Re : Toyota GR Yaris - official!

[iulian7]

Hello everyone - I am not usually one for the forums but due to Covid-19 and my interests I think it's a good way to share knowledge and experiences, so here I am!

I also put down a deposit with my local dealer for this car. I also signed the petition and forwarded it to my dealer.

I do have some worries regarding the car (all of which have been mentioned already) but one stands out currently. Toyota uses Michelin Pilot Sport 4s 225/40R18 tyres on this car (the Circuit Pack at least). They are great tyres but not available as far as I can tell, so I emailed Michelin about this. Their reply was:

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Regarding your query, I regret to inform you that the MICHELIN Pilot Sport 4S is not available in 225/40 R18, at the moment and we do not have any plans to launch this tyre in this tyre size in the immediate future.

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Now, does anyone know if Toyota has some kind of deal with Michelin to supply these tyres? Will they be available though Toyota itself (i.e. will you be able to go to your local dealership and order some tyres)? Will you have to wait 3 months for some tyres to be delivered?

I have also contacted my dealer about this and asked them to enquire with Toyota. Perhaps some of you might do the same with your dealer? I am hoping if more people/dealerships start asking questions we might get some clarity on this.

[AngryPartsBloke]

iulian7 said:

Hello everyone - I am not usually one for the forums but due to Covid-19 and my interests I think it's a good way to share knowledge and experiences, so here I am!

I also put down a deposit with my local dealer for this car. I also signed the petition and forwarded it to my dealer.

I do have some worries regarding the car (all of which have been mentioned already) but one stands out currently. Toyota uses Michelin Pilot Sport 4s 225/40R18 tyres on this car (the Circuit Pack at least). They are great tyres but not available as far as I can tell, so I emailed Michelin about this. Their reply was:

---

Regarding your query, I regret to inform you that the MICHELIN Pilot Sport 4S is not available in 225/40 R18, at the moment and we do not have any plans to launch this tyre in this tyre size in the immediate future.

---

Now, does anyone know if Toyota has some kind of deal with Michelin to supply these tyres? Will they be available though Toyota itself (i.e. will you be able to go to your local dealership and order some tyres)? Will you have to wait 3 months for some tyres to be delivered?

I have also contacted my dealer about this and asked them to enquire with Toyota. Perhaps some of you might do the same with your dealer? I am hoping if more people/dealerships start asking questions we might get some clarity on this.

Maybe it's a typo? 4 is available in that size (and just about pretty much every other Michelin tyre)

[SDudders]

iulian7 said:

Now, does anyone know if Toyota has some kind of deal with Michelin to supply these tyres? Will they be available though Toyota itself (i.e. will you be able to go to your local dealership and order some tyres)? Will you have to wait 3 months for some tyres to be delivered?

I have also contacted my dealer about this and asked them to enquire with Toyota. Perhaps some of you might do the same with your dealer? I am hoping if more people/dealerships start asking questions we might get some clarity on this.

I also wonder if this will be the case too. Currently from what I have found, Michelin will not be offering these MPS4S tyres in the correct size needed. Which means currently, simply you'd have to go for another typre of tyre.

Although, I do wonder if Toyota may have a special deal with Michelin, or potentially the UK dealers may be able to order them from Japan or the factory. As they should be able to offer you a spare part (like tyres) of a product you have ordered from them.

Although who knows. They may just offer us an alternative model of tyre rather than the 4S. Time will tell.

I contacted Toyota UK about this exact issue back in Feb and they fumbled about and couldn't give me an answer in the end.

[SDudders]

Sam.M said:

Share it with them, the more people at Toyota that see it the better.

Well - they replied. I messaged Toyota UK on Facebook Messenger directly explaining the petition and that 75 UK Customers have singed it and want the added features etc etc, Please could they share it on their Official Toyota UK Facebook Page....

they replied with this:

"Morning. We're aware of the petition Sam but won't be able to share it on our channels. Have a great day, thanks!"


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I totally suspected this would be the case. Although the good news is A) They are aware of this petition, its made its way up the ranks to the point even Toyota UK are officially noticing it. Which is good! Also B) They must be keeping an eye on it now, as they already know it exists so I reckon they will be monitoring the level of this petition success.

I think we need to keep doing what we are doing, regards you mentioning a while back you'd put this on Toyota Blog posts, linking the petition and on their Toyota UK Youtube Videos, I was unable to find the link listed on these channels, so maybe they have removed those links your shared.

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At least they didn't say "we are not going to take any action form the petition regardless of its popularity, and it shall be ignored"

I still think if we get enough people to sign it and continue to express this to dealerships that there is a huge want for it, and for them to express this to Toyota UK Product team. They have to make this available to us. They'd be foolish not to. Considering they can massively increase revenue off these options too!

[anonymous-user]

Well, clearly their social media teams are on the ball and paying attention.

As you say, lets keep pushing and sharing this at every opportunity. We can only try

[Rumpelkillskins]

anyone heard any buzz about when press might get their hands on one? Hoping before demo time! Back when i ordered a Nov delivery was given, now thats looking more like Jan next year its a hell of a wait seeing as i sold my weekend warrior back in May. Ive only found videos of Toyota drivers giving it the thumbs up (like they're paid to) so itching for some impartial thoughts! It's got all the pieces to be a proper b-road weapon, lets hope it works well on the toss british tarmac, lol!

[anonymous-user]

I've mailed Autocar, TopGear Autoexpress and EVO magazines to see if they'll run an article.

[usman224]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmyp7YKPY-k

Some recent footage of a guy taking a prototype (I think) out on a small track.
Can't fully understand what he's saying due to youtube auto-translate being a bit iffy at times, but seems like he's having fun.

[anonymous-user]

usman224 said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmyp7YKPY-k

Some recent footage of a guy taking a prototype (I think) out on a small track.
Can't fully understand what he's saying due to youtube auto-translate being a bit iffy at times, but seems like he's having fun.

He's saying "sughoi" alot which means wow/amazing/incredible.

[SDudders]

Sam.M said:

I've mailed Autocar, TopGear Autoexpress and EVO magazines to see if they'll run an article.

Good work!! I reckon at least one of those minimum will be interested in writing an article.

I managed to find your comment in the Blog post Sam about the petition. They said they would pass it onto the UK Product team in their response.

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I just hope it is not too late for the change to be introduced, deliveries are apparently November, although I have also heard January. Im sure Covid-19 will have a part to play in its actual delivery date though. I wonder if that leaves enough time between now and when mass production starts of these hand built cars. Will Toyota UK be able to turn round to the GR Factory in Japan and say, actually there are 100+ orders which want added convenience pack etc and be enough time to implement it all? That would be for them to sort out though

It took the UK ages to finalise the spec, given that all press images had included these extra options in the Circuit Pack coverage, I assumed the UK Spec would have included all that stuff.

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One thing for certain, even without this petition, Toyota latest blog post is littered in the comment section by people being disappointed it does not include the added features in other markets. As well as across their social media channels. So they must be fully aware by now, many people are not to happy about what they have currently decided to offer us in terms of optional extras and packs.

Time will tell with it all! Hopefully all our hard work pays off! You always get out what you put in, in terms of effort!

[anonymous-user]

Ah nice one, I hadn't had a chance to circle back to see if they'd responded. Let's hope the product team can lobby whomever they need to in Toyota Europe/Japan and we get some movement.

I mean, I'd be happy to wear a small delay if it meant getting what we want.

Well, time will tell.

[lukeharding]

Might be worth sharing the petition on Twitter too, some influential people there, and people who may not be able to do it through the official channels at Toyota, but might share it personally where they have a following of people interested in the brand.

[anonymous-user]

lukeharding said:

Might be worth sharing the petition on Twitter too, some influential people there, and people who may not be able to do it through the official channels at Toyota, but might share it personally where they have a following of people interested in the brand.

I don't have a Twitter account. If anyone here does, please feel free to tweet it at Toyota. Someone a couple of pages ago put up the name of their head of UK PR, he'd probably have an account on there.

[Rumpelkillskins]

i'll tweet em the petition now

[anonymous-user]

Rumpelkillskins said:

i'll tweet em the petition now

Can you send it to @Toyota_Europe too? Apparently they make the product decisions for the UK market.

[Rumpelkillskins]

https://twitter.com/Rumpelkillskins/status/1290599...

Already done maty!

[SDudders]

I agree Sam.M, I would rather wait longer and it be delayed to receive the actual full spec I want. Be worth it in the long run!

Just seen a post on Reddit (Don't know how accurate this is) but apparently the Convenience pack in Europe costs €2400 as a an optional pack. So, given this - €2400 currently is about £2,166. The Circuit Pack GR Yaris is £33,495 in the UK. So potentially if Toyota said look we will add it as an option, but all in it may cost around £35,661 maybe closer to 36K... I would still pay that, it is still below the 40k luxury car tax bracket. For those where 35.5/36K is too much, they could still spec it at 30k base or 33.5k Circuit Pack option.

I think its a win win for Toyota imo

[anonymous-user]

Rumpelkillskins said:

https://twitter.com/Rumpelkillskins/status/1290599...

Already done maty!

Brill, thanks

[anonymous-user]

SDudders said:

I agree Sam.M, I would rather wait longer and it be delayed to receive the actual full spec I want. Be worth it in the long run!

Just seen a post on Reddit (Don't know how accurate this is) but apparently the Convenience pack in Europe costs €2400 as a an optional pack. So, given this - €2400 currently is about £2,166. The Circuit Pack GR Yaris is £33,495 in the UK. So potentially if Toyota said look we will add it as an option, but all in it may cost around £35,661 maybe closer to 36K... I would still pay that, it is still below the 40k luxury car tax bracket. For those where 35.5/36K is too much, they could still spec it at 30k base or 33.5k Circuit Pack option.

I think its a win win for Toyota imo

Agreed!!

[Rumpelkillskins]

In response to some previous messages regarding the tyres, i had the same issue with trying to get PS4S's on my WRX STi. Michelin have no plans to bring this tyre to an 18" so i ended up getting the PSS. Another strange decision from Toyota, no doubt that point hasn't been discussed either. Toyota has said 'this isn't a Toyota Yaris, its a GR Yaris, so maybe they're not spending much effort on publicity etc. and just letting em get built however and sold. Now with the release of the other JDM models (FWD etc) i don't think homologation will be an issue, i just get the impression no-one is too fussed whether they sell or not, judging by the constant confusion and contradiction being passed down.

Regarding press reviews i have no doubt they'll be all over it. I know for a fact Henry Catchpole itching to get into one, probably for Carfection, and Evo and Top Gear have also shown high interest when it was announced properly back in Jan. If it does get pushed back til 2021 i might grab something else for a year and grab one new used, with a depreciation hit. If it wasn't already clear, i have zero patience, as the wife tells me often, lol.