New Toyota GR Yaris review

We wouldn’t blame you for considering more obvious hot hatches before getting to the Toyota GR Yaris. After all, the regular Yaris has very un-hot priorities (starting with fuel efficiency).

It’s worth sticking around, though, because the GR is a different beast altogether. Toyota has done what every other manufacturer has been afraid to do and created a rally car from the ground up. Forget everything you know about the Toyota Yaris – this is very much its own entity.

For starters, it shares just four exterior body parts with the standard Yaris, has a carbon-fibre roof, is available only as a three-door, and features all-new underpinnings beneath that muscular body. Oh, and as part of the package you get four-wheel drive and one of the world’s most powerful three-cylinder engines.

Toyota GR Yaris video review

That means a car that’s barely larger than a Mini Cooper is in the same performance league as larger, more powerful hot hatches such as the Honda Civic Type R and VW Golf R.

So we know the Toyota GR Yaris has a rally pedigree – the GR stands for Gazoo Racing – but how does it translate to the road and is it enough to make it one of our favourite hot hatches? Read on to find out...

When you thumb the Toyota GR Yaris's starter button, the three-cylinder engine fires into life with surprisingly little drama. In fact, if the engine is cold and you’re simply pootling around town, the GR feels – dare we say it – a little ordinary.

Aside from its rather firm ride, you could be mistaken for thinking you’re driving a regular three-cylinder family hatchback.

However, that feeling doesn’t last very long. Once the engine is up to temperature and you’re on the move, it’s impossible not to be impressed by the GR’s raw pace. Maximum grunt is available from around 3000rpm, but it pulls with real enthusiasm from even lower down in the rev range. In reality, it feels even stronger than the numbers suggest. 

This updated version is even more powerful, now producing 276bhp (an increase of 19bhp) and has an official 0-62mph time of 5.2 seconds – regardless of whether you go for the manual or automatic gearbox. That’s slightly quicker than a Honda Civic Type R (5.4 seconds) but a little slower than a VW Golf R (4.6 seconds).

Of course, the traction provided by the GR's four-wheel-drive system gives it a significant advantage over front-wheel-drive hot hatches when it comes to putting its power down effectively. In fact, we found earlier versions to be quicker than the previous-generation Civic Type R in damp conditions.

However, that’s only one part of a complex puzzle. The GR’s performance is further boosted by tightly stacked gear ratios, an engine that loves to be revved – up to and beyond its 6500rpm peak power point – and the fact that it weighs around 100kg less than the Type R.

Granted, the engine isn’t particularly sonorous. The revised Active Noise Control, which pipes an artificial engine note through the speakers, sounds more realistic than the earlier version, but the GR Yaris isn’t as theatrical as some hot hatches (neither is the exhaust all that loud). 

Even so, that doesn’t stop you from rowing up and down the snickety six-speed manual gearbox just for the sheer fun of it. It’s so good we wouldn’t bother considering the eight-speed automatic gearbox. The auto changes gear quickly and is mostly smooth when you’re driving spiritedly, but is quite clunky and slow in everyday driving.

Where the GR really stands apart from the current crop of hot hatches is in the corners. The four-wheel-drive system allows you to choose how the power is split between the front and rear wheels: Normal mode delivers a 60:40 (front/rear) split, Track 30:70 and Gravel 53:47.

The idea is that Normal mode gives you an approachable and predictable driving experience, Track allows you to emulate your favourite rally hero by sliding the car through the corner, while Gravel gives you the best balance for quick lap times. 

Unlike the Civic Type R and other front-driven hot hatches, which can at times feel a little one-dimensional, the GR Yaris allows you to enjoy every stage of a corner.

It’s not just about carrying speed in and managing power on the way out. You can chuck the GR into corners as hard as you like, and as soon as you get on the power, you’ll feel it hook up and slingshot you out of the bend. It gives you the confidence to explore the car's limits in a way you might not in a larger, more intimidating performance car.

As part of a recent mid-life update, you now get stiffer springs, dampers and anti-roll bars, lightweight forged 18in alloy wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres and Torsen limited-slip differentials front and rear. That kit was previously part of a Circuit Pack. 

Despite the firm springing, the GR never seems to lose composure over scrabbly country roads. It simply soaks up lumps and bumps without breaking a sweat, allowing you to carry astonishing speed regardless of the surface ahead of you. And while the steering doesn’t quite bubble with feedback in the same way as a Type R’s does, it’s at least well-weighted and reassuringly linear in its action.

At a cruise, it’s quite evident that the GR Yaris is not quite as refined as other hot hatches. There’s plenty of road noise above town speeds and the automatic transmission is noticeably louder than the manual as it clunks and whirrs away beneath the centre console. But you could argue that that's part of the fun.

“I love the way the GR Yaris's three-cylinder engine pulls so strongly across the rev range from around 4000rpm. It’s genuinely impressive.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

The Toyota GR Yaris has a supportive and figure-hugging sports driving seat with excellent adjustment and a steering wheel that moves up, down, forward and back by a plentiful amount.

You sit a little higher up than in a Honda Civic Type R but the well-aligned steering wheel and pedals help you to settle in quickly. Even the leather-wrapped gear lever sits 5cm higher than it does in a standard Toyota Yaris to ensure it falls easily to hand.

A mid-life update resulted in a redesigned interior to make it more user friendly. As a result, the GR looks completely different inside to any other Yaris. The 8in infotainment touchscreen is positioned lower than before, while the rear-view mirror has been moved all in aid to improve forward visibility.

It works, and that high seating position gives you a great view forwards and to the side. However, because the GR features a heavily tapered roofline, the rear window – which doesn't have a wiper – is tiny. To help mitigate that, all GR’s have a rear-view camera.

The mid-life update also replaced the analogue dials behind the steering wheel with a 12.3in digital driver's display. It looks sharp and offers a few lay-outs, but isn't that configurable. The control lay-out is very simple and easy to get to grips with, with physical controls for the climate control system.

The main touchscreen looks sharp but the response time isn’t particularly snappy and some of the menu lay-out could be more logical. You get wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring as standard, plus a six-speaker stereo – although it's quite feeble and struggles to drown out road noise on motorways.

While the GR's interior feels solid, the materials could feel a bit more upmarket. That said, you should never be in any doubt over which Yaris you’re in, because the interior is peppered with GR badging. It’s on the sporty leather steering wheel, the engine start button and floor mats – and there’s even a little plaque on the centre console.

“I found it very helpful that the updated GR Yaris comes with wireless smartphone mirroring because there isn’t really anywhere near the USB socket to put your phone. If you plug it in, you end up with a cable trailing around the gear lever.” – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Space in the front of the GR Yaris is perfectly acceptable, and all shapes and sizes of driver should be happy with the head and leg room on offer. Toyota includes a decent glovebox and a storage shelf above it, ahead of the passenger. You get two cupholders on the centre console and a small storage well, but that’s about it. 

Space in the back is a different story. To improve aerodynamics, Toyota drastically lowered the roofline of the GR compared with the standard Toyota Yaris. As a result, the rear seats are only acceptable for children and small adults – even our shortest 5ft 4in reviewer’s head brushes the roof.

The GR Yaris is one of the few remaining three-door hot hatches available, and squeezing in and out through the tiny gap behind the front seat is a bit of a faff. Worse, only the passenger seat slides and tilts forwards with the pull of one lever, and it doesn’t remember the seat angle when you slide it back.

The boot is very small – it's shallow and only big enough for a bit of shopping or three carry-on suitcases (one fewer than the regular Yaris will take). Oddly, there's no boot light, which makes it awkward to find things in the dark. At least when you drop the GR’s 60/40-split folding rear seats they don’t leave an awkward stepped floor (they do in the Mini Cooper).

“I think it’s a shame the sloping roof significantly reduces rear head room, because none of my friends will fit in the rear seats.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

The Toyota GR Yaris saw a substantial price hike during its mid-life update, meaning it costs more than larger and more powerful hot hatches including the Ford Focus ST and VW Golf GTI.

The Honda Civic Type R still costs more, though. You might think such a price tag is a bit rich given the GR's small car dimensions, but you have to remember that in raw performance terms it's right up there with the grown-ups.

Standard equipment includes dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control, automatic windscreen wipers, keyless ignition, a carbon-fibre roof, rear privacy glass and red brake calipers.

While a 1.6-litre, three-cylinder engine pumping out 261bhp isn’t going to be parsimonious on fuel, the GR's official fuel economy figure of up to 32.5mpg with a manual gearbox or a little less than 30mpg as an automatic means running costs won't be as outrageous as with a performance car.

Toyota ranked an impressive fifth place out of 31 manufacturers in the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey (Honda and Mini finished even higher). The Toyota three-year, 60,000-mile warranty can be extended up to 10 years and 100,000 miles if you have your car serviced annually at a Toyota dealership. That's longer than any other cover. 

The GR Yaris has not been crash-tested by Euro NCAP but the regular Toyota Yaris hold the full five-star rating, awarded in 2020). It’s worth noting that the test procedure is more stringent today, so it’s tricky to compare directly with newer cars.

In terms of safety kit, the GR has automatic emergency braking (AEB), road-sign recognition and Lane Trace Assist (a system to keep you in the centre of your lane). An immobiliser and alarm are both standard.

“There aren’t any optional extras available for the GR Yaris, but if you fancy something a bit different, the special edition Ogier and Rovanpera versions add more of a rally-car look. They do cost as much as a Mercedes-AMG A45 though.” – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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