Gazoo Racing: Toyota rediscovers their fun side

By Martin Pretorius 

Many, many years have passed since Toyota last made a hot hatch, and it will be many years before they do so again. But this limited-build Yaris amply demonstrates that they still have it in them to turn an ordinary baby hatchback into a barrel of laughs – and that expertise will eventually spill over to their series-production cars as well...

 The rev-counter needle is rapidly heading towards its 7000 r/min red line, there’s a fruity blare emanating from the exhaust pipe, and I’m gathering speed at a really rapid rate. This isn’t an unusual experience, mind you – there are plenty of cars which will do this when you stand on the go-faster pedal. The unusual bit is that I’m getting these sensations in a Toyota Yaris.

How did we get to this point? Well, Toyota finally realized that there’s a significant chunk of potential buyers who want cars with more than just bland reliability. These are the buyers who have, for more than a decade, had to turn elsewhere in their search for driving fun, as Toyota just didn’t seem interested in giving those buyers what they craved. And that’s rather tragic, really, as Toyota has an impressive back catalogue of fun-to-drive, high-performance cars, yet they sacrificed all of that on the altar of hybrid efficiency.

Enter Gazoo

Don’t think that abandoning the performance car market meant that Toyota themselves stopped having fun, though. Even if enthusiasts could no longer buy a rally-bred Celica or anything with TRD or RSi badges, Toyota’s motorsports endeavors continued, and with considerable success at that.

The company’s racing efforts were consolidated under the Toyota Gazoo Racing banner in 2016, and they’ve seen great results in endurance racing (winning the 2018 Le Mans 24-hour race), while their rally efforts got them a third place in the 2017 World Rally Manufacturer’s Championship (and currently leads in the 2018 season). Let’s not forget their epic efforts at Dakar either, where there’s been at least one Hilux on the podium every year since 2012.

It was inevitable that some of that sporting spirit would eventually begin to flow back to their road cars, especially since Akio Toyoda (grandson of the company’s founder and noted petrolhead) took over the reins as chairman in 2009. He started steering the company back towards making their cars more engaging to drive, and returned some focus to performance as well.

While the GT-86 (which was the first product of this new direction) doesn’t exactly set pulses racing with its sheer speed, its heart is in the right place, and for the right kind of buyer, it is very entertaining to drive. Meanwhile, there’s a new Supra on the way, which promises to address the 86’s performance shortcomings, albeit in a different market segment. And then there’s this car, the Yaris GRMN: proof that you can indeed teach an old dog new tricks, and have it then perform those tricks better than you’d ever have imagined possible.

GRMN: a strange name for a noble effort

Let’s get that name out of the way first. You’re supposed to pronounce each letter separately, else it may be mistaken for a satellite navigation unit. Those four letters stand for Gazoo Racing, Masters of Nürburgring. Few car names can be as quintessentially Japanese as this, but it does at least carry some significance, purely based on its links to Toyota’s recent motorsports efforts.

In fact, the “GR” tag will soon be applied to a range of performance- and cosmetic packages under development for Toyota’s main model ranges, but the “MN” bit will only be applied to the highest-performing range-toppers. This Yaris is the first to bear the GRMN badge, with the upcoming Supra’s flagship variant being the next in line to receive it.

Yaris GRMN: It exists, but you can’t have one

Releasing the first GRMN model as a small hot hatch is a bold move, but it’s one that’s sure to get a lot of attention. It’s a real pity that only 400 Yaris-badged examples were made, with another 200 destined for the Japanese market with the Vitz name, as wider availability would definitely have set the cat among the pigeons in the hot hatch market.

As it stands, only 3 units were allocated to South Africa, and all of them are already spoken for. It’s safe to assume that pricing played a large part in keeping the Yaris GRMN out of the hands of South African fans, as educated guesstimates place its likely pricetag somewhere between R500 000 and R600 000. Quite simply, that price would have killed its chances in our market, even if it were available in larger volumes. That said, it’s still sad that the privilege of owning one of these little monsters has been denied to many die-hard (and well-moneyed) fans, because it’s an absolute riot to drive.

Super charger

At the heart of this little beast is a supercharged 1.8-litre engine, sending 156 kW and 248 Nm to the front wheels through a 6-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential. That’s quite a lot of power for a little car with a kerb weight around the 1000 kg mark, and it inevitably leads to rousing straight-line speed. Quoted performance figures include a 0 – 100 km/h sprint in 6 seconds flat and a top speed of 230 km/h, and it definitely feels every bit as quick on the road as well.

More than just the absolute power output, the way that power is delivered is also a revelation. Using a supercharger leads to immediate throttle response, absolutely no boost lag, and a linear power delivery. In fact, its character is closer to that of an old Conquest RSi than it is to anything else in its size class. There’s no sudden surge of torque, such as you’d find in a modern turbo, and there’s no drop-off in power as you chase the red line either. Instead, the torque swells gradually into the mid-range, followed by a sustained crescendo of power at the top end.

In short, the higher you rev it, it harder it goes. The limiter cuts the fun at the 7000 r/min mark, and it needs you to actually go there to get the best from the engine. In fact, it encourages you to wring its neck, and rewards you with a howling engine note and a naughty crackle from the exhaust when you do. Very nice indeed.

The gearbox deserves an honorable mention as well, with a pleasingly direct shift quality, quick synchromesh, and well-chosen ratios.

The supporting act is very good as well

This power would have gone to waste if the rest of the car wasn’t up to the challenge of containing the speed, so everything else also received intensive attention. The springs and dampers are beefed up, 4-pot brake calipers clamp the grooved brake rotors in front, and a set of 205/45 Bridgestone tyres wrapped around 17-inch wheels keeps it all connected to the tarmac.

Predictably, the handling is absolutely spot-on for this kind of car. The steering rack has quick gearing for lightning-fast responses, and manages to convey a surprising amount of road feel in spite of its electric power assistance. Meanwhile, body lean in corners is well-controlled, there’s a huge amount of mechanical road grip (thanks to those grippy Bridgestones), and there’s almost no evidence of torque steer.

It’s also delightfully simple and analog, because the driver doesn’t have to contend with a plethora of different drive modes and a fog of electronic cotton wool. Adaptive dampers are notable by their absence, and neither the steering- nor throttle response can be modified electronically. Literally the only adjustment available is turning the stability control off. This doesn’t matter, however, as the car’s default configuration is developed to perfection.

Taking to the Dezzi Raceway in KZN quickly proved that the GRMN is an excellent track toy, with neither under- nor oversteer much in evidence, and predictable responses on the far side of very high grip limits. The brakes proved well up to the task as well, and remained fade- and grumble-free even after numerous hot laps. It’s even quite comfortable and composed on the road, as the trip from Durban to the track and back again proved.

Goodness inside and out

There’s a lovely set of deep bucket seats with tombstone-style backrests to keep both driver and front passenger firmly in place during hard cornering, and the sporty steering wheel has a leather rim. Seats and steering wheel all have red detailing for an extra dash of sportiness. Being an older-generation platform, this Yaris does lag in certain areas, such as the archaic infotainment system, but that’s not what this car is about anyway.

It’s all very well screwed together, and the overall impression of quality belies the fact that this is essentially a hand-built car. Most importantly, there’s no impression of style taking precedence over usability. The interior ambience laudably reflects the fact this is really a driver’s car, and that the engineers received priority over the stylists.

Exterior styling is rather more extroverted, with red-and-black stickers applied all over the car. To be honest, it looks a bit contrived, but seeing as the Yaris body isn’t exactly the sportiest thing out there, it’s understandable that the designers tried to liven it up a little. The functional tailgate spoiler is a bit more successful, as are the strategic red pin-striping, the centrally-mounted exhaust outlet, and black OZ alloy wheels.

Heartache and disappointment

After spending two days with the little Yaris GRMN, I was profoundly sad to leave it behind. It’s an absolute riot to drive, purely due to the superb suspension and brilliant drivetrain, but knowing that I’ll most likely never again have opportunity to drive one filled me with a mixture of disappointment, anger, and loss.

Imagine being the parent of an outstandingly average child – a youngster who cruises through life, minding their own business and just being generally nondescript. But then that child does something with jaw-dropping excellence, or maybe even brilliance. That’s the moment when you realize that this child actually has a spark of genius hidden deep inside, but was just too lazy or disinterested to show it before. That child is Toyota: they clearly have the people and expertise to build exquisite driver’s cars, but they simply haven’t bothered to do so for the past decade or so.

Then there’s the matter of public perception. Judging by the amount of social media interest the Yaris GRMN received since the news of its existence first broke cover, the reaction from fans was a bit of a double-edged sword. While everybody was excited to finally see a hot Toyota again, they were equally upset about the fact that it’s taken so long to arrive, and especially angry because Toyota decided to build and show them a car which almost nobody would be able to buy.

However, the Yaris GRMN is an encouraging sign of a new focus on excitement and driving pleasure. Let’s see what the prodigal but disinterested child that is Toyota does in the future. There might just be a bright future ahead of it.