The lower seat improves the driving position so that you feel more in the car than on it and your forward visibility is massively enhanced. I’m slightly sorry to see the old analogue dials go, but the digital instruments focus on the important things – speed, gear position, revs – and overall the dashboard is clear.
Most importantly, the driving experience hasn’t been dimmed at all. The stronger front springs and anti-roll bar could have reduced turn-in enthusiasm, and maybe they have taken a little edginess from initial turn-in, but it still feels wildly agile. The new transmission calibration still lets it straighten the line on corner exit. But the overwhelming experience remains. This is a car that turns exceptionally willingly, allows a bit of roll to lean against, generates fantastical grip and then pings itself out of a corner with its four wheels shuffling to maximise every bit of traction.
I prefer the manual, but the auto is good. It shifts intelligently in D, but take control yourself and shifts are quick and smooth enough, and if the 20kg changes the handling, I couldn’t feel it. Brake feel is terrific with either transmission and the steering has a great weight build-up and road feel. This is the five-star car we know and, on this evidence, nothing but enhanced.
Production will begin in April and cars will start arriving in June. If you have a current GR Yaris on order, there are some months left to build it and they will sell it to you, but you could opt to delay and take an ‘Evo’. Why wouldn’t you? The first one is still great and Toyota has not only been surprised by the number of customers for the GR but also by their relative wealth. It’s not bought like, say, a Ford Fiesta ST. A lot of customers have several expensive cars but use the GR Yaris as their daily.
This is a costly car to develop and build, and Toyota is now more confident about its future. Pricing won’t be released until March, but I wonder, given all that, whether it will take a rise. I would love to be wrong and hear that the engineers squeezed development costs past the accountants by saying they spent £500,000 on pencils. But either way, one of the great current performance cars just got better.