The race to be thrifty
The GR Sport version of the Toyota Yaris Cross is still mostly about fuel economy
It’s a hatch of sorts, it has a three-cylinder engine and Gazoo Racing (GR) red-andblack badges plastered all over it. And we’ll stop you right there, lest you get too excited.
If you’re a car person, you’ll know that not all Toyota GR models are created equal. So while the Yaris Cross GR Sport nudges the likes of the GR Yaris and GR Corolla on a couple of key specification points, it’s a very different breed of car.
GR models are developed by Toyota’s performance/motorsport division and designed to be nuts on the road and capable on the circuit. But like any proper inhouse tuning house (Audi Sport, BMW M, Mercedes-AMG), GR also lends its valuable brand to mildly made-over versions of standard production cars.
Top tip from DRIVEN Car Guide: the full-house models have “GR” before the name (GR Yaris, GR Corolla, GR86, GR Supra, while the second-tier versions have it after: Yaris Cross GR Sport, Hilux GR Sport, and so on. You’re now a pub-quiz Gazoo Racing expert.
So we shouldn’t be too dismissive of the dressed-up Yaris Cross. Because as your kids say when you are called to the principal’s office, everybody’s doing it.
In fact, we should be quite pleased, because this is a neat little car. It’s based on the Yaris Cross Hybrid (no changes to the powertrain at all), but gains special 18-inch wheels and brake calipers, two-tone exterior paint job, and details like mesh grille and GR badges pretty much everywhere.
It’s not entirely dress-up: the GR Sport has slightly sportier suspension that drops it 10mm lower to the ground.
The Yaris Cross can look a bit oddly proportioned from some angles, but we reckon the GR Sport generally looks pretty cool: a combination of those chunkier styling details and that reduction in ride height.
Weirdly, or perhaps pleasingly, the GR Sport isn’t the most expensive Yaris Cross you can buy. At $44,490 it’s above the GX but still $1200 below the price of the two-tone Yaris Cross Limited – which does have a couple of extra equipment items, like power/heated front seats and a kick-sensor tailgate.
The driving experience is not too far removed from any other Yaris Cross Hybrid. The petrolelectric system can lean a little too heavily on the battery at low speed, making it feel like a bit of a struggler, but it’s perky enough once it’s awake. And the result is astonishing fuel economy, which was sitting in the 4l/100km bracket during our week with the car, even though we drove with little regard for economy. That’s what Toyota hybrids are like. And why you still get a $2012 Clean Car Discount with this car, even though it doesn’t have a plug.
The firmer suspension is noticeable but not really annoying: just a bit busier on urban roads. Not really necessary either, as the Yaris Cross isn’t supposed to be a sporty SUV. But maybe it’s worth that extra firmness for the cooler look.
Look past the GR badges inside (including steering wheel, headrests) and you’ve still got a cleverly practical compact SUV. Plenty of storage including an under-seat tray and decent 390-litre boot.
What the Yaris Cross has never offered is a welcoming back seat: the rear doors have a curiously shallow opening and the back is hardly spacious once you’re in there. Whether a big back seat is crucial to the appeal of a baby SUV is another matter.
But the GR Sport still presents the strongest, most appealing package in the Yaris Cross line-up. It’s also the most readily available (although such things are relative in the world of Toyota hybrids): according to Toyota NZ you can get one “late 2023”, whereas the GX is a 2024 delivery and the Limited lives up to its name with “limited stock available to order”.