First Drive: Toyota GR Yaris Rally AT

In 2018, Toyota showed us the mad-as-a-hatter Yaris GRMN, which stood for Gazoo Racing Masters of Nurburgring. Ambitious. “This is just a marketing experiment,” was the general consensus. At the show and tell, Toyota declared that it will have several arms falling under the GR banner, including GR Sport, which is a mild upgrade on road-going models, and the full-fat GR, dedicated performance models. I’ll be the first to admit that I may have been wrong in underestimating Toyota’s future performance ambitions at the time. 

Then it started winning at everything. It won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018, and went on to dominate for some time thereafter. In 2019, it won its first Dakar and continued to have a continued spate of strong finishes. In 2021, it officially launched what it promised back in 2018 – the utterly unhinged GR Yaris. And this was from a brand whose values are so firmly entrenched in value above all else? It had just launched a hatchback that was void of any sensibility. It was the inverse of everything that Toyota represented.  

Does the new GR Yaris look different?

Now, in 2025, Toyota launched what’s effectively a mid-life facelift, developed using real-world feedback. The highlights include an 8-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox, more power, more torque (we’ll get to that), improved ergonomics and some subtle exterior tweaks. So, yes, it does look slightly different. 

At first glance, it looks familiar. Instead of an aggressive redesign, Toyota preferred to optimise what worked and adapt what didn’t. Up front, Toyota slotted in a new steel mesh radiator grille which improves cooling, while the front bumper is more aerodynamically beneficial in addition to having a split construction for easier replacement of individual components. 

At the rear, the once-individual lights now form a single laterally connected unit that also houses the auxiliary stop light, which was formerly perched on the spoiler. This, Toyota says, increases the spoiler’s customisability. Less obvious is the slot inside the rear bumper, which improves heat management from the exhaust while also improving airflow. Even the tailpipes have grown from 86mm to 105mm, which reduces exhaust pressure by 40% and, in the process, sharpens the engine response. 

And inside? What are the diffs?

Toyota used that aforementioned feedback to improve the overall driving experience since this is also the main interactive point between car and driver. The central dash module now angles 15 degrees towards the driver, and the old, high-perched seating position has been lowered by 25mm – both aspects which Toyota says it addressed based on motorsport feedback. 

The GR Yaris is now also more digitally up to date, with the analogue cluster of old replaced by a 12.3-inch digital display binnacle. Phone mirroring on the infotainment via Bluetooth (which is seemingly the only option) is temperamental and prone to external signal interference, but the system as a whole is a considerable step up over and above the archaic screen sitting front and centre on the older model.  

Let’s get to the exciting stuff already…

In terms of engine architecture, the GR Yaris still calls on the same 3-cyl, 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, but fettled to produce 210kW and 400Nm of torque – an increase of 12kW and 40Nm over the ‘21 model. To accommodate the increased power figures, it received a reinforced valvetrain and an updated exhaust valve, while new lightweight pistons have been lowered into the engine block. In plain speak, that means a 0-100km/h time of 5.2 secs, or 0.3 secs quicker than the model that came before. 

This rapid acceleration is partly thanks to the still-employed GR-Four AWD system, while gearing is managed by what is the single biggest key change and the one to which I alluded earlier: the addition of an 8-speed torque converter gearbox called the GR Direct Automatic Transmission (GR D-AT). The idea behind the 8-speed is to have closer gear ratios, with Toyota saying the in-built software programme is able to detect and pre-empt gear shifts according to brake and accelerator inputs. 

It’s hard to directly measure with a few laps around Zwartkops, but what is pretty much clear is that having an automatic transmission in a hot hatch fabled for that engaging manual adds an entirely different aspect to the car. Yes, the satisfaction that comes with the ritual of press-clutch-shift-release and being enveloped by that soundtrack is different, but the auto brings a sense of added precision. Override the auto-shifting, and it’s just that much easier to hook it into the right gear at the right time with marginally quicker upshifts. Should you get overzealous on the downshifts, the software protects itself by sticking to what it judges to be the best gear for the current situation. 

The handling, though, is arguably still the most impressive aspect of the Toyota GR Yaris. On track, it’s a matter of pointing it in any given direction and pressing the loud pedal, and the chassis responds with uncanny levels of adhesion. The GR-Four system too continues to deliver that blend of compliance and agility, and when things do get out of rhythm, it’s progressive and easy to reel back in.

Still worth it?

Yes, absolutely, if you want one of these bad enough. While on paper the automatic should be less than, the narrative looks slightly different when barrelling around a racetrack. It’s absolutely missing some of that hands-on engagement, and yes, a manual is a measure of petrolhead devotedness, but the auto still brings the enjoyment, and it still brings the involvement, just in a different and more precise package. If having the manual is non-negotiable, it’s still offered as part of the GR Yaris lineup and complete with most of the same ergonomic and styling updates headlined by the auto. 

Here’s the shocker, though: In 2021, the Toyota GR Yaris launched in SA with a sticker price of R606,600. Now, the new model, fitted with the 8-speed auto ‘box, commands an eye-watering R971,300, while the 6-speed manual will set you back R942,200. That’s no small amount of money. 

Whether it is still “worth it” is a subjective matter between you, your financial advisor and how badly you want one of the best-handling hot hatches that also happens to be one of very few truly unfiltered driver’s cars left.