Toyota GR Yaris review - Practicality, comfort and boot space
Despite being a point-to-point weapon, the GR Yaris still offers useful practical features
A three-door hot hatch designed with track use in mind isn’t going to be on the shortlist of a growing family, but once inside the Toyota GR Yaris you’ll find it offers just about acceptable room for a performance supermini.
Toyota has recognised that some customers might want a few creature comforts to take the edge off living with a rally-inspired machine on a day-to-day basis. All GR cars include dual-zone climate control and adaptive cruise control, while speccing the Convenience Pack adds a head-up display, front and rear parking sensors and a voice recognition function for the infotainment system.
The ride never moves away from being on the firm side, but we think the trade-off for improved feel, handling and responsiveness is definitely worth it.
Size
The GR Yaris is 3,995mm long and 1,805mm wide, which makes it 73mm shorter than a three-door Ford Fiesta ST and also a little wider. For comparison at the other end of the scale, a Civic Type R is 562mm longer than the GR and 72mm wider.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
A three-door design obviously makes it a little more tricky for rear passengers to enter and exit the car and headroom is certainly on the tight side. Only two seats are available in the rear compared to three in the standard Yaris model. Up front things are better, but with a lot of dark trim around the cabin some might feel it a little enclosed and slightly claustrophobic.
Boot
Boot capacity for the GR Yaris is down to 174 litres, compared to the standard model’s 286 litres. This is mainly due to the battery being stored in the rear and packaging of the bespoke suspension and four-wheel-drive set-up.
