Toyota Yaris GRMN preview

Here's the Carzone.ie preview to the 2018 Toyota Yaris GRMN.

What's this?

It has been a long time since Toyota has had a hot hatch in its line-up, but now that it's competing at the top level in the World Rally Championship it's deemed time to return to the segment. And it makes sense for the new model to be based on that used in the WRC, the usually modest Yaris supermini. Toyota revealed an updated Yaris at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show and the GRMN variant alongside. GRMN stands for Gazoo Racing Masters of Nürburgring, incidentally - Gazoo runs the motorsport division of the Japanese company.

What will its rivals be?

The Yaris GRMN's biggest rival will undoubtedly be the equally new Ford Fiesta ST, which arrives on the market at about the same time and with about the same level of performance - and it replaces a car that is widely considered to be one of the finest small hot hatches ever made. Other competitors to consider are the MINI Cooper S, SEAT Ibiza Cupra, Peugeot 208 GTi, Opel Corsa OPC and Volkswagen Polo GTI (not currently on sale in Ireland).

Any tech info?

The biggest news here is the adoption of supercharging in a class dominated by turbochargers. The Yaris GRMN will be powered by a new 1.8-litre petrol engine and, though full details are still secret, we are told that it will have about 210hp. Toyota also bullishly claims that the GRMN will be the fastest car in its class from 0-100km/h. A six-speed manual gearbox will be standard and it will send its power to the front wheels only via a Torsen limited slip differential. The body has been stiffened up, the springs are lower, the dampers are new and there are bigger brakes promised as well.

What will the range be like?

We're not expecting a wide amount of choice for the Yaris GRMN. It will be available in the three-door body style only with the mechanical package outlined above. It will be possible, however, to specify the eye-catching white, red and black colour scheme adorning the show car (and inspired by the Yaris WRC racer), while the interior will feature sports seats and a leather trimmed steering wheel from the Toyota GT86 coupe.

Expectations?

We really don't know what to expect, as it's been so long since Toyota has made a hot hatch. The GT86 is brilliant to drive, so hopefully the development team can endow the Yaris with some of that while giving the GRMN a unique supercharged personality. One thing is certain: we can't wait to try it out for ourselves.

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