A Toyota Yaris drag race isn’t exactly something to write about, but two letters added to its name changes everything. If you haven’t already, meet, the Toyota GR Yaris. A hot hatchback that has always been under favorable lighting ever since its inception at the start of this year. In fact, Top Gear‘s Chris Harris criticized the Supra because the GR Yaris was so good, and it didn’t need the help of BMW for that to happen.
But how good is the GR Yaris, really? Can it match another, albeit slightly larger, hot hatch like the Honda Civic Type R?
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To illustrate, Carwow got a hold of a GR Yaris and matched it up against the Honda Civic Type R on a wet drag race. It’s a mismatch from the get-go, we know. The red-badged Civic makes more power from its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot mill, up to 316 horsepower (235 kilowatts) and 295 pound-feet (400 Newton-meters) of torque. These numbers are sent to the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox, and that’s where the GR Yaris’ advantage lies.
Despite having a smaller engine with one fewer cylinder, the GR Yaris sends 257 hp (192 kW) and 266 lb-ft (360 Nm) of torque to all four corners.
As you can see in the video above, the road was wet and as we all know, traction is as important as power most especially in this road condition. The GR Yaris’ all-wheel drivetrain is a huge advantage over the Civic Type R’s front-wheel-drive setup in terms of traction, plus the fact that the Toyota is significantly lighter.
But were those enough to upend the more-powerful Honda sports car? You know what to do to find out.