Toyota GR Yaris review – design
Flawed packaging is derived from its homologation nature, but key touchpoints have been extremely well thought out
The GR Yaris’s bespoke nature is exemplified by its exterior design, as despite sharing lighting and door mirrors with the standard Yaris, it looks as specialised on the road as any motorsport derived GT3 or McLaren special. Beyond just lacking rear doors, the GR Yaris’s key difference to its more pedestrian cousin is the lowered roofline and shorn rear end, giving the GR some brilliant angles and far more aggression.
This is played on by an even wider set of arches front and rear, with a front end that looks like it’s been taken straight out of a JDM tuner’s styling catalogue. Sure, there are some odd angles and weird lines, but the effect looks as loco as the driving experience, and all without additional wings and aero devices that we’re sure will eventually appear in future iterations.
The overriding feeling with the GR Yaris is that it’s something really quite special. A fantastic narrow-minded focus on performance and driver engagement permeates every bit of the GR, and its design does nothing to erode that.
