Yaris GRMN Drag Races New Polo GTI, Fiesta ST, MINI JCW and 208 GTi

The only thing that's missing is the Clio RS 220, but we have a pretty good idea where it would stand since it's usually even with the JCW in drag races. In any case, all the cars here have 200 horsepower or more, which shows you just how far the market has come along. However, not all of them can put down that power off the line.

By winning the race, the Yaris GRMN proves that it's very special. But what did you expect? Here is a car that doesn't worry too much about the frills and just packs a supercharged 1.8-liter inside a lightweight body. They don't make them like that anymore!

For us, the Polo GTI is the big loser here. It's a brand new Volkswagen with a 2-liter turbo engine and substantial torque. But it seems that because of the DSG gearbox, there's no good way to launch it - either it bogs down or spins its wheels. Thankfully, the Polo seems much faster in the rolling race.

The Fiesta ST has the same output from the only 3-cylinder engine here. It looks slow in the company of a 230 horsepower MINI, as does the Peugeot 308 GTi with its 208 HP 1.6-liter turbo.

Still, the Yaris GRMN is rare and costs GBP 27,000, so about as much as a Golf GTI. You don't buy small hatchbacks like this for drag racing, so doing hot laps of a small karting track would have been a more suitable way to set them apart. Still, we suspect the super-lightweight Toyota would have seemed even faster there.