The Toyota GR Yaris is one hot hatch that surprised many. After all, Toyota isn’t exactly the first brand in mind when someone says ‘hot hatch’. Nonetheless, we’re glad Toyota made it, and it’s not just because of World Rally Championship homologation rules.
Making its debut right before the world locked down in 2020, the current GR Yaris is now three years old. For most Japanese cars, that makes it ripe for a bit of an update. Besides, its bigger brother, the GR Corolla, received minor tweaks recently. So, what does Toyota have in store for the pocket rocket?
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There are no confirmed reports yet, if that’s what you want to know. However, Japanese publication Best Car Web says it has the scoop on the updated Toyota GR Yaris.
One claim is that the hot hatch will be available with an automatic transmission. Before you gasp, it’s worth pointing out that Toyota had actually been developing one for the GR Yaris for quite some time already. Back in March, Toyota said that it had gone as far as fitting automatic transmissions to the GR Yaris (and GR Corolla, even) and shaking them down in durability tests. Best Car Web added that the automatic version of the rally-ready hatch could use an eight-speed unit with paddle shifters.
But the bigger news here is the possible engine upgrade. Per the report from Japan, the updated GR Yaris is expected to pack more power under the hood from its 1.6-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder mill. It is said that we could expect somewhere in the region of 300hp (more or less), and around 370Nm of torque. Should that be the case, we might be looking at a power gain of 43hp and a torque increase of 10Nm.
Other things to expect? Well, it’s likely that there might be a few exterior changes here and there, along with a couple of aero tweaks. Remember, nothing is official just yet, so it’s a waiting game for now to see if reports from Japan are, indeed, true.
