Key considerations
- Available for £26,000
- 1.6-litre three-cylinder petrol turbo, all-wheel drive
- Developed and ‘hand-built’ as a road-useable rally car
- Goes like the clappers, sticks like glue and nothing goes wrong
- Gen-two model line starts up in April ’24…
- …so depreciation on gen-ones is speeding up a bit (but it’s still slow)
It’s something of an understatement to say that the Toyota GR Yaris received quite a warm welcome when it was launched in 2020. The temperature of that welcome shot through the roof when the press got hold of the first test cars and reported what a jewel it was.
A tiny car with big power – more than 250hp in this case – can only work if the chassis is up to it, and there were big vested interests in making sure that the GR’s was. Although it was the creation of Toyota’s motorsport division Gazoo Racing, it was also a passion project driven by Toyota’s then CEO Akio Toyoda. He wanted his company to build a great sports car off its own bat, the GR Supra and the GT86 having been joint ventures with BMW and Subaru respectively. The car needed to be not just a great road car but also more than capable of winning races in the 2021 World Rally championship.
There had been a GR Yaris before the 2020 one, namely the GRMN (Gazoo Racing tuned by the Master of the Nürburgring) version of the previous gen-three XP130 Yaris. For its second iteration launched in 2017, the GRMN’s supercharged 1.8 2ZR-FE engine put out 209hp at 6,800rpm and 180lb ft at 5,000rpm through the front wheels, enough for a 0-62mph time of 6.3 seconds and a top speed of 143mph. Just four hundred examples of those were built for Europe, but if that’s your preference (or your budget doesn’t stretch beyond £20k) you should still have little difficulty finding one of the used 2018MY cars that occasionally come up for sale in the UK.
Two-wheel drive GRs were also sold in the Japanese market under the RS name. In addition to those, you’ll also see plenty of ‘GR Sport’ cars at what seem like bargain prices, but the name is misleading. They’re actually 99hp 1.5 petrol hybrids with CVT gearboxes, so about as far from a proper GR in ability and philosophy as it’s possible to get.
Let’s get back to the real deal. To make sure that the GR project was done right Akio Toyoda actively involved himself in the driving development programme alongside rally aces Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke who had been brought in through Toyota’s WRC relationship with Tommi Mäkinen Racing. The GR’s double-wishbone, all-wheel drive chassis was a blend of the standard GA-B Yaris platform and the GA-C platform shared by the C-HR crossover and various Corollas. The regular Yaris wheelbase was unchanged but substantial bodywork changes meant that the GR was 55mm longer, 60mm wider, and lower by up to 95mm at the back. And, of course, it was a three-door, the only one in the Yaris range, as the rally boys didn’t want a five.
Instead of the 68hp 1.0 three-pot used by the standard two-wheel drive Yaris the GR had a single-scroll ball-bearing turbocharged 1.6-litre triple with 257hp, making it the world’s most powerful three-cylinder engine, not to mention the world’s smallest and lightest 1.6 turbo.
The gearbox was a six-speed Getrag manual with an IMT (Intelligent Manual Transmission) button near the gearlever to activate a rev-matching function on downshifts. You also got an all-new, electronically controlled GR-Four permanent all-wheel drive system – Toyota’s first original AWD system in 20 years – with three drive modes, Normal, Track and Sport. Toyota claimed that the GR-Four was the lightest AWD system on the market. That was just one element in a comprehensive weight-saving programme for the GR. The bonnet, tailgate and doors were made of aluminium, saving 24kg, and the roof was made of ‘forged’ (rather than woven) C-SMC carbon sheet moulding compound which apparently saved 3.5kg. Including the GR bodyshell’s 10 per cent aluminium content the overall saving against the old-gen hatch was 38kg.
That gave the GR a power-to-weight ratio of over 200hp per tonne, providing C-segment performance car speed in a B-segment car (0-62mph in 5.5 seconds, 143mph limited top speed) and a motoring experience that many considered to be the most fun you could have with your pants on. The impact of the GR was all the greater because it came from such humble rootstock. In the nicest possible way, the regular gen-four XP210 Yaris was a typical Toyota, a no-brainer purchase for those whose only real requirement from a car was the ability to be transported reliably from A to B. The GR was nominally a Yaris, but the only exterior features it shared with the regular Yaris were the front and rear lights, the door mirrors and the shark fin antenna.
The buying public was suitably energised, scrabbling to grab one of the 25,000-plus GRs that were going to be built or racing homologation purposes in Motomachi, Japan on an individual-cell assembly line (no conveyors). Between late 2020 and the time of writing in early 2024, they’d managed to go at least 7,000 beyond that 25,000 target.
There were three flavours of GR, one base model and two ‘Pack’ models. The £29,995 base car had 18-inchcast alloy wheels with Dunlop SP Sport MAXX tyres, LED lights, Ultrasuede seat upholstery with contrast red stitching, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise, reversing camera, lane departure alert, lane trace assist (keeping the car centred in its lane), road sign recognition, auto emergency braking and an 8.0-inch multimedia screen with smartphone integration through both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
£2,180 added a Convenience Pack that gave you blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, JBL 8-speaker audio in place of the default six-speaker system, parking sensors, ambient lighting, a head-up display and a satellite navigation system.
The most popular GR however by an overwhelming margin has been the Circuit Pack which for a £3,500 premium (taking the new price to £33,495) added forged 10-spoke BBS wheels (saving 10kg), retuned suspension, an engine undercover, red Gazoo Racing-logoed brake calipers, Michelin Pilot 4S tyres and, crucially, two Torsen limited slip diffs which allowed power to be shuffled from side to side as well as from front to back. The basic non-Torsen-diffed GR only passed power between the front and back of the car, using the multi-plate clutch at the centre of the GR-4 system to achieve that. You couldn’t add the Convenience Pack to a Circuit Pack car, or vice versa. It had to be one or the other.
By September 2022 rumours of a more potent gen-two GR were doing the rounds. These suggested that a 296hp/295lb ft engine (still a turbocharged 1.6 triple) from the US market’s GR Corolla Morizo would be used, along with a new beefed-up close-ratio 6-speed manual gearbox. Another weight-saving programme would be put in place to include the removal of the back seats and deliver a 0-62mph time of under 4.5 seconds with a top end of more than 155mph.
In the end, the ‘evolution’ model shown at the January ’24 Tokyo Show revealed that it is actually going to have 276hp and 288lb ft courtesy of new injection and ignition software and better cooling. The estimated 0-62mph, top speed and economy figures have been given as 5.1 seconds, 145mph and 39mpg with a first-time option of an 8-speed automatic (torque converter) gearbox. This gen-two car will also have a stiffer bodyshell through stronger spot welds and the wider use of structural adhesives, plus an extra two spring-locator bolts on each of the upper suspension turrets. It will also retain its rear seats.
Again the Circuit Pack variant will be by far the most popular model. Production is due to start in April ’24. There’s no word yet on what it might cost but you can be fairly sure that it will be more than the £35,700 that a gen-one GR currently costs. If you’re a used buyer you can also be reasonably confident that the planned arrival in the UK of the first gen-two customer GRs in June should have a usefully depressing effect on the values of gen-ones.
At the time of writing (late January 2024) used non-Pack cars started at just under £26,000 for early (2020/21) cars with 30,000 miles on the clock. Circuit Pack cars started at just under £27,000. Low depreciation like this is down to either demand for a good car exceeding supply, or a good car having earned a good reputation for reliability and quality. Which one of those might it be with the GR Yaris? Or could it be both? Let’s have a gander.
SPECIFICATION | Toyota GR Yaris Circuit Pack (2020-on)
Engine: 1,618cc three-cylinder 12v turbocharged petrol
Transmission: 6-speed manual, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 257@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 266@3,000-4,600rpm
0-62mph (secs): 5.5
Top speed (mph): 143 (limited)
Weight (kg): 1,280
MPG: 34.3
CO2 (g/km): 186
Wheels (in): 18
Tyres: 225/40
On sale: 2020-on
Price new: £33,495
Price now: from £26,000
Note for reference: car weight and power data is hard to pin down with absolute certainty. For consistency, we use the same source for all our guides. We hope the data we use is right more often than it’s wrong. Our advice is to treat it as relative rather than definitive.
ENGINE & GEARBOX
The GR’s G16E-GTS three-cylinder engine was direct injection with intake port flow ‘optimised’ to reduce the carbon buildup issues that can be an unwanted feature of direct injection engines. The turbo’s major shove didn’t come in until 3,000rpm, but from 4,000rpm on you were really flying.
Even so, many thought that the engine wasn’t powerful enough or noisy enough even with the help of the sound generators. Any excuse for a soup-up eh? Obviously, these motors are tuneable. Firms like Eventuri specialise in carbon fibre intakes for the car, and are well rated by owners. One GR we saw with a remap, induction kit, bigger intercooler and Cobra exhaust was apparently showing 340hp on the dyno, and figures of up to 375hp have been mentioned. Maybe you’ve seen even higher numbers. Feel free to chip in on the forum.
Triples have the potential to sound really good with the right exhaust, and aftermarket exhausts do totally change the sound of a GR. Akrapovic does a slip-on Race Line titanium system for a few quid short of £3,000. HKS’s stainless steel hi-power system is under £2k. Milltek’s offerings are cheaper again at £1,100-£1,200.
Problems are few and far between and minor. A small number of owners reported going into limp mode after leaving a petrol station, with many warning lights coming on. The fix for this was usually nothing more alarming than an insufficiently tightened petrol cap. Three clicks of the cap might seem like more than enough but it’s been recommended by owners to do half a dozen to secure an airtight seal.
There were a few reports of the central clutch pack in the AWD system overheating during track use, and disconnecting the rear axle. Affected owners were wondering if they should get a transmission cooler but that brought worries about potentially voiding the warranty. The transition from AWD to FWD was smooth anyway so there was no real danger of the car becoming unsafe in this situation.
Some owners have had issues with the gearbox popping out of second or being a little notchy on the changeup from first. Dealers would adjust the cable linkage for you under warranty if you asked them, or if you were vaguely handy with the spanners you could do it yourself in under half an hour (usual warranty caveats applying). Oil changes were said to improve shift quality too, but as far as we know there was no specific transmission weakness.
The official average fuel consumption was 34mpg, giving a potential range of over 370 miles from the 50-litre (11-gallon) tank. 30mpg was easy to get. The VED is currently £180 and the insurance group is 36, giving a typical premium average of just over £900. A full service at a Toyota GR Centre is £470, with an intermediate costing £315.
Do you have to take it to a GR Centre though? Well, in response to a forum question about that Toyota UK said this in July 2021: ‘You will be able to order a new GR Yaris from any Toyota centre, and have it serviced there, because all official Toyota centres are set up to maintain GR models to Toyota’s high standards. However, the nominated centres are the places to go if you want to take a test drive in our new high-performance hatchback.’ Which sounds to us like you don’t have to go to a GR Centre for servicing. An independent specialist like (randomly) Tuning Developments in Chester will charge you £270 for an oil, filters and brake fluid service. The standard warranty was 5 years/100,000 miles so any used GR you buy will still have plenty of cover left on it.
CHASSIS
The GR had trailing double-wishbone rear suspension in place of the normal Yaris’s torsion beam. Circuit Pack cars had stiffened springs and anti-roll bars and recalibrated electric power steering, plus the aforementioned 10-spoke forged alloys with ‘FORGED’ written on them.
Circuit Pack ride was firm on minor roads and the alignment of the GR could be disturbed by regular use in those conditions. Lowering the suspension with Bilsteins to make it look a bit less like a rally car was a popular move but you needed to get it right to not lose the standard car’s ability to soak up the punishment dished up by rubbishy British by-ways. You didn’t want to spend your life worrying about bashing your front lip.
Although the GR Yaris’s 356mm front brake discs were either larger than those used on the much bigger (and nearly 300k heavier) GR Supra or at least the same as them (the internet isn’t sure), GR Yaris braking came in for some light criticism in the press for its slightly dead feel. Some owners reported a faint whistling from the rear which was usually down to muck accumulating on the corners of the brake pads.
The dust boots on the brake calipers are known to melt during hard use too. The aftermarket has many offerings for you. If you need to buy new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres they are available in this size for £102 from Blackcircles. Sport 5s are a couple of quid more. The only recall we’re aware of affecting all GRs was to correct patchy initialisation of the radar sensor for the adaptive cruise.
BODYWORK
The GR’s body was a good bit stiffer than the regular Yaris’s. Paint choices were Super White, Scarlet Flare or Precious Black. Pearl finishes were about £1,000 extra for white or red, or about £600 for black. If you were planning on wrapping your new GR in matt black it made sense to order a black car so as to avoid the sight of alien colours when you opened the door.
One of the problems with the current GR was that if in a moment of overexuberance you banged the corner of the bumper you had to replace the whole bumper. The ’24 gen-two car will have a three-piece bumper to reduce the cost (and, if you’re racing, time) of replacement.
The mesh in the outgoing GR’s lower grille was plastic and prone to breaking when it was hit by gravel. Again Toyota has paid attention to this for the gen-two which has a more robust metal mesh there. You can get ‘rally flaps’ for the back wheels that reduce gravel spray and look suitably Scandi.
If you think the GR doesn’t look aggressive enough or feel that it needs a ‘proper’ roof spoiler, bodykits are available from companies like Giacuzzo in Germany. The standard rear ‘diffuser’ (or ‘aero step’ as Toyota called it) didn’t look like it did much diffusing but Toyota insisted that it did improve aero performance.
INTERIOR
The interior reminded you of the common Yaris clay from which the GR was moulded. There was nothing that special about it. The main instrument binnacle was normal Yaris with some extra functions and the 4-inch LCD display between the main clocks had an all-wheel drive indicator showing the torque distribution and drive mode, plus a turbo pressure monitor.
You could obviously fish around on the internet for some cabin-enhancement trim items but there were a couple of features that were harder to put right. The rear-view mirror was too low and large, noticeably restricting your view ahead (we think there is an aftermarket kit for that), and many drivers – especially the ones not wearing clown shoes – found the pedals too high and too far apart for heel-and-toeing.
The other controls were in better places though and they all worked with near-Type R levels of precision. The gearknob was 50mm higher, putting it nearer to the wheel, with the GR-Four selector knob sitting just ahead of it. The mechanical handbrake opened up the GR-Four coupling system when you were using it to flirt the back end out around a hairpin bend.
According to Toyota PR, the soft but supportive seats were mounted high to give you a rally car experience, but many road car drivers found them just too high. In the new-for-’24 car they’re 25mm lower, so obviously Toyota has been listening again there. Owners of gen-one cars can get factory seat lowering kits for around £270 or aftermarket kits for about half that. Plus they can get wingback seats like Cobra Nogaros which with the mounts are around £750 each, or £2,700 in carbon.
The basic Yaris is a city car so luggage capacity was never going to be huge, but the presence of the all-wheel drive mechanism at the back and the location of the battery under the luggage compartment floor for better front/rear weight distribution reduced it still further to 174 litres, compared to 281 in the standard Yaris.
Even so, Toyota reckoned that with the back seats folded down you could ram a bike in there, or a set of four ‘large’ tyres. There was no conventional spare. The advantage of the battery’s boot location was that it allowed Toyota to put a bigger air filter in the engine bay.
The cabin was well put together with practically no squeaks or other untoward noises. A rattling from behind your head was likely to be nothing more sinister than a headrest that hadn’t been fully clicked into place.
Although you needed the Convenience Pack to get the JBL 8-speaker audio there haven’t been that many complaints about the performance of the standard 6-speaker system. Minor annoyances are having to keep turning the lane assist off with a five-second button press, or having to look wistfully at the NAV button in your Circuit Pack car that didn’t have sat nav. Even that’s not a major hassle because if you connect your phone via the USB port and press the NAV button Google Maps magically appears. You can also use Google Voice Assistant to deal with WhatsApps or listen to music on Spotify.
PH VERDICT
The GR was, and still is, a special car. Toyota had to make 25,000 to get it through the latest and much more demanding homologation regs, a number that might not seem so large in the context of a mega-corp like Toyota until you realised that it took them ten times longer to build a GR than it did to make a normal Yaris. Not only did Toyota hit the homologation target, they’ve gone well beyond it, a clear indicator of Akio Toyoda’s firm belief in the project.
It’s a well-founded belief too. Gazoo WRC driver and GR development guy Jari-Matta Latvala said that the GR was the closest thing you would find to a World Rally Car on the street, and that the Circuit Pack was as close to the Yaris WRC that you could get without joining the rally team. Needless to say he was a Toyota employee in this context but these guys do have to maintain personal credibility.
Predictably the GR attracted a lot of attention from engine and chassis tuners. Fact is though that even an untweaked one will light up your life, as will the worry-free nature of the user experience. As of February 2024, even the earliest cars will still have at least two years’ worth of factory warranty on them, assuming it hasn’t been invalidated by the fitment of non-approved parts of course. Not that you’re likely to be making many claims anyway as hardly anything goes wrong.
As you might expect Packless cars are a little cheaper than Convenience or Circuit Pack GRs. Our very own Sam Sheehan, late of this parish, reckoned that when new the base GR delivered around 90 per cent of the full Circuit Pack experience for, well, 90 per cent of its price, which seems very logical. As noted earlier, not many folk bought non-CP cars so it’s kind of a moot point, but there are some around.
Like the most affordable GR on PH Classifieds at the time of writing in early 2024, this 2021 base model car in white with nearly 28,000 miles on the clock for £25,990. And here’s a very clean one in scarlet with a little over 10,000 miles on it for £27,490. The cheapest Circuit Pack car on PH was this 32,000-mile ’21 car in white at £26,980. For £10 more you could snip 6,000 miles off that here. For £500 on top of that, you would be getting this privately-owned 11,000-mile ’20 car in black.
If you’d like to take the plunge on a gen-one while they’re still around but don’t have the requisite amount of cash you could always lease one. We saw a white one up for lease on a four-year, 5,000 miles a year contract for a £5,350 initial payment and monthly payments of £446.
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