With all the enthusiasm around the 2024 GR Yaris, it's easy to forget the exceptionally dull base version. Despite carrying the "RS" suffix that would suggest something exciting, the entry-level model is a hot hatch in name only. Toyota has yet to update the cheaper RS with the odd dashboard of the "real" GR Yaris but the car remains on sale in Japan.
Although it may look a lot like the
full-fat model, the GR Yaris RS is offered strictly with front-wheel drive. It
gets worse since Toyota sells this flavor only with a continuously variable
transmission (CVT). As a reminder, the legitimate hot hatch is all-wheel drive
with either a six-speed manual or the newly gained eight-speed automatic.
Then there's the engine. The GR Yaris RS
uses the "M15A-FKS" instead of the well-known "G16E-GTS"
also installed in the GR Corolla and the one-off Lexus LBX Morizo RR. It's a
naturally aspirated 1.5-liter unit instead of a turbocharged 1.6-liter. It too is
a three-cylinder mill, but with only 118 hp and 145 Nm. The revised
GR Yaris is now packing a GR Corolla Morizo-matching 300 hp and 400
Nm. While it's all show without any extra go, the GR Yaris RS is much cheaper
than its far more muscular twin brother. Toyota wants 2,650,000 yen, or nearly US$ 18,000 at current exchange rates. The more potent GR Yaris RZ with all-wheel
drive and a stick started at 4,560,000 yen (US$ 31,000) before the update.
Pricing for the 2024 model will be announced closer to the car's launch this
spring.
The GR Yaris RS is a rare example of
upbadging straight from the factory. To the untrained eye, it looks just like
the hot hatch but there are certain details betraying its true identity. For
example, the speedometer only goes to 180 km/h whereas on the
performance hatch it stops at 280 km/h.
