Tell me about the GR Yaris
Discussion
Liked the GR Yaris since it came out. Old school hot hatch
Getting to an age where I have not long left till retirement and need to reduce my car costs (currently in a BMW Z4 M40i) bit not ready for something boring / sensible - the GR Yaris seems a candidate.
Have had Mini JCW’s but quite expensive to maintain so am thinking a Toyota with warranty, plus the 3 pot engine will be cheaper ?
Looking at a 2023 car with Miltek exhaust, Venturi airbox and remap. Car comes from Toyota dealer with warranty.
Anything I should be aware of ?
This would potentially be my last “nice” car but with a last hurrah back to my youth
Getting to an age where I have not long left till retirement and need to reduce my car costs (currently in a BMW Z4 M40i) bit not ready for something boring / sensible - the GR Yaris seems a candidate.
Have had Mini JCW’s but quite expensive to maintain so am thinking a Toyota with warranty, plus the 3 pot engine will be cheaper ?
Looking at a 2023 car with Miltek exhaust, Venturi airbox and remap. Car comes from Toyota dealer with warranty.
Anything I should be aware of ?
This would potentially be my last “nice” car but with a last hurrah back to my youth
halfpenny43 said:
Liked the GR Yaris since it came out. Old school hot hatch
Getting to an age where I have not long left till retirement and need to reduce my car costs (currently in a BMW Z4 M40i) bit not ready for something boring / sensible - the GR Yaris seems a candidate.
Have had Mini JCW s but quite expensive to maintain so am thinking a Toyota with warranty, plus the 3 pot engine will be cheaper ?
Looking at a 2023 car with Miltek exhaust, Venturi airbox and remap. Car comes from Toyota dealer with warranty.
Anything I should be aware of ?
This would potentially be my last nice car but with a last hurrah back to my youth
Won’t be cheaper to run - Minis have 20k service intervals, gry are every 6 months and not cheap to service.Getting to an age where I have not long left till retirement and need to reduce my car costs (currently in a BMW Z4 M40i) bit not ready for something boring / sensible - the GR Yaris seems a candidate.
Have had Mini JCW s but quite expensive to maintain so am thinking a Toyota with warranty, plus the 3 pot engine will be cheaper ?
Looking at a 2023 car with Miltek exhaust, Venturi airbox and remap. Car comes from Toyota dealer with warranty.
Anything I should be aware of ?
This would potentially be my last nice car but with a last hurrah back to my youth
A remap, Venturi air box and miltek exhaust are not compatible with a Toyota warranty.
Go test drive one. Sounds like you might like it.
They are fabulous little machines, I’m on my second.
First one was lightly modded gen1, now got a gen2 which other than mudflaps and PPF is staying standard.
I’ve had a load of hot hatches and this is a genuine league above.
The grip levels in the dry are insane.
In the wet it really comes to life.
10 year warranty available (if you keep servicing at Toyota), although they’ll obviously not cover any modification related issues.
Servicing 6k miles / 12 months, so if you are hitting a distance keep that in mind.
Toyota are hit and miss but that’s the same with most marques these days - my last experience with Porsche was terrible.
Not much in the way of issues if you pass on maintaining the warranty, so a good independent might save a few £.
They are fabulous little machines, I’m on my second.
First one was lightly modded gen1, now got a gen2 which other than mudflaps and PPF is staying standard.
I’ve had a load of hot hatches and this is a genuine league above.
The grip levels in the dry are insane.
In the wet it really comes to life.
10 year warranty available (if you keep servicing at Toyota), although they’ll obviously not cover any modification related issues.
Servicing 6k miles / 12 months, so if you are hitting a distance keep that in mind.
Toyota are hit and miss but that’s the same with most marques these days - my last experience with Porsche was terrible.
Not much in the way of issues if you pass on maintaining the warranty, so a good independent might save a few £.
My last car was a F56 JCW which we had from new 2018 until last year when we sold and bought a new GRY (Facelift Gen2)
Absolutely loved the JCW and they are not that expensive to run, costs were circa £450 every 2 years servicing and managed 17k out of front tyres, front brake pads we re coming up for renewal when sold at 33k and that was it for costs during ownership from new and 7 years.
Insurance was slightly cheaper than the GR and RFL was a lot cheaper.
The GRY firstly is circa £400 service bill every year or 6k miles , ignore the 6 month thing as a waste of money they check your horn and such like lol.
Done 7k in the GRY and tyres still all good , I reckon on 15k miles before replacing all round
Got to go out will follow up with driving comparison
Absolutely loved the JCW and they are not that expensive to run, costs were circa £450 every 2 years servicing and managed 17k out of front tyres, front brake pads we re coming up for renewal when sold at 33k and that was it for costs during ownership from new and 7 years.
Insurance was slightly cheaper than the GR and RFL was a lot cheaper.
The GRY firstly is circa £400 service bill every year or 6k miles , ignore the 6 month thing as a waste of money they check your horn and such like lol.
Done 7k in the GRY and tyres still all good , I reckon on 15k miles before replacing all round
Got to go out will follow up with driving comparison
I'd say definitely test drive to check it matches your definition of fun.
It's an exceptional car but for many it would be considered as just too competent.
We've got a 21 plate convenience pack and absolutely love it however my wife's just bought a 1.5 mx-5.
When I went to pick it up my first impressions of the mx5 were that it was gutless. However having driven it a few times in the hills it really is fun in a way the the GR isn't, even if it is way slower
In all weathers there can't be many cars quicker a to b than a GR Yaris and it's very satisfying to drive when you get it right
It's an exceptional car but for many it would be considered as just too competent.
We've got a 21 plate convenience pack and absolutely love it however my wife's just bought a 1.5 mx-5.
When I went to pick it up my first impressions of the mx5 were that it was gutless. However having driven it a few times in the hills it really is fun in a way the the GR isn't, even if it is way slower
In all weathers there can't be many cars quicker a to b than a GR Yaris and it's very satisfying to drive when you get it right
halfpenny43 said:
Liked the GR Yaris since it came out. Old school hot hatch
Getting to an age where I have not long left till retirement and need to reduce my car costs (currently in a BMW Z4 M40i) bit not ready for something boring / sensible - the GR Yaris seems a candidate.
Have had Mini JCW s but quite expensive to maintain so am thinking a Toyota with warranty, plus the 3 pot engine will be cheaper ?
Looking at a 2023 car with Miltek exhaust, Venturi airbox and remap. Car comes from Toyota dealer with warranty.
Anything I should be aware of ?
This would potentially be my last nice car but with a last hurrah back to my youth
I'm about to go down the same route . Getting to an age where I have not long left till retirement and need to reduce my car costs (currently in a BMW Z4 M40i) bit not ready for something boring / sensible - the GR Yaris seems a candidate.
Have had Mini JCW s but quite expensive to maintain so am thinking a Toyota with warranty, plus the 3 pot engine will be cheaper ?
Looking at a 2023 car with Miltek exhaust, Venturi airbox and remap. Car comes from Toyota dealer with warranty.
Anything I should be aware of ?
This would potentially be my last nice car but with a last hurrah back to my youth
My car is standard which I very much wanted & intention is to use and abuse it thru the winter months.
From what I can tell no one really bothers with the 6 months check which doesn't affect the warranty anyway .
Have wanted one since they came out so super excited.
Age - mid 50's for reference.
Esquire said:
I'm about to go down the same route .
My car is standard which I very much wanted & intention is to use and abuse it thru the winter months.
From what I can tell no one really bothers with the 6 months check which doesn't affect the warranty anyway .
Have wanted one since they came out so super excited.
Age - mid 50's for reference.
I got it done and ended up getting the Toyota remap at the same time.My car is standard which I very much wanted & intention is to use and abuse it thru the winter months.
From what I can tell no one really bothers with the 6 months check which doesn't affect the warranty anyway .
Have wanted one since they came out so super excited.
Age - mid 50's for reference.
So it turned out expensive as well as unnecessary
They are certainly holding their value well though
bennno said:
halfpenny43 said:
Liked the GR Yaris since it came out. Old school hot hatch
Getting to an age where I have not long left till retirement and need to reduce my car costs (currently in a BMW Z4 M40i) bit not ready for something boring / sensible - the GR Yaris seems a candidate.
Have had Mini JCW s but quite expensive to maintain so am thinking a Toyota with warranty, plus the 3 pot engine will be cheaper ?
Looking at a 2023 car with Miltek exhaust, Venturi airbox and remap. Car comes from Toyota dealer with warranty.
Anything I should be aware of ?
This would potentially be my last nice car but with a last hurrah back to my youth
Won t be cheaper to run - Minis have 20k service intervals, gry are every 6 months and not cheap to service.Getting to an age where I have not long left till retirement and need to reduce my car costs (currently in a BMW Z4 M40i) bit not ready for something boring / sensible - the GR Yaris seems a candidate.
Have had Mini JCW s but quite expensive to maintain so am thinking a Toyota with warranty, plus the 3 pot engine will be cheaper ?
Looking at a 2023 car with Miltek exhaust, Venturi airbox and remap. Car comes from Toyota dealer with warranty.
Anything I should be aware of ?
This would potentially be my last nice car but with a last hurrah back to my youth
A remap, Venturi air box and miltek exhaust are not compatible with a Toyota warranty.
GR's have 6K miles/annual service intervals with an "optional" 6 month check up, the check up doesn't affect warranty so I never bother with one on mine and I don't do 6K miles a year.
Servicing isn't cheap, minors are around £400 and majors over £600.
I've had mine from new and (2022), despite recently looking at possible replacements, I'd still thoroughly recommend one.
The one thing I'd insist on is that it has had additional rust protection. Toyota's corrosion protection underneath is pretty non existent and many owners (myself included) have had the car professionally treated underneath. If you're buying used, I'd definitely see that as a positive or factor that into the ongoing running costs.
Mechanically it's been excellent, no issues to report but as a previous poster stated servicing is every 6k miles and not cheap at Toyota so if you do miles then factor this in. The one you mention seems to have the right modifications they do really need a bit of OEM+ fettling especially the exhaust / intake side for a bit more audio. The Toyota warranty gives a bit of extra reassurance - mine also has some modifications so time will tell if I never need to make a claim for something they could wriggle out of.
As for the driving experience... I'd actually been thinking the time with mine was coming to an end. I'm in my mid-50s now and was finding the car's frenetic nature a little tiring on longer journeys, so I'd been looking at something a bit more gentlemanly.
Then I took it out one evening last weekend on some quiet roads up in Teesdale, stuck it in Sport mode (rear-biased AWD) and remembered exactly why I bought it. It was absolutely epic fun - just a completely bonkers little car that eggs you on at every opportunity. I came home thinking, "Why am I even looking to replace this?" So it will be staying put.
It's not the last word in refinement and it can feel busy on long motorway runs, but if your idea of a great drive is an empty B-road, there really isn't much else like it at the money.
If this is going to be your last "fun" car before retirement, I'd say buy the best, well-maintained example you can find and enjoy it. Just don't be surprised if you end up keeping it longer than you planned! Good luck and keep us updated.
The one thing I'd insist on is that it has had additional rust protection. Toyota's corrosion protection underneath is pretty non existent and many owners (myself included) have had the car professionally treated underneath. If you're buying used, I'd definitely see that as a positive or factor that into the ongoing running costs.
Mechanically it's been excellent, no issues to report but as a previous poster stated servicing is every 6k miles and not cheap at Toyota so if you do miles then factor this in. The one you mention seems to have the right modifications they do really need a bit of OEM+ fettling especially the exhaust / intake side for a bit more audio. The Toyota warranty gives a bit of extra reassurance - mine also has some modifications so time will tell if I never need to make a claim for something they could wriggle out of.
As for the driving experience... I'd actually been thinking the time with mine was coming to an end. I'm in my mid-50s now and was finding the car's frenetic nature a little tiring on longer journeys, so I'd been looking at something a bit more gentlemanly.
Then I took it out one evening last weekend on some quiet roads up in Teesdale, stuck it in Sport mode (rear-biased AWD) and remembered exactly why I bought it. It was absolutely epic fun - just a completely bonkers little car that eggs you on at every opportunity. I came home thinking, "Why am I even looking to replace this?" So it will be staying put.
It's not the last word in refinement and it can feel busy on long motorway runs, but if your idea of a great drive is an empty B-road, there really isn't much else like it at the money.
If this is going to be your last "fun" car before retirement, I'd say buy the best, well-maintained example you can find and enjoy it. Just don't be surprised if you end up keeping it longer than you planned! Good luck and keep us updated.
Nicetobenice said:
I got it done and ended up getting the Toyota remap at the same time.
So it turned out expensive as well as unnecessary
They are certainly holding their value well though
Nice one . So it turned out expensive as well as unnecessary
They are certainly holding their value well though
I think it's hard to find something that compares for the now used price point .
Guess servicing not the cheapest but then if depreciation is slow it kind of levels out the costs overall .
How have you found the remap, night and day ?
What U’d say from my time with mine (and it’s only done 4,000 miles in five years) is that it’s not a relaxed drive. It’s very fidgety (or responsive if you prefer) more even than something like an S1 Elise. That’s part of the fun, but can make it quite wearing on longer journeys.
Other than that it’s really easy to live with.
Other than that it’s really easy to live with.
Had mine nearly 3 years (Gen 1) and it's now on 33K miles, bought with around 23K. Other than servicing and brake pads it's been trouble free.
What I like is that to pretty much everyone who isn't a petrol head they think it's just a Yaris, so it comes as a surprise when you put your foot down and they're left scratching their heads wondering which way you went. You have to work the engine somewhat to get it motoring and the grip is crazy in the dry and in the wet you just have so much confidence.
In April I was out with a Porsche group in N. Wales and the weather was hit and miss all day, I opted to take the Yaris looking at the forecast rather than the Porsche and it held it's own, one guy in a GT3 touring was baffled how I was right with him all day and he couldn't shake me.
Took it to the IOM TT last month instead of the bike as the weather was questionable, had some great runs over the mountain in the wet... pretty much empty roads the whole way over there.
Personally I do feel it needs another 30-40 hp but maybe that's me being use to 500hp but most of the time it's not a problem.
What I like is that to pretty much everyone who isn't a petrol head they think it's just a Yaris, so it comes as a surprise when you put your foot down and they're left scratching their heads wondering which way you went. You have to work the engine somewhat to get it motoring and the grip is crazy in the dry and in the wet you just have so much confidence.
In April I was out with a Porsche group in N. Wales and the weather was hit and miss all day, I opted to take the Yaris looking at the forecast rather than the Porsche and it held it's own, one guy in a GT3 touring was baffled how I was right with him all day and he couldn't shake me.
Took it to the IOM TT last month instead of the bike as the weather was questionable, had some great runs over the mountain in the wet... pretty much empty roads the whole way over there.
Personally I do feel it needs another 30-40 hp but maybe that's me being use to 500hp but most of the time it's not a problem.
Esquire said:
Nice one .
I think it's hard to find something that compares for the now used price point .
Guess servicing not the cheapest but then if depreciation is slow it kind of levels out the costs overall .
How have you found the remap, night and day ?
Definitely not night and day. I think it's hard to find something that compares for the now used price point .
Guess servicing not the cheapest but then if depreciation is slow it kind of levels out the costs overall .
How have you found the remap, night and day ?
An incremental improvement - most noticeable with the throttle response
I know that it's usual to say "you can never have too much power" but I think they really are quick enough in stock format.
Ours is the convenience pack so doesn't have the uprated diffs and given the speed it covers the ground in all conditions you really would have to be a highly skilled driver to get more out of it on a road.
Nicetobenice said:
Esquire said:
Nice one .
I think it's hard to find something that compares for the now used price point .
Guess servicing not the cheapest but then if depreciation is slow it kind of levels out the costs overall .
How have you found the remap, night and day ?
Definitely not night and day. I think it's hard to find something that compares for the now used price point .
Guess servicing not the cheapest but then if depreciation is slow it kind of levels out the costs overall .
How have you found the remap, night and day ?
An incremental improvement - most noticeable with the throttle response
I know that it's usual to say "you can never have too much power" but I think they really are quick enough in stock format.
Ours is the convenience pack so doesn't have the uprated diffs and given the speed it covers the ground in all conditions you really would have to be a highly skilled driver to get more out of it on a road.
I have a faster car that I don't really push that hard as it is so likely keep the Yaris stock then.
Can't wait to pick the little Yaris up this weekend & put some real mileage on.
Can see this little car really getting under my skin and being so handy come the winter months.
Great thread btw OP
Esquire said:
Nicetobenice said:
Esquire said:
Nice one .
I think it's hard to find something that compares for the now used price point .
Guess servicing not the cheapest but then if depreciation is slow it kind of levels out the costs overall .
How have you found the remap, night and day ?
Definitely not night and day. I think it's hard to find something that compares for the now used price point .
Guess servicing not the cheapest but then if depreciation is slow it kind of levels out the costs overall .
How have you found the remap, night and day ?
An incremental improvement - most noticeable with the throttle response
I know that it's usual to say "you can never have too much power" but I think they really are quick enough in stock format.
Ours is the convenience pack so doesn't have the uprated diffs and given the speed it covers the ground in all conditions you really would have to be a highly skilled driver to get more out of it on a road.
I have a faster car that I don't really push that hard as it is so likely keep the Yaris stock then.
Can't wait to pick the little Yaris up this weekend & put some real mileage on.
Can see this little car really getting under my skin and being so handy come the winter months.
Great thread btw OP
The convenience goes some way to fixing that.
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