Watch Out For The GR Yaris

UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd, the official distributor of Toyota vehicles in Malaysia, has introduced the limited units fully-imported GR Yaris Performance Pack Edition with a price tag of RM 299,000.

While some might think it's insane to price a Yaris at RM 300k, but this is no ordinary Yaris, let me quickly explain why it is so special.

This GR Yaris was designed to be the contender for the 2021 World Rally Championship title, in other words a street-legal rally car that you can own.

Toyota only built a total of 25,000 of these GR Yaris worldwide and less than 200 units are available in Malaysia. The production will only begin in January next year, and the cars are expected to arrive in February.

We at Caricarz.com certainly find this GR Yaris special, from the outlook of this performance-built model, to the technologies available onboard.

First of all, this GR Yaris not only has two doors and look sportier than the ordinary Yaris, it is equipped with the 18-inch alloy wheels, GR badges, carbon fibre roof, large wheel arches and even the roofline also sits 91 mm lower than the standard Yaris.

The dimensional differences between the GR Yaris and the standard Yaris is 55 mm longer at 3,995 mm, 60 mm wider at 1,805 mm and 45 mm lower at 1,455 mm.

Although the engine might not look big like a 3-litre engine, it is still the most powerful three-cylinder production engine in the world. The GR Yaris powered by the 1.6-litre inline three-cylinder, double overhead cam turbocharged engine, that is mated to a six-speed intelligent-manual transmission.

It pumps out 268 hp at 6,500 rpm and 370 Nm of torque between 3,000 and 4,600 rpm. According to UMW Toyota, the 1,280 kg GR Yaris is able to complete the century sprint in just 5.5 seconds and has a top speed of 230 kph.

On top of that, this GR Yaris sits on a different platform. The front shares the GA-B platform similar to Yaris, while the rest of the it uses the CH-R and the Corolla Altis’ GA-C platform. It also coupled with the very complex GR-Four all-wheel drive system. The system uses a multi-plate clutch to distribute the power between the front and rear axle. It is able to manage the power split between the front and rear wheels.

Its Normal drive mode activates the 60/40 front-to-rear power split, and it can change to 50/50 in Track mode, as well as 30/70 in Sport mode. There’s also the Torsen-type limited slip differential at the front and rear as standard.

We shall not bore you with the long list of specifications available on board, but it is good to note that some of the features include the leather upholstery, aluminum sports pedals, premium sport seats, analogue instrument cluster with 4.2-inch TFT colour multi-information display, head-up display, 7-inch head unit, 6 SRS airbags and most importantly the Toyota Safety Sense system.

There are three colour options available – Platinum White Pearl, Emotional Red and Previous Black. There is an additional charge of RM 800 for the Platinum White Pearl and Emotional Red.

All GR Yaris is covered by a five-year unlimited mileage warranty (with terms and conditions apply), where the warranty starts from the date of first registration. UMW Toyota Motor is offering an Early Bird Package that buyers of the GR Yaris will receive an exclusive helmet bag, a GR Yaris scale model and undergo a GR Yaris Driving Experience in 2021. This combined package is worth RM 5,000.

The GR Yaris will be sold at five Toyota GR Garage nationwide. They are Wing Hin Automobile in Balakong, Selangor, PCM Klang Motor in Jalan Kepayang, Klang, Selangor, Fokus Tetap in Seksyen U13, Shah Alam, Selangor, Telagamas Motor in Kulim, Kedah and Mutiara Motorsports located at Plentong, Johor.