Send in a hero

AS WE CLOSE THE DOOR ON SURELY THE WORST YEAR IN MEMORY, WE NEEDED A FAST, FOCUSED AND AFFORDABLE PERFORMANCE CAR TO HELP SAVE THE WORLD. TOYOTA HAS DELIVERED

- ASH WESTERMAN

IT’S POSSIBLE THE Yaris GR fever machine hit peak hyperbole recently when a prominent UK-based motoring media organisation called it a “once in a generation car” and awarded it a perfect 10 out of 10.

We’ll get to the ‘Perfect 10’ issue in due course, but the ‘once in a generation thing’ did grab my attention. After the cobweb-riddled CPU in my skull crunched some dates, I reckon they’re right. Toyota hasn’t produced a homologation special since the ST205 Celica GT-Four in the late-’90s, while it’s been 21 years since Mitsubishi produced its last homologation special in the form of the Evo VI from 1999. So yes, historically at least, this really is that unicorn; a once in a generation car.

But is it really that special? Is all the fawning adoration justified? Actually, yeah, it is. Mostly.

If you’re arriving late to the whole ‘GR Yaris is the automotive baby Jesus!’ thing, the key facts you need to know are as follows. A change to the WRC regs means teams have to build 25,000 examples of the basis of their rally car. COVID naturally has interfered with Toyota’s testing plans, meaning this car won’t run in 2021, but it does mean the world has been given a small performance hatch of uncommon focus and brilliantly zesty, engaging character. So before you pass judgment on whether any B-segment hatch can be worth around $50K, consider the engineering work that’s gone into this car, what it delivers and, importantly, how the used-car market will see it in years to come.