Toyota GR Yaris vs. Mitsubishi Evo VI Is a Twenty-Year Gap Drag Race

It's the same with the GR Yaris: many people don't see the point of a hatchback and would welcome a world where they don't exist, but there is absolutely no way you can feel anything other than love for this little gem from Toyota.

That's mostly thanks to its obstinate connection to the past. In a time when the powertrains of most cars have some sort of electrification, the GR Yaris gets a three-cylinder 1.6-liter turbocharged engine that's good for no less than 261 hp and a pretty impressive 265 lb-ft (360 Nm) of torque. It also has one more rarity that a lot of people will appreciate: a six-speed manual transmission.

These things may be odd by today's standards, but they're very much matched by its opponent for the day. That's because the rally-bred Yaris is up against a 20-year-old Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI Tommi Makinen Edition. Despite the time gap between them, these two have a lot in common.

First off, they're both road-going versions of their rallying counterparts. Second, they share a connection with the rally driver that lent his name to this particular Evo VI version, Tommi Makinen. The Finn won the WRC in an Evo VI back in the day, and now he's working closely with the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team and was actually involved in the development of the GR Yaris. It's a full circle of sorts.

Still, no matter how many threads bind them, these two cars are here to compete against each other, and not share memories. And, in all fairness, the results are a lot closer than they should be or than the age difference would suggest.

Usually, the older car has the weight advantage, whereas the new one seriously trumps it on power. Here, it's the other way around. Being a sedan from a superior segment, the Evo VI weighs slightly more than the Yaris, but the two-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine also pushes out 276 hp, which is 15 hp more than the hatchback.

Those are some really closely matched numbers, which means we should be looking at a close race. And with both cars shifting gears via a bit of stick action, that means driver skill is going to be more important than ever. Sadly, there's no Tommi Makinen to run either of the two down the track, so we'll have to make do with carwow's Yanni and Mat. Well, at least we know the radio chatter is going to be funny.