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Manual Toyota GR Yaris Drags CVT Subaru WRX, Someone Gets Easily Smoked

The good folks over at CAR magazine’s South African branch have the 2023 Performance Shootout currently going on, and there are a couple of rally-inspired cars involved in the shenanigans.
Toyota GR Yaris vs Subaru WRX on CAR Mag 22 photos
Photo: CAR / YouTube
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Among them, we noticed cool stuff like the Audi RS 3, Volkswagen Golf R, BMW 2 Series, Hyundai I30 N, Ford Mustang, and even a hulking Land Rover Defender. After all, in a previous encounter, the BMW M240i xDrive raced the Audi RS 3 sedan while both of them then had to duke it out with the Ford Mustang California Special and VW Golf R.

This latest episode of the CAR Mag 2023 Performance Shootout now focuses on a different breed of sports cars altogether, though. The good folks decided they were also “in the presence of two rally icons,” so of course they drag-raced them on the airstrip of the Saldanha Bay Airport (Vredenburg Airport, Western Cape province of South Africa), where it is completely sunny and there is no trace of Lady Winter anywhere in sight.

But first, let us meet the contestants. On the right side, we have an all-black Toyota GR Yaris, the high-performance rally-inspired three-door version of the fourth generation (XP210) Yaris subcompact hatchback. Since it is the GR-Four Rally version, there is a 1.6-liter turbo three-cylinder engine under the hood that provides up to 198 kW/266 hp sent to all four wheels through a permanent four-wheel drive system.

On the left, there is the blue second-generation Subaru WRX (VB) four-door compact sedan packing a larger 2.4-liter turbo boxer mill churning out 205 kW/275 hp and a slightly lower torque figure of 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) compared to 360 Nm (266 lb-ft) for the GR Yaris, according to the YT channel’s on-screen data. The race, of course, takes place on an unprepped surface, so traction is of utmost importance.

However, there is also one last detail to be considered. While the Subie is also AWD, the GR Yaris has to oppose its six-speed manual transmission to WRX’s CVT, which could prove either an advantage or a big liability for the latter. That is for you to decide after checking out the sole quarter-mile attempt seen in the footage embedded below.

Well, the figures – along with the substantial gap – show the feisty little Toyota as the winner (13.5s) and the WRX as the distant runner-up (14.1s). By the way, if you want more JDM-style quarter-mile shenanigans, we also recommend checking out the latest attempt from Ekanoo Racing to further dip into the low-figure ETs with their heavily tuned Toyota GR Supra.

As such, embedded second below is their feisty Austrian-born (the Japanese BMW Z4 sibling is manufactured by Magna Steyr, as well) Mk V Supra rocking the dragstrip for an 8.08s ET at 170 mph (274 kph) just before their quest of dipping into the sevens was prematurely interrupted by a destroyed driveshaft!

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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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