If there’s one modern hot hatchback that’s become the darling of the moment, it's got to be Toyota’s GR Yaris. And it’s probably on everyone’s pocket rocket shortlist for all the right reasons. After all, it’s both the culmination of the fourth-generation Yaris and a WRC car disguised as a street-legal three-door urban dweller.
Built as a homologation special for the FIA World Rally Championship, the GR Yaris is even more spectacular because it was born out of passion, not just obligation. And since it rides on a combination between the TNGA-B and TNGA-C platforms, it’s also not exactly kin to the stock Yaris, but rather a breed apart.
That’s especially valid when considering what resides under the hood and cabin. Power comes from the G16E-GTS 1.6-liter engine created by Gazoo Racing to get turbocharged directly into the history books with its 257 hp (261 PS) and 266 lb-ft (360 Nm) of twist.
Everything is sent to the four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission (of the iMT variety) and the GR-Four permanent four-wheel drive system. The result? A sprint to 62 mph (100 kph) in 5.5 seconds and a limited maximum speed of 143 mph (230 kph).
As we have seen on countless occasions already, the GR Yaris is easily much more than the sum of its features, even when facing rivals with proper supercar DNA. We have seen the little Toyota go against smaller and larger competitors or against the elements of nature—but how does a three-door subcompact fare when encountering the mighty Autobahn?
It’s a quick answer courtesy of the AutoTopNL YouTube channel, which takes advantage of no speed limit zones to give us the rundown on performance numbers. Using their GPS-enabled device to crunch them, we can safely say the GR Yaris lives up to its pocket rocket reputation in this situation, as well.
As such, the zero to 62 mph (100 kph) time of 5.16 seconds is even better than its official readout, and the small Japanese hot hatch is also adept at high-speed highway passes with a 62 to 124 mph (100 to 200 kph) sprint of under 16 seconds. There’s also the quarter-mile readout for all the U.S. fans out there, and the neat result is in the 13-second range.
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. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News