The Toyota GR Yaris will make you proud to be in a subcompact

MANILA: If there’s a subcompact you’d love to drive and be seen in each day, it would surely be the all-new Toyota GR Yaris.

It is the first vehicle of the Japanese automaker created with the reversed concept of turning a motorsports car into a production car and takes learnings by the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team at the World Rally Championship to make it “vehicle that anyone can drive the way they want with peace of mind on any road in the world.”

The base model is the RS. It uses a 1.5-liter three-cylinder Dynamic Force engine from the Toyota New Global Architecture platform. The gearbox is a 10-speed Direct Shift-CVT (continuously variable transmission) sending power to the front wheels. It also comes with paddle shifters to provide the feel of driving a manual.

Providing a higher level of performance is the RZ. Under its hood is a newly developed compact, lightweight, and high-power 1.6-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine that’s air-cooled, comes with an intercooler and has a cooling-spray function. It has a six-speed intelligent manual transmission sending power to the GR-Four (sports four-wheel-drive system) layout with a variable front and rear driving force system using a multi-plate clutch Torsen LSD front and rear differentials.

The competition-based RC is based on the RZ with all equipment not needed for driving eliminated to reduce weight and increase performance. It sits on 16-inch ventilated disc brakes adopted in consideration of installation of small-diameter tires for rally use.

Photos from Toyota

Also read: Are you ready for the Toyota Corolla Cross?