly recommend getting your hands on one before it's too late since Circuit Pack GR Yaris examples have already sold for nearly £40,000 ($46,040) on Collecting Cars which is more than £5,000 ($5,755) above MSRP despite them being just one year old.
1 The Toyota GR Yaris Is The Most Fun New Car Money Can Buy
Sure, paying more than £30,000 ($34,530) for a hot hatch seems like an absurd amount of money, but once you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, look at what fun the GR Yaris provides, it's difficult imagining a car that can do the same this one does without stretching beyond the £50,000 ($57,550) mark.
The only other car we can imagine coming close to the standard of the GR Yaris has to be the new Honda Civic Type R, but even then, the Honda remains much less of an important car than the revolutionary Toyota.