Muscled-up Toyota GR Yaris revealed with new automatic ‘box

UPDATE: Toyota South Africa Motors has confirmed that it is considering the GR Yaris for market introduction, though it didn’t specify an exact date of sales commencing just yet.

Announced as becoming a reality earlier this month, Toyota has officially unveiled the facelift GR Yaris at the Tokyo Auto Salon in both manual and all-new automatic guises.

Spot the difference

The first major update since the GR’s world debut at the same event four-years ago, the subtle cosmetic tweaks comprise a new front bumper with wider side cooling vents as a result of the new transmission, a slim-line steel mesh pattern grille and at the rear, a new lower positioned LED light bar that connects the main clusters.

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Completing the exterior is a new colour option, the GR Supra inspired Precious Metal that joins the existing GR corporate hues of Super White, Precious Black and Emotional Red.

Underneath

Retaining the same bumper and dual exhaust outlets as before, Toyota has made no dimensional changes, meaning the GR Yaris still measures 3 995 mm long, 1 805 mm wide and 1 455 mm tall while riding on a wheelbase stretching 2 560 mm.

Its platform being a hybrid of the TNGA-C that underpins the Corolla and the TNGA-B used by the standard XP210 Yaris, what has been altered is the GR Yaris’ fundamentals as a means of not only accommodating the new transmission, but also the added grunt extracted from the G16E-GTS three-cylinder 1.6-litre turbocharged engine.

While the unique electronic GR-Four four-wheel-drive system and limited slip differentials are carried over, Toyota has upped the spot welding point count by 13% in order to improve structural rigidity, in addition to fitting new shock absorbers and springs.

No more rowing

Still mounted on 18-inch BBS supplied alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, the biggest mechanical alteration is the mentioned eight-speed torque-converter transmission now available as an alternative to the six-speed manual.

Described during development as a “game-changer” by former Toyota President and CEO Akio Toyoda, the box, known as Direct Automatic Transmission, or DAT, is said to have undergone rigorous testing in normal and competition environments.

Said to have had input from the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Championship division, and tested in rounds of the Japanese Toyota Gazoo Rally Challenge, the close-ratio eight-speed adds 18kg to the GR Yaris’ mass and sports software that predicts changes based on the driver’s behaviour.

According to Toyota, this allows each change, both up and down, to take place not only faster than the manual, but also the paddle shifters in manual mode.

Fitted with so-called highly heat-resistant friction material Toyota has “resulted in world-class gear-shifting speeds,” the inclusion of the transmission also required improved cooling by means of not only the bumper vents, but also an auxiliary oil cooler, spryer for the intercooler and secondary radiator as part of the “cooling package”.

Still utilising a ventilated four-piston brake caliper setup at the front and two-piston at the rear, the final nuance is a drive mode selector with three settings; Eco, Normal and Sport, and a Circuit mode that activates the anti-lag system while upping the speed limiter rating when selected.

New inside

Compared to the exterior, Toyota has been more extensive with the GR Yaris’ interior in that the entire centre console has been redesigned and the dashboard reconfigured to accommodate the 12.3-inch display from the GR Corolla.

Angled towards the driver by 15-degrees, the former boasts a new infotainment system, vents and physical switchgear, plus a lowered driving position and raised transmission tunnel.

A new addition on manual models is the relocation of the handbrake from the base of the tunnel, to beside the gear lever in a vertical position similar to the GR86. However, this will only apply to the Japanese-spec RC at an additional cost.

More power

As mentioned, the final revision to what is still the world’s most powerful three-cylinder engine has resulted in the same 224kW/400Nm outputs as the GR Corolla.

Up 24kW/30Nm on the original Japanese Domestic Market model, the uprated tuning will be standard on both and automatic models, although performance remains unknown as no figures were released.

Still to be confirmed

Going on-sale in Europe from the middle of this year, Toyota South Africa has so far remained mum on confirming the revised GR Yaris for the local market as this will likely only emerge once Old Continent sales start.

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