Toyota GR Yaris 2021 long-term review Car News

It was a cold, wet and foggy day on the Llandow Short and Bumpy Circuit. The advantage, then, was skewed in favor of the Toyota rather than the GT-R Nismo – a car designed for conditions (and circuits) rather grander than that.

The Toyota had superb composure. It has shock absorbers which give excellent control to the body but can also hit curbs without disturbing it. And while you can turn a dial on the center console to change the distribution of power between the axles, everything I did provided terrific traction. The GT-R obviously has more horsepower to worry about, so it gave its rear wheels a hard time, but the Toyota was just less edgy less often. It was ultimately slower in the straight, but maneuverable enough and grippy enough to be slightly faster over this short distance, with a lap time of 48.9 seconds compared to 49.3 seconds for the GT-R.

The Toyota weighs around 400kg less than the GT-R, which partly compensates for the power deficit but, more importantly, allows it to brake a little better, and its tires find more lateral grip in high-speed corners. . Part of it might also be the tires: Engineers in the industry say how good Michelin rubber can be, although generally a more expensive decision, and this Yaris uses Pilot Sport 4s (the GT-R was on Dunlop Sport Maxxes). Change one of the variables – weather, runway length and more – and I suspect that would be a different story.

But speed isn’t everything; what turns me on is how fun a car is to drive, not how fast it is. It’s still an interesting exercise, and that day, under these conditions, the Toyota showed how impressive it is.

Like:

Reversing camera A car of this size doesn’t strictly need a rear view camera but, considering how quickly the rear window gets dirty, I’m glad it does.

Hate it:

Fuel gauge confusion I read that the tank holds 50 liters, but the gauge indicates almost empty before I approach it. More bravery (and a jerrycan) needed.

Mileage: 4,220