Update: Toyota told CarScoops that they will present the new B-SUV on April 23. “Indeed we will unveil this vehicle on 23rd April, in a digital way”, said a spokesperson.
The past few months have been full of lust and clamoring for a U.S. version of the Toyota GR Yaris that debuted at this year's Tokyo Auto Salon for markets including Japan and Europe. Platform differences between our Yaris and the overseas model prevent all the possibilities here. However, one of Toyota's U.S. execs told Car and Driver in February that the automaker had "an answer" for our cravings, without specifying a model. C/D guessed the exec meant a hot Corolla, while other outlets put the C-HR up for candidacy. A new report in C/D says the Corolla is the one to get the hot hatch makeover, arriving here by 2022, the same year as the Corolla-based crossover leaked in a dealer presentation. Working with the same 1.6-liter turbocharged three-cylinder as in the GR Yaris, the Corolla will make 257 horsepower and well over 200 pound-feet of torque. The same engine is tuned to 268 hp and 273 pound-feet of torque for the Japanese GR Yaris, and 257 hp with 266 lb-ft in Europe.
Although we're already talking about a much peppier Corolla thanks to the engine swap alone, we should expect a GR Corolla could be a noticeably less aggressive animal than the GR Yaris. C/D doesn't believe the latter car's World-Rally-Championship-inspired all-wheel drive will make it here, a feature that helps the supermini get from zero to 62 miles per hour in 5.5 seconds, and the GR Yaris can be optioned with limited slip differentials on front and rear axles. That Corolla must make do sending its power to the front axle. Furthermore, the GR Yaris two-door weighs 2,822 pounds, a figure achieved with the help of aluminum hood, doors, and hatchback, plus a carbon fiber roof. The max curb weight for the standard four-door Yaris in the UK is 2,513 pounds. Our Corolla XSE, in a segment larger than the Yaris, weighs 3,060 pounds.
Toyota will be expanding its small car portfolio with the addition of two models. One of them will be the Yaris Cross (name unconfirmed) and the other will be the Yaris-based small SUV.
After launching it in Europe at the beginning of the month, Toyota has now started accepting online reservations of the GR Yaris.
The Toyota GR Yaris is incredibly awesome. It's a specially designed version of the global Yaris with all-wheel drive, a whopping 257 horsepower from just a 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine, and it will be the basis for the upcoming rally car. While exciting, it also left us wondering how expensive it might be, since so much of it isn't shared with other models. Now we have pricing, and it starts at at 29,995 pounds in the U.K., and 33,200 Euros in Germany. Adding front and rear limited-slip differentials bumps the U.K. price to 33,495 pounds (German option pricing wasn't announced). Regardless, at current exchange rates that comes to about $37,000 to $38,000 for the base model and $43,355 for the high-performance variant.
Now that does sound pricey for such a tiny car, even with its wicked powertrain, but direct currency conversions don't tell the whole story. When compared to U.K. and European prices of other hot hatchbacks, it's actually a bit of a bargain. In fact, in the U.K. the 2020 VW GTI, only available with a dual-clutch transmission and performance package for this last year of the current model, starts at around 33,000 pounds. The Honda Civic Type R starts about 32,000 pounds. Only the Hyundai i30 N, comparable to our Veloster N, is priced under 26,000 pounds, but to get the high-output one with limited-slip differential you'll need about 29,000 pounds. In Germany, the gulf is even larger between the Yaris and the Civic Type R and i30 N, which start at 38,000 Euros and 35,000 Euros respectively.
Toyota has more Yaris-based goodness planned for Europe, not the U.S. The Japanese automaker teased its coming B-segment crossover that will start with the Yaris' GA-B platform and add a hair of extra length plus more ride height. The image of the rear corner shows a narrow taillight in bodywork with overtones of the larger, C-segment C-HR crossover. Planned for debut at next month's Geneva Motor Show, all the carmaker would give away with the teaser was that that the new offering "combines elevated ground clearance with intelligent all-wheel drive" and will feature "Toyota's latest hybrid technology." Toyota's European EVP Matt Harrison has previously said, however, that the car isn't "just a Yaris with body cladding and raised suspension."
The C-HR connection isn't an accident. In a previous interview with Auto Express, Harrison explained that the C-HR has been a success in terms of gaining conquest buyers. The C-HR's market is growing in Europe as well as splintering, at the same time the supermini hatch segment that the Yaris lives in "is also growing, pulling customers down from the C-segment." A Yaris-based crossover would give Toyota a challenger for the Ford Puma and Nissan Juke, and give shoppers a less expensive option than the C-HR.
The thrilling Toyota GR Yaris won't be sold in North America but according to Car and Driver, the Japanese marque is cooking up something special for those missing out on the hot hatch.
As of this year, Toyota will have yet another small SUV in its lineup which will slot under the C-HR and will share underpinnings with the new Yaris.
Toyota is thought to be readying a GR-badged performance version of the Corolla that could hit the market in 2023.
Toyota has officially announced plans to build another small SUV, which will be based on the same platform as the fourth generation Yaris.
The Toyota GR Yaris, a Gazoo Racing homologation special, just debuted in January, 2020 at the Tokyo Auto Salon, but it has already drawn a rabid following. It's clearly one of the most important Toyotas in recent memory, but it's highly unlikely it'll be sold in the North American market. A petition started in Canada, noticed by Motor1, wants Toyota to change that. The excitement around this car is undeniable. After Toyota won the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship, it began preparing to make sure it wasn't a one-and-done situation. Developed with Gazoo Racing and Tommi Mäkinen Racing, the GR Yaris is essentially a new car, not a retuned old Yaris, with a new chassis, a lightweight body, and a new all-wheel-drive system. It also has 1.6-liter three-cylinder that makes an unheard of 268 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque. There's so much hype around this car, in fact, that Road & Track called it a more exciting release than the 2020 Toyota GR Supra, and they have a point. "Toyota has taken steps to revitalize their brand with the re-introduction of the new Supra," the petition states. "The problem is, the car is priced out of reach for a lot of the general population, and not the best choice as a year-round vehicle in areas that have snow on the roads 5 months a year." If your feelings align with Altman and the rest of the hopeful Toyota and rally fans in North America, check out the petition and consider signing. At the time of this writing, 541 people have signed, but it's only just begun. The initial goal is 1,000, a number that will surely be hit.
Toyota have really outdone themselves with the new GR Yaris, a subcompact hot hatch with state-of-the-art engineering and power levels that broke cover at the 2019 Tokyo Auto Salon.
It's no secret that Toyota is working on a new small SUV model that will sit below the existing C-HR and use the same GA-B underpinnings with the new Yaris.