Fresh Toyota GR Yaris here in early 2025

The heavily updated 2025 Toyota GR Yaris has been granted Australia Design Rule certification and will arrive Down Under in early 2025.

Only the manual version has been homologated for this market so far, but Toyota Australia has confirmed to carsales that the eight-speed automatic version of the pint-size hot hatch will be introduced here alongside the three-pedal variant after production for our market starts “late this year”.

For any hot hatch fans living under a rock, the updated GR Yaris debuted in January at the Tokyo Auto Salon sporting a new look, reworked interior, new transmission option and heaps more power and torque.

Outputs from the 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine are up from 200kW/370Nm to 221kW/400Nm, which when combined with the new automatic transmission should see the GR Yaris’ 0-100km/h time comfortably dip below the five-second mark.

The ADR data shows the manual version will weigh in at 1275kg (tare) and that there’ll be something known as the ‘GR High Performance’ suspension tune alongside the ‘GR Standard’ set-up.

The name suggests there could be an updated Rallye or new Morizo edition on the way, however, it’s also entirely plausible the ‘high performance’ tune will apply to the inevitably heavier automatic version(s), especially given the expected performance gains associated with the two-pedal arrangement.

Further aiding the performance cause is the inclusion of a new ‘Circuit’ drive mode that turns everything up to 11 and adds anti-lag to the equation – a direct result of the GR Yaris’ numerous motorsport endeavours, undisputably crowned by its recent World Rally Championship domination.

Other more subtle upgrades include a lower seating position, more damper bolts, more spot welds (stiffer body) and a decent technology upgrade headlined by the addition of the GR Corolla’s 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.

The updated 2025 Toyota GR Yaris will once again ride on 18-inch alloy wheels and be delivered with 225/40-profile performance rubber.

Expect the new model to command a hefty but perhaps justified price increase over its predecessor, which starts from $51,390 plus on-road costs in standard trim and $56,390 in Rallye guise.

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