“The First Truly Great Car of the Decade:” New Toyota GR Yaris Triumphs Again as Autocar’s Best Hot Hatch of 2020

Another week and another top honour for the new Toyota GR Yaris, which has seen off all competition to take top spot in Autocar magazine’s annual test to find Britain’s Best Affordable Driver’s Car.

Not only did the new pure rally-bred machine see off all its market rivals, it went on to outperform the latest exotic supercars from Lamborghini, Porsche and Aston Martin to claim third place in the overall Best Driver’s Car rankings, just five points off taking top spot.

Given the results, it’s not surprising that Autocar declares GR Yaris to be “the first truly great car of the decade.” The achievement follows up the Hot Hatch of the Year title the Toyota earned from Car magazine just last week.

In the affordable driver’s car test programme, the GR Yaris Circuit Pack was ranked first by five out of the six road test team judges, with the sixth placing it second to seal an emphatic win.

In appraising the car’s special qualities, Autocar explains how the car revealed “hidden depths of driver appeal, the likes of which haven’t been seen in a hot hatchback in a generation.” Among the judges, Andrew Frankel declares the GR Yaris to be “the most dynamically capable car ever offered for sale at this kind of money.”

The achievement is a reward for the development team behind GR Yaris, including Toyota Gazoo Racing, its World Rally Championship partner Tommi Mäkinen Racing and a test team line-up of top WRC drivers. Their efforts have delivered a rally homologation special for the road that’s available from just less than £30,000 and with competitive purchase offers for customers keen to secure one of the hottest new prospects on the market.

GR Yaris uses the world’s most powerful three-cylinder engine, turbocharged to produce 257bhp – power enough to move the car from rest to 62mph in 5.5 seconds. It’s built on a dedicated chassis and uses Toyota’s new purpose-designed GR-Four all wheel drive system, adjustable for different front/rear drive balance to suit the conditions, from road to track to special stage.  The Circuit Pack version, as tested by Autocar, includes GR-tuned suspension, front and rear Torsen limited-slip differentials, lightweight forged BBS alloys and Michelin Pilot 4S performance tyres.

ENDS