The hot hatch isn't quite dead then?
It's alive and well – if you've got swimming pools of cash sloshing about. Even the ultimate working class hero car – the rocket-propelled shopping hatch – is now aimed at people who bank where they ski.
Affordable pocket rockets from Ford, Renault and Suzuki are all goners, but Volkswagen will sell you Golf GTIs and Rs costing over £50k. The run-out special Honda Civic Type R was £58k. And that's nothing. A final edition of the Audi RS3 – with no extra power – is £93,000.
Hot hatches have become an expensive hobby. But the latest GR Yaris, costing an eye-wateringly sturdy £49,145, might actually be worth every penny.
How can a Yaris justify £50k?
Because it embodies Japan's track record of making iconic quick cars. This is another one of those machines in the Mitsubishi Evo or Nissan GT-R vein: relentless development and geeky attention to detail.
See, the Italians put a car on sale, and sometime later, they finish developing it. The Germans finish a car and largely leave it alone until it's time for the facelift. And the British save time by declaring bankruptcy before the car ever goes on sale.
But the Japanese love to tinker and fiddle, adjust and refine. Japan isn't just famous for aftermarket motoring mods – their fast cars are being updated all the time. They're like a kid with a new box of felt tip pens, unable to stop embellishing the picture.
That's why Evos, GT-Rs, Civic Type Rs, and Impreza WRX STIs spawned so many versions and variations. It's why the Lexus LFA took so long to develop that the concept car had to be facelifted. To the Japanese engineer, a car is never finished. It's merely ready for the next round of improvements.
What improvements have been made to the GR Yaris?
This is already a ‘gen 2' GR, hugely revised from the car which brought Toyota out of the hot hatch wilderness back in 2020. It's had a totally new, bespoke dashboard unlike any other Yaris, answering grumbles about the Mk1's raked windscreen and tall touchscreen pinching visibility.
The early car's stubbornly high driving position – supposedly inspired by rally drivers liking a boosted view – was rectified by dropping the seat on its mountings.
Toyota changed the four-wheel drive balance (a little less playful, sadly) and introduced a flappy-paddle automatic version. It was rampant and energetic. It suited the car's tenacious, road-dissecting character, even if we prefer the rare and treasured simplicity of the six-speed manual, which has a helpful rev-match gadget you activate with a dedicated ‘iMT' button.
Does the list of tweaks go on?
You bet. Emissions regs designed to neuter joyous little rebels like the GR meant the 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo engine was sadly detuned. It's dropped from 288lb ft of torque to 254lb ft. Somehow, power has been maintained at 276bhp.
So this is still a rapid little bugger, good for 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds and a 143mph top speed. You notice the lag more on corner exit now, but if anything that's an excuse to jump on the power earlier to preserve the boost and let the GR-FOUR system juggle the traction and fire you out of the bend. The decrease in torque means you lean harder into what this car is all about: maximum attack.
This version is called the Aero Performance, because it's been to wind tunnel boot camp and has been festooned with proper functional air-cleaving parts.
A Yaris with downforce? Do me a favour.
This isn't a token body kit. New vents in the front wings relieve pressure in the wheelarches. A giant rear wing which rattles when you slam the boot adds downforce. Manually adjustable with three settings, this works so well that Toyota had to balance it out with a new front splitter.
There's also a flat undertray. Annoying for servicing convenience, but superb if you crave motorsport carryover.
Meanwhile, an axe has cleaved open the bonnet with another cooling duct. Vents appear in the rear bumper to channel yet more energised air away from the turbulent wheels.
And the great thing is that despite all being functional – no fake cosplay mesh here – the GRRRRRR Yaris wears these mods so well.
It projects menace and authenticity. Apply some sponsor stickers and it would look totally at home on a rally stage
It projects menace and authenticity. Apply some sponsor stickers and it would look totally at home on a rally stage, where Toyota learned all these tricks with its high-flying WRC programme. Pucker motorsport pedigree, on a Yaris. That's worth much more money than a plaque in an Audi.
Are you done with the geeky mods yet?
Heck no. Did you spot the steering wheel is 5mm smaller than before? Can't say I did when I first climbed inside, but I did notice the power steering has been remapped and tuned for a more direct, precise feel. Marginal gains, but worthwhile. And you probably imagine that's the highlight inside this admittedly grey, drab cabin.
But no. The best bit – the tweak that sums up what a laugh the enGRRRineers are having with this car – is the handbrake.
The lever has been uprooted from the centre console and mounted vertically, right next to the steering wheel. Like a breadvan Civic Type R's touring car-spec gear lever.
This does not unlock space for a wireless charging bay. It's not been forced on Toyota by some devilish new crash test.
The only explanation is Toyota wanted to put the lever in easier reach for ripping naughty handbrake turns. Which the GR Yaris does superbly, because it's been designed to dislocate its own rear driveshafts the instant you tug the lever, erasing any fear of damaging the drivetrain while hooning. The dedication to hot hatch yobbery here is something TopGear.com applauds.
Could I live with it every day?
You'd need to have a similar level of dedication to the car's. The GR's willing three-pot engine is gruff and industrial. It drinks fuel as it tugs all those wings and flicks through the air, never cresting 30mpg.
The rear seats only exist in the marketing department's imagination, the boot is barely bigger than the glovebox. If you crave a hot hatchback in your life because they're any-occasion Swiss Army knives… buy another car.
If you want to be let out of side turnings with a smile and wave, or if you value soft-touch this and soundproofed that… buy another car.
But in spite of all the hardcore intent, the ride doesn't beat you up. It's stiff around town, which reminds you not to visit town. Head for open country. Here, like all great performance cars the quicker you go, the more the GR flows with the road instead of attacking it with a shank.
After blue flashing lights, the second scariest thing to see in the rear-view mirror of some wide-hipped Italian exotica is one of these GR Yarises
The seats are supportive and cradle you just-so. And despite the pumped-out bodywork, it still feels tiny. That's vanishingly rare in a fast car today. After blue flashing lights, the second scariest thing to see in the rear-view mirror of some wide-hipped Italian exotica is one of these GR Yarises, grinning madly like a Jack Russell on a rocket sled.
What's next for the GR Yaris?
Hopefully not a premature death, like the GR86 and Supra, which went off sale in the UK too soon. You get the sense the team behind it will already be hard at work looking for more marginal gains. We have ideas.
Maybe rip out the useless back seats and do a Renaultsport Trophy R-style lightweight version. Some more rear-bias to the AWD system without needing a loose surface would be fun too.
Or, perhaps, find a way to shave £20k off the price. Too much to ask?
