Small Toyota GR Yaris commands big price in UK

British buyers will be charged a punchy £29,995 ($A59,000) for the base Toyota GR Yaris and £33,495 ($A66,000) for the Circuit Pack-equipped version when deliveries begin in November, fuelling fears of similarly high pricing in Australia.

Back in December, when carsales first drove a prototype of all-wheel drive 190kW GR Yaris, we suggested that instead of being a direct showroom rival for the Fiesta ST or Volkswagen Polo GTI, the pint-size rally refugee could be positioned between the Golf GTI and Golf R. And now it seems those rumours could be true.

At least for a large hunk of cash you will get a small hot hatch that was created to homologate a real World Rally Championship car and developed by none other than rally royalty, Tommi Makinen.

The Toyota GR Yaris also doesn't share a single body panel in common with the stock Yaris and gets a turbocharged 1.6-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that has been designed from scratch by the Japanese car-maker's Gazoo Racing motorsport and fast-car division.

It does make some sense that the GR Yaris will come with an elevated price tag since the Toyota hot hatch should hit 100km/h in less than 5.5 seconds, making it significantly quicker than its similarly-sized opposition.

In the UK, Toyota will offer two variants: one with twin mechanical limited-slip differentials for those who enjoy track driving, and one without.

For the Australian market, we'll only be offered the standard base model that also misses out on stickier Michelin tyres.

Toyota’s hottest ever Yaris will arrive in Australian showrooms later this year. The GR will crown an all-new Yaris city-car line-up that will launch in the first half of 2020.

Toyota Australia is expected to announce pricing for the new GR Yaris in the coming months.