Toyota GR Yaris review

When the GR Yaris first came out, it was a plucky £30k hero. Those days are long gone. With no pressure to get them out the door, this updated model is now £44,250 for the six-speed manual or £45,750 for the eight-speed auto. And that puts it in Civic Type R territory. Yikes.

The other snag is that supply is so limited that the first wave of cars were doled out to previous GR Yaris buyers and people who had managed to get on Toyota’s waiting list early enough. So you can't actually configure and order one right now. Boo.

What do I get for my money?

You mean what would you get for your money. Circuit trim is the only spec, and it packs 18in BBS forged aluminium wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, the 12.3in digital display and 8.0-inch touschreen, a head-up display, reversing camera, auto wipers, dual-zone auto aircon, a six-speaker sound system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a USB port, leather trim on the handbrake and steering wheel, LED lights, and all of the active safety systems that are mandated these days.

For what it’s worth, the lane keep assistance isn’t too intrusive, and the speed limit warning is silenced through the steering wheel. Almost impossible to find, but it’s in there.

Survive the HunGR Games (geddit?) and your only dilemmas are the transmission, and which of the four colours available you like best. That’s it.

Any special editions?

There are! In honour of Sébastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä - the two drivers who’ve won WRC titles in the GR Yaris - there’s an Ogier Edition and a Rovanperä Edition. Each gets a carbon fibre rear wing, much WRC stickerage and other fripperies, but more significant are the updated modes. The Ogier gets a Morizo mode (for consistent lap times) and a Seb mode (for getting the tail out); the Rovanperä has a Donut mode (need you ask?) and a Kalle mode (yet more rear looseness). Only 100 of each were planned at £60,000 apiece, so chances are you're out of luck already.

Phew. What about running costs?

Seriously? Surely you’re too far down the rabbit hole to be thinking about fuel bills. Toyota estimates just over 32mpg for the manual and 29mpg for the auto, and we've found that 30mpg is easily achievable even with some enthusiastic driving. A 50-litre fuel tank means a near 300-mile cruising range.

With CO2 of 197g/km for the manual and 215g/km for the automatic, you can see why Toyota is worried about corporate emission fines. First year's VED is £1,650, but £190 thereafter. And you'll have to pay the expensive car surcharge of £400+ per annum for five years. The old GR Yaris wouldn't have. Ouch.