Toyota GR Yaris 2025 Review

As with most comprehensive mid-life updates, the 2025 Toyota GR Yaris is dearer than its predecessor, now starting from $55,490 plus on-road costs for the base GT manual and stretching up to $62,990 for the GTS automatic.

Nestled between the two bookends are the $57,990 GT automatic and $60,490 GTS manual.

For those out of the loop, the updated GR Yaris range has been split into two new camps, GT and GTS, replacing the old eponymous GR Yaris and Rallye nameplates to be more in line with the GR 86, Supra and Corolla line-ups.

All four variants share the same 221kW/400Nm turbocharged 1.6-litre three-cylinder petrol engine – up from 200kW/370Nm – and will sprint to 100km/h in a claimed 5.1 seconds on the way to a top speed of 230km/h.

The six-speed manual and new eight-speed automatic transmissions are just as fast as each other in the right hands, but the latter comes with a few extra convenience features not applicable to the former – namely parking support brake (low-speed AEB) with object and vehicle detection and full-speed functionality for the adaptive cruise control.

As for the two different grades, the GT’s equipment list is headlined by a carbon-fibre roof, 18-inch Enkei alloy wheels, LED exterior lighting, heated leather and suede sport seats, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, auto-dimming rearview mirror, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, and an 8.0-inch infotainment screen housing sat-nav and smartphone mirroring, playing through an eight-speaker JBL sound system.

The GTS builds on this with forged 18-inch BBS wheels, red interior stitching and red brake calipers, Torsen limited-slip differentials front and rear (versus the GT’s rear), Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber (in place of Dunlop Sport Maxx for the GT), ‘high-performance’ suspension, a sub-radiator and intercooler spray.

We spent the bulk of our time with the 2025 Toyota GR Yaris behind the wheel of the base GT manual and the thing that’s immediately apparent is just how phenomenally strong that upgraded engine is.

Outputs of 221kW and 400Nm in a car not much bigger than a shoe and only weighing 1280kg soaking wet was always going to be sprightly, but factor in the direct drive of the six-speed manual transmission and you’re presented with one of the fastest point-to-point vehicles on the market, let alone this side of $100,000.

On our test route’s twisting alpine roads the GR Yaris could be left almost exclusively in third gear and taken from 30km/h right the way to triple digits with ease, pulling hard all the way across the rev range as it launched out of hairpins and toward the next.

It sounds good in the process too, with special mention going to the charismatic-for-stock blow-off valve.

Ride comfort from the passive suspension is also excellent for a performance car of this calibre and doesn’t flirt with brittleness anywhere near as much as the bigger, more expensive (and slower) GR Corolla, though there is a caveat to that compliance we’ll address below.

Toyota claims to have lowered the Yaris’ driver’s seat by 25mm for a more involving driving position, an impression accentuated by the redesigned and reoriented dash. There aren’t any major complaints from us on that front.

Forget about the virtually useless (if you’re anywhere near six feet tall) rear seats and you’ll be impressed with the amount of room on offer within the cockpit for a vehicle of this size.

Steering is direct and the brakes are strong, with the whole package tied neatly together by the accuracy of the manual’s shift action and the effectiveness of the rev-matching system, which is one of the better ones we’ve sampled recently.

The revised all-wheel-drive system and its trio of modes, however, is a little less cut and dry. Toyota has swapped out the old Sport (30:70) and Track (50:50) torque splits for Gravel (53:47) and a new variable Track setting that sends anywhere between 40 and 70 per cent of torque to the rear axle, depending on the situation.

The Normal 60:40 split has fittingly been left alone.

Now on one side of the coin these changes make the GR Yaris more intuitive, versatile and help it tap into its rich WRC heritage, but the other side sees keen drivers denied a degree of autonomy some will inevitably lament.

That said, the variability of the Track mode should make for crisper lap times and more stability, seeing as it’s always adjusting on-the-fly.

No vehicle is ever truly perfect, and even the mighty 2025 Toyota GR Yaris has a few foibles.

The first of which is the way its weight transfers around the centre of gravity during spirited road driving, particularly over camber changes on corner entry and braking zones.

The GR Yaris GT in particular dives under brakes and squats under power. This is fine – it adds to the experience – but it can then feel unsettled and tail-happy pitching into corners.

We’re all for a lively chassis but having recently spent a lot of time in a Hyundai i20 N, which is as planted as your typical roadside gum, the base GR Yaris caught us a little off guard with just how animated it is when upping the pace – a trait subtly enhanced by its stiffened body shell but untouched suspension and respectable (but not great) Dunlop tyres.

The logical solution then would be to plonk for the more capable GTS with its firmer suspension and stickier Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber – and front LSD – but doing so adds $5000 to an already up-there asking price.

All the extra hardware made the hot Yaris more stable and predictable on the track, but its new variable Track setting meant it was harder to capitalise on and exploit its natural rotation without being totally ham-fisted, as we found in our three short and supervised laps of Winton Raceway in the automatic.

In an ideal world we’d love to see the GTS’ ‘high-performance’ suspension made available on the GT, even optionally, for those without the need, desire or budget for a second limited-slip diff, super sticky tyres, forged wheels, sub-radiator or intercooler spray.

Most of the other gripes are carried over from the previous version and revolve around the packaging: the boot is tiny, there’s no spare wheel of any sort and the rear seats are basically useless. Best then to think of the GR Yaris as more of a roomy coupe than outright hot hatch.

If you’re in the market for a genuine driver’s car and rarely/never have more than one passenger on the go then yes, buy a 2025 Toyota GR Yaris.

It’s blisteringly fast and entertaining on a back road and hugely capable on the track with all the electronic nannies turned off. So much so, that to this author at least, it’s the pick of the current Gazoo Racing portfolio and renders the dearer GR Corolla almost redundant (unless you need the Corolla’s roomier rear seats).

Choosing which GR Yaris to recommend is a little trickier, but we can immediately tell you it has to be one of the manuals. The new eight-speed automatic is a smooth operator and quite accomplished on the performance front, but it doesn’t match the angry engine or rally-inspired chassis quite like the six-speed manual does.

The choice then between GT and GTS really comes down to two burning questions: how often will you drive it flat-out and what’s your budget?

If you’re a sucker for a regular track day or rally sprint then the GTS is absolutely the way, but those who simply enjoy the odd backroad blast will be more happy with the GT, while saving themselves $5000 that could go towards some elite rubber and tasty chassis mods.

2025 Toyota GR Yaris GT at a glance:
Price: $55,490 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 221kW/400Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 8.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 186g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Unrated

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