Toyota Yaris GR Sport

FIRST DRIVE Warm hatch gets sporty styling, but same powertrain as lesser models

- Alastair Crooks

WITH the excellent GR Yaris, GR Supra and GR86 within its stable, Toyota's sporty Gazoo Racing brand has cemented itself in the performance car world. It makes business sense, then, that the GR name should extend to milder cars, in a similar vein to Ford's ST-Line and Hyundai's N Line trims.

Step forward the Yaris GR Sport. We love the GR Yaris, so much so that it won our Performance Car of the Year award in 2021. You should rein in your expectations, however, because the Yaris GR Sport is based on the standard Yaris, rather than the rally-bred, limited-run three-door model.

As with the last Yaris GR Sport, the new one uses a hybrid powertrain, including a CVT gearbox. While that doesn't sound like a recipe for performance, it's worth noting that the previous GR Sport commanded a £3,045 premium, whereas this new one only costs £2,040 more than the entry-level Icon car.

The exterior revisions give the GR Sport a warm-hatch appearance, with bespoke 18-inch alloys with red accents, a new mesh front grille, a rear diffuser and a tasteful chrome exhaust. A smattering of GR Sport logos adorn lots of the body panels to ensure no one mistakes it for a more lowly Yaris.

There are GR Sport badges dotted around the cabin and red stitching, too, while the sports seats get a bit more side bolstering.