It was only in October 2020 when the Toyota GR Yaris made its dynamic debut at the Goodwood Speedweek. Right from the onset, we knew it was no ordinary Yaris, even justifying how it could be the car of the year. In fact, Carwow's Mat Watson would love to have this car added to his collection. Why? Watson answers that question and more in his glowing review of the new GR Yaris.
Developed From The GR Yaris Rally Car
The GR Yaris represents a sporty evolution of the Yaris hatchback; it's designed to bring rally excitement to the road. How is that possible? To create the GR Yaris, Toyota had to take its lessons learned from the world of rallying. In fact, it's the first Toyota motorsports car developed into a production car.
As Watson highlighted, several design elements of the GR Yaris rally car made it to the production version: three-door configuration, a lower carbon fiber roof, and more. The production GR Yaris is also longer and wider than a standard Yaris.
The interior of the GR Yaris can make drivers feel like they’re driving a rally car. It comes with a sports steering wheel, sports seats, a leather shifter with red stitching, as well as a number of other sporty details.
Hatchback Performance: A Pure Driver's Car
Offering propulsion for the GR Yaris is a determined 1.6-liter three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine – the most powerful of its kind so far. It delivers 261 hp and 265 lb-ft of peak torque to all four wheels or the rear wheels. Power delivery can also be rear biased (70:30) while gear shifting can be either manual or automatic.
While driving the GR Yaris, Watson can't help but express not only his admiration, but also a newfound love for this sporty hatchback. He remarked that while it can be a daily driver, the GR Yaris is all about the driving experience – from the smooth continuous punch of its engine and steering control to the exceptional pedal feel and mechanical gear shifts.
Falling In Love With The Toyota GR Yaris
Watson fell so madly in love with the Toyota GR Yaris that you can hear him in the last few seconds of the video telling the car, "I love you," and that's coming from a respected car review guy!
Source: carwow on YouTube