Inside, you get sports seats with big bolsters and white stitching. Some of the cabin’s brightwork has been darkened for a moodier ambience—and as a finishing touch—you hang onto the teeny steering wheel from a Toyota 86 as you scythe through corners.
Perhaps this new niche makes more sense than it first appears. Hybrids are supposed to be driven as efficiently as possible to keep revs in check and fuel appetite low. In other words, braking less and conserving momentum is the key. Can you see where this is going?
So what, the GR Sport only does 174kph and takes a galloping 11.8 seconds to hit 100kph? Bolting gummy tires and sorted suspension to a Yaris should enable cornering on the door handles without having to bleed away precious speed on the brakes. Toyota, you could be onto something here…
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.