New hot Toyota Yaris first drive
FIRST DRIVE Hot hatch is great fun, but doesn’t come cheap
TOYOTA has never fully committed to the idea of making a bona fide hot hatchback before, preferring instead to deliver a series of competent but hardly mind-altering warm hatchbacks over the years. But this new limitededition, £26,295, 209bhp Yaris GRMN is the exception to that rule. And there’s one very simple reason why.
The Yaris GRMN is effectively a precursor to a whole new range of fast Toyotas, all of which will be badged GR, which stands for Gazoo Racing. Think AMG and you’ll get an idea of where Toyota wants to go with the GR brand over the coming years.
There will only ever be 600 Yaris GRMNS, all in the same white, red and black colour scheme seen here, and all to be built at Toyota’s factory at Valenciennes, France. For Europe, there will be a total of 400 examples; 100 will come to the UK in right-hand drive, and 250 to 300 will be made in left-hand drive and sold on the continent. Another 200 will go to Japan, again in right-hand drive.
Power comes from a supercharged 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine that is virtually identical to the motor found beneath the rear bodywork of the Lotus Elise, albeit with a new exhaust and some extra cooling due to the Yaris’s diminutive proportions.
Maximum power is 209bhp, while peak torque is a healthy 250Nm, and, in all, the GRMN weighs just 1,135kg. So it’s quick, Toyota claiming a 0-62mph time of 6.4 seconds plus a top speed electronically limited to 143mph.
The gearbox is a six-speed manual and, thankfully, there’s no flappy-paddle option. But it’s what Toyota’s motorsport engineers have done to the GRMN’S chassis and running gear that arguably makes the biggest differences of all to the way it drives.
The springs are 60 per cent stiffer than those of a regular Yaris and the dampers (by SACHS) are much more responsive all round, plus there are braces throughout (at the front, rear and in the centre of the car) to take torsional stiffness to another level.
The brakes are also bigger than those of a regular Yaris, with 275mm ventilated discs at the front and 278mm solid rotors at the rear. Likewise, the tyres are bespoke 205/45 ZR17 Bridgestone Potenza RE050AS. Combine all this, and Toyota says the GRMN offers as much grip and handling composure as it has go.
Beyond its paint scheme, the car is distinguished by a central rear exhaust, more aggressive front and rear splitters and a big roof spoiler at the back. In the flesh, it looks subtly purposeful.
The same goes for the interior, which features a pair of big bucket front seats flashes of aluminium on the console, a bespoke set of instruments and a GR Racing-badged starter button.
On the move, the GRMN doesn’t disappoint. Indeed, in most areas it
“Performance is strong, going on ballistic for a car with a Yaris badge”
thrills to bits. Performance is strong, going on ballistic for a cacar that wears a humble Yaris badge, with real potency and instant response from th the supercharged engine available across the rev range. Even from 2,000rpm, it p pulls hard, and from there the accele acceleration stays strong and hard all the way to the 7,000rpm re rev cut-out. The six-speed g gearbox also works well, with snappy shifts up and down, a good clean response from the throttle to enhance blips on downshifts and a light-ish clutch. What’s not so clever is the driving positioposition, which is set simply too high for most tastes, especially for a c car as focused as this. Ideally, we’d drop the seat position at least thr three inches lower. But what separates the Toyota Yaris GRMN and elevates it to a place where genuine enthusiasts might well fall in love with it (despite the eye-watering price tag) is the handling, and the chassis balance generally. True, the ride quality is firm and may well prove to be a sticking point on a UK road (we drove the car on smooth public roads and a circuit in Spain), but the way the GRMN turns into and then sticks in corners is something of a revelation.
It’s a proper little driver’s car, with a touch of controlled lift-off oversteer if you really start to throw it around, plus a fine set of brakes to go with it. Grip is strong, but not excessively so, with something similar to Toyota Gt86-style gusto in its behaviour on or near the limit.
Overall, we really like the Yaris GRMN, even if it is heinously expensive beside the best hot hatch competition. As a sign of things to come from Toyota’s new performance division, it is a more than welcome addition.