Also entered.
Even if only 200 cars come I do suspect the next batch will be a lot more and as such don’t expect it too hold its value as it is somewhat over priced but if we get offered one I’ll take it because, YOLO.
Toyota Yaris GR4 4x4 Rally going into production.....
Also entered.
Even if only 200 cars come I do suspect the next batch will be a lot more and as such don’t expect it too hold its value as it is somewhat over priced but if we get offered one I’ll take it because, YOLO.
Don’t like the paint on special editions so never requested one, gone with grey manual.
September, if it is sooner we shall just leave it at dealership if it is just weeks so it arrives on newer plate.
One of the first reviews in from Europe:
Just got back from testing the new GR Yaris in Lyon on road & track.
Drove the manual, auto and the rovanpera special edition (manual).
WHAT. A. CAR.
Some subtle differences, clearly toyota has listened to owner feedback… seats lowered, more rigid body, new dual mass flywheel, stronger suspension…
30+ nm torque increase is noticeable… it sounds angrier too… from inside anyway as EU law means it still sounds like gardening equipment from outside. Meh.
I liked the suspension upgrades, feels firmer & ride quality has improved. It now feels less like a plastic sled on a rough road
The clutch has been tuned and clutch position adapted but the change feels marginal and it’s still a stinker if you don’t get it right. (If that’s you- consider auto
Took the auto to a rally stage, lots of hairpins and the Yaris just comes alive on twisty roads… some lag when asking for a gear change though, which is more pronounced on track. But for everyday driving or B road bashing - it won’t disappoint.
Both the manual and the auto feel much more fun than the current Yaris on track. I prefer the new Yaris vs my own (2022 circuit pack). It’s much more playful in a corner.
Features-wise some much needed upgrades for the UK, we got the absolute dregs when it comes to features. Sat nav is decent, heated seats and steering wheel are welcome additions - just not in 32 degree heat.
Overall: the changes are welcome… a great car is now even better. Auto box needs a tweak though for track use, hopefully they sort that out.
If I had £60k lying about I’d be getting a special edition.
Toyota have done it again.
Will be interesting to see how I find it as my take away from the MK1 one for how good it was there was a few niggles that annoyed me:
- Boring at low speeds, to enjoy it you had to drive like a moron, suspect MK2 won't improve this.
- A nervous feeling at times at high speed long sweepers, car could feel nervous (alignment, tyres all spot on)
- Seating position too high
- No Apple Carplay and a frankly poor infotainment system
- Did need a little extra oooomph in a straight line
Shall see, I personally feel the MK1 was a bargain at 33k with 0% finance whereas the MK2 is 45k at 8.9% finance is a bit of a joke.
I am annoyed the special edition grey one is matt paint, otherwise I would plucked up 60k for it as I like the fact it has JBL sound along with the other aesthetic tweaks, but I really dislike matt paint jobs and yes 45k is too much, 60k is just daft as I am under no illusion it is just a very fancy Yaris and no matter how good the MK2 is the A110S will still wipe the floor with it on a circuit and is more fun to drive but I guess in fairness A110S do start at like 60k plus, ours would cost 85k, so glad we paid 50k for it.
MK2 I can see down to 30k pretty quick if they ship 1k plus into UK through 2025/2026 as I will be shocked if numbers stay low, if they do its probably a safe buy.
We sold our MK1 for 25k, lad got a bargain but it was an easy private sale and after 3.5yr ownership and 20k miles depreciation of 8k I feel is not so bad for a new car.
Especially now that used car prices have somewhat calmed down from the Covid madness, very happy with it as like you say for £190 (depreciation) a month we got to enjoy one of the best hot hatches of recent times for over three years. Servicing was peanuts as was insurance and it was pretty fuel efficient and it never let us down.
PH review up:
www.pistonheads.com
2024 Toyota GR Yaris | PH Review
Finally - a production-spec GR Yaris on road and track. Can it really be £11k better than the last one?
www.pistonheads.com
If the Oglier special edition did not have matt paint, I'd have put my name down for one of those and paid the 60k, but as the intention is to keep it I absolutely hate matt paint cars and our Yaris gets bird poo on often as it lives outside, so I requested a regular grey manual, feel very fortunate to have gotten one. A shame as the Oglier had some nice extras and will be mega scarce.
When I spoke to Toyota yesterday I was the 24th person to finalise their order, no idea what the volume truly is this year but the rumour I am hearing is for 2024:
200ish regular cars mixed between Auto/Manual
5pc of each special edition, but maybe as little as 2-3pc.
Toyota have done it the best way, Porsche could learn from this they only invited those to order who I believe still had their GR Yaris or had kept the car for a minimum amount of time, then they put the names in a hat and drew them out at random from all those who enter which was well over 1000 I believe.
Yes its silly money for a Yaris but the first car was a steal at 33k at 0% and was a true sensation, there is no better drivers road hot/hyper hatch, maybe the Civic is the only contender and a better track car IMHO but as a road car the original GR Yaris was great.
If MK2 is 10% better, then great as I think with inflation put the MK1 around 41k, so essence its like 4-5k extra for a MK2.
We shall drive ours and use it as a daily, whatever it is worth in a few years will be whatever, Toyota seem to be putting the regular MK2 cars at around 29-30k GFV in 2-3yr time.
EVO Magazine has a written review of the MK2 on road:
www.evo.co.uk
Summarises it is overall a more sharper and eager car with more feel. Looking forward to getting to drive one soon hopefully.
Toyota GR Yaris Gen 2 2024 review: rally-bred hot hatch is better than ever | Evo
Toyota’s heavily updated Gen 2 GR Yaris has finally arrived in the UK, and we’ve driven it on the road
www.evo.co.uk
Summarises it is overall a more sharper and eager car with more feel. Looking forward to getting to drive one soon hopefully.
I am one of the few that likes the dash. The photo's do not do it justice. I am sure it looks great from behind the wheel.
Although I do find it funny in this day and age that Toyota can pedal (excuse the pun) a 2024 50k car with the same pedal covers as a 1999 Lexus Is200. (My GR86 is the same)
In photos it looks like a cheap plastic tat.
In person it does not look so out of place, sat behind the wheel car on and it is a big improvement and a step up. If the MK1 GR had beautiful chronograph dials like an old Aston then yes this would be a downgrade, but the MK1 had a cheap small LCD along with some basic dials.
Though I am not always much for digital dash this MK2 in person and sat behind the wheel with the screens facing you is a big improvement, the second improvement is the view out is so vastly improved as this dash is lower and the rear view mirror is higher so you gain a lot of forward visibility out.
Car is undergoing its PDI but I was thrown the keys to go and fill it up myself with their fuel card, so of course I drove to local Shell to put Vpower in, first takeaways from a sedate 10 mile round trip:
Dash layout - superior and better view out, gives impression of more glass in the car, positive.
Seating Position - Much lower, now I feel like I am sat in the car, not on top of it, still quite high but that is the case of all hot hatches, but a big improvement, think its 25mm lower.
Ride quality - They must have changed the dampers, the ride has better compliance even though it is a touch firmer, the dampening gives better ride quality.
ECO/NORM/SPORT - Drove in ECO due to lack of fuel, horrible mega light steering, sport after fuelling up sorts that, but still why these modes Toyota.....
Gearbox - Feels more solid, more precise, original was good but this feels right on par with a Porsche 997 short shifter, feels more solid, but less notchy.
IMT - Hated rev match on gen1 car, the gen2 seems to have improved it a lot.
Pulling off - Gen1 struggled to pull of especially in 2nd gear, lack of torque, gen2 seems happy to pull away in 2nd from sub 5mph rolling speeds.
That is my quick take away from a short drive to get fuel, did not push the car just drove it gently through the gears as the tyres were all at 40psi, I collect next week. I also made a video of us unpeeling all the sticky plastics from the car.
In short as expected its the original car with lots of little improvements to make an already great car even better. Think of it as like a 997.1 to a 997.2 Porsche, engine updates, suspension tweaks, styling tweaks, updated infotainment etc. Still don't think it is worth 45k but you are definitely getting more for your money.
Dash layout - superior and better view out, gives impression of more glass in the car, positive.
Seating Position - Much lower, now I feel like I am sat in the car, not on top of it, still quite high but that is the case of all hot hatches, but a big improvement, think its 25mm lower.
Ride quality - They must have changed the dampers, the ride has better compliance even though it is a touch firmer, the dampening gives better ride quality.
ECO/NORM/SPORT - Drove in ECO due to lack of fuel, horrible mega light steering, sport after fuelling up sorts that, but still why these modes Toyota.....
Gearbox - Feels more solid, more precise, original was good but this feels right on par with a Porsche 997 short shifter, feels more solid, but less notchy.
IMT - Hated rev match on gen1 car, the gen2 seems to have improved it a lot.
Pulling off - Gen1 struggled to pull of especially in 2nd gear, lack of torque, gen2 seems happy to pull away in 2nd from sub 5mph rolling speeds.
That is my quick take away from a short drive to get fuel, did not push the car just drove it gently through the gears as the tyres were all at 40psi, I collect next week. I also made a video of us unpeeling all the sticky plastics from the car.
In short as expected its the original car with lots of little improvements to make an already great car even better. Think of it as like a 997.1 to a 997.2 Porsche, engine updates, suspension tweaks, styling tweaks, updated infotainment etc. Still don't think it is worth 45k but you are definitely getting more for your money.
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An early preview video of the MK2 I did last week:
Ended up taking it for a 10-15 minute drive, my first drive comments are in video something is different suspension wise, damper or spring wise, but also should note as it was pre PDI the tyre pressures also felt over inflated, but it was literally a drive to throw some fuel in and then let the guys get on with PDI.
Ended up taking it for a 10-15 minute drive, my first drive comments are in video something is different suspension wise, damper or spring wise, but also should note as it was pre PDI the tyre pressures also felt over inflated, but it was literally a drive to throw some fuel in and then let the guys get on with PDI.
It will still have the spring spacers in if it hasn't been through PDI yet
Potentially they may have done this part of the PDI then as the sales manager was scheduled to drive the car to fuel it up, but just gave myself his fuel card.
Yes the car had been at Derby for around 10-14 days before hand.
It then arrived at dealer and I went to view it a couple days later after they’d put it in showroom for me to video the unpeeling of it as such majority of PDI would have been done.
Makes sense then as dealer part of PDI shall be cosmetic stuff, fueling car up etc.
Macclesfield go extra mile as they actually put the car on Hunter and aligned it also, which is NOT part of a PDI check.
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Collection day!
Photos of it cleaned, my old school mate did it so snow foamed, brand new mitt and two buckets, also been on a Hunter too:
Paint is swirl free but I’ll still give it a machine polish using a very low cut pad and just final polish and I shall then apply a 5yr coating to lock it all in.
First proper drive coming up
Photos of it cleaned, my old school mate did it so snow foamed, brand new mitt and two buckets, also been on a Hunter too:
Paint is swirl free but I’ll still give it a machine polish using a very low cut pad and just final polish and I shall then apply a 5yr coating to lock it all in.
First proper drive coming up
Lovely car is that
Briony took a lot of flak after you joined the A500 and remained calm.. or was her left-jab to your mouth edited out haha
She had not spotted the BMW that was merging over albeit very slowly.
Hi there
So I shall be honest, I totally expected to have sold the new GR by now as I'd had a couple of attractive offers for the car which were overs, an offer of 48k and one of 50k to take the car from me with delivery mileage, which I was planning to accept.
If the car drove like the MK1 it would be gone, as though I thought the MK1 was a great car I did find it a little numb, people who know me will know I love steering feel in a car, which I struggle to get with new cars with EPAS racks, the Alpine suffers for pretty vague steering on the road, though if its dry and running cup 2 tyres it is better but still nothing like an older Porsche or Lotus which had hydraulic racks.
As such I was not expecting much if any difference in the steering on the MK2 Yaris, but I am in total shock, the steering is totally transformed (make sure steering is in sport), I've no idea what Toyota has done but all their tweaking of has added a very noticeable improvement in steering feel, its far better than the Alpine in this department, if I did not know it was an EPAS I'd say it was hydraulic its so good. I have a 718 GT4 on loan soon for the YouTube channel so going to be interesting to see how it compared also been an EPAS rack but the EPAS in my 991.1 GT3 and 981 GT4's I've driven was good, but the MK2 GR is better.
In short I've turned the offers down and shall be keeping the car, I am now on 500 miles, so 100 more to go until I can hit the rev limiter at full chat, but in short the MK2 is a better drivers car, there is no real negative and the dash is far superior for the person sat behind the steering wheel, admittedly for anyone not sat behind the wheel it just like a cheap plastic TV old style arcade game.
So if honest a little shocked, I expected a MK1 that felt a little better, but the way it steers, the way it changes direction and how much more settled and composed it is I have to say is a serious step on, so well done Toyota.
Once I am fully ran in I shall post a full review video of the car but I am impressed to the point that it shall be staying on driveway a little longer.
A couple more videos I made so far:
So I shall be honest, I totally expected to have sold the new GR by now as I'd had a couple of attractive offers for the car which were overs, an offer of 48k and one of 50k to take the car from me with delivery mileage, which I was planning to accept.
If the car drove like the MK1 it would be gone, as though I thought the MK1 was a great car I did find it a little numb, people who know me will know I love steering feel in a car, which I struggle to get with new cars with EPAS racks, the Alpine suffers for pretty vague steering on the road, though if its dry and running cup 2 tyres it is better but still nothing like an older Porsche or Lotus which had hydraulic racks.
As such I was not expecting much if any difference in the steering on the MK2 Yaris, but I am in total shock, the steering is totally transformed (make sure steering is in sport), I've no idea what Toyota has done but all their tweaking of has added a very noticeable improvement in steering feel, its far better than the Alpine in this department, if I did not know it was an EPAS I'd say it was hydraulic its so good. I have a 718 GT4 on loan soon for the YouTube channel so going to be interesting to see how it compared also been an EPAS rack but the EPAS in my 991.1 GT3 and 981 GT4's I've driven was good, but the MK2 GR is better.
In short I've turned the offers down and shall be keeping the car, I am now on 500 miles, so 100 more to go until I can hit the rev limiter at full chat, but in short the MK2 is a better drivers car, there is no real negative and the dash is far superior for the person sat behind the steering wheel, admittedly for anyone not sat behind the wheel it just like a cheap plastic TV old style arcade game.
So if honest a little shocked, I expected a MK1 that felt a little better, but the way it steers, the way it changes direction and how much more settled and composed it is I have to say is a serious step on, so well done Toyota.
Once I am fully ran in I shall post a full review video of the car but I am impressed to the point that it shall be staying on driveway a little longer.
A couple more videos I made so far:
The rumour is GR Yaris will cease in UK in 2026, Supra will probably get canned as well as the general rule from Toyota is there can only be three GR models per region and right now the UK has GR86, GR-Four Yaris and GR Supra.
The rumoured plan is there is a GR Celica incoming which the UK shall get and the UK will get the GR Corolla around 2026/27 which essentially is the GR Yaris in a bigger body, more weight but running 300PS with same drivetrain.