Crown

Apologies Guys but I cant recall the two RT users that took delivery of these little fun cars.

Just wanted to find out how they were getting along with this little hot Yaris

TIA 

throt

"I Have Done It!".

991 GT3 pick up in October 2014.

991 GT3.2 pick up April/May 2018. ( Hairy Chest Spec ).

Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 Exclusive pick up June 2013. ( Shit Box )

Rennteam Hairy Chest Advisor.

One is me, but I think there are more than two RT members with a GRY.

Personally I love it, such a little fun car. No problems so far, quick and nimble, cornering and small countryroads are a lot of fun. Even practical to a certain extent, it can carry one or two persons in the back, if the journey won't be too long. Front seats may be a little high, but that don't bother me. Very comfy seats in the front row BTW. Luggage space is limited, but no problem here for us, since we don't need that much space anyway. Also think it's an attractive car, with a good road presence.

Never regret buying one.

We're at the point where you can be the fastest or just sound like you're the fastest.



The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

Thank you, Rossi

Have a demo arranged tomorrow. Not sure Toyota are going to build anymore so may consider a super low mileage used one. They are fetching overs too, around 2k ( GBP ) above list.

Yes, did read the sitting is high. i see how I like it then 

throt

"I Have Done It!".

991 GT3 pick up in October 2014.

991 GT3.2 pick up April/May 2018. ( Hairy Chest Spec ).

Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 Exclusive pick up June 2013. ( Shit Box )

Rennteam Hairy Chest Advisor.

High seat position makes getting in and out quite comfy, but may not be the optimum for a spirited drive. But in the meantime there are solutions for the lowering the drivers's seat which don't require a different seat. They even use the mounting of the standard seat.

AFAIK no more GRY from Toyota, so slightly used may be the way to go. I was lucky, as I found a dealer in my hometown, who had a backlog of a bunch of GRY, which were already spoken for. I could get one of them nevertheless.

--

We're at the point where you can be the fastest or just sound like you're the fastest.



The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

Standard mounting, that was a cock up then  

I bet its like a little go-kart .

Did you go for the red ?

throt

"I Have Done It!".

991 GT3 pick up in October 2014.

991 GT3.2 pick up April/May 2018. ( Hairy Chest Spec ).

Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 Exclusive pick up June 2013. ( Shit Box )

Rennteam Hairy Chest Advisor.

I was the other one. Great little car, lots of fun. Highly recommend it. Best value for driving fun on the market as long as you don’t over rev it (very dangerous for that little gem of an engine). But check the driving position before buying one. Tall drivers will not like the experience. I’m 1.83m in height and I was at the limit.

It was the only downside of the car and goes hand in hand with poor cabin visibility (including forward visibility!).

Sold it a year and a half for the same price I bought it. I sold it because of lack of garage space.

There is no try. Just do.

Thanks Pentium. Who had a red one then ?

I am roughly 178cm. 

Sounds all good fun then, looking forward to the demo tbh 

throt

"I Have Done It!".

991 GT3 pick up in October 2014.

991 GT3.2 pick up April/May 2018. ( Hairy Chest Spec ).

Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 Exclusive pick up June 2013. ( Shit Box )

Rennteam Hairy Chest Advisor.

one is me too. Ive had mine around 4 months now, 4000km and 4 track days. Its a surprisingly nibble thing especially when its winter or wet. Mine has a number of track upgrades to make it durable (oil cooler, brake modifications, track wheels and tyres etc). It punches well above its weight and is a genuinely fun car to own. It sees more seat time and some of the far more expensive cars in the garage...

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2022 Toyota GR Yaris, 2021 992 GT3, 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia QV, 2009 Lotus Elise SC

Thank you, Macca

Certainly has the fun factor then, that's the reason why I am looking at it. It would be a daily fun run about.

!0 yr warranty is great too 

throt

"I Have Done It!".

991 GT3 pick up in October 2014.

991 GT3.2 pick up April/May 2018. ( Hairy Chest Spec ).

Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 Exclusive pick up June 2013. ( Shit Box )

Rennteam Hairy Chest Advisor.

throt:

Thanks Pentium. Who had a red one then ?

I am roughly 178cm. 

Sounds all good fun then, looking forward to the demo tbh 

Mine is red, but I think there was another red one here.

We're about the same height, so the car should fit. You can install a mirror riser for better front visibility.

We're at the point where you can be the fastest or just sound like you're the fastest.



The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

Mine was red.

There is no try. Just do.

throt:

Thank you, Macca

Certainly has the fun factor then, that's the reason why I am looking at it. It would be a daily fun run about.

!0 yr warranty is great too 

Hi mate. I previously owned and daily drive a MK3 Ford Focus RS so in my initial test drive of the GRY I was not stunned. Its a similar formula after all.

However I needed something for back road drives with the boys in winter months and for attending winter track day sessions where I would ultimately run in uninsured groups.

I had retired my GT3s from back road sortes some years ago finding they were not really able to be be fully exploited in thiose situations. I have a lovely 2009 Lotus Elise SC which I use as a summer back road car and is just perfect....

The GRY circuit pack in NZ was 30K GBP and the used marked suggested that I could own this car for a few years without loosing my shirt. I had watched them at the track and even in standard form they appeared capable - in the hands of a good pilot on some more track suitable rubber they could keep pace with 997 gen Carreras. In the wet its all over for everything including the GT cars when putting down a lap in track limited situations - the AWD chassis of the GRY comes into its own.

I can suggest a few simple ways to make the GRY better if you do test drive it and fell like I did that its a bit "inert":

Firstly. Geometry. The car exhibits some understeer out of the box and can feel a bit dead "straight ahead". Id suggest -2.5F and -2.0R alignment with -1.00mm front toe and +1.00 rear toe. 

Also a DTUK2 tuning box is an immediate way to pick up some power and make the vehicle more exciting. Easily removed for services and can be be controlled by your phone via bluetooth on the fly.

Lastly a cat back exhaust can be picked up relatively cheaply and there are many vendors in the UK. It gives the car a voice which it desperately needs.

Heres mine playing with some ideas for hood vents,...

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2022 Toyota GR Yaris, 2021 992 GT3, 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia QV, 2009 Lotus Elise SC

Pentium:

Mine was red.

See one, love it 

throt

"I Have Done It!".

991 GT3 pick up in October 2014.

991 GT3.2 pick up April/May 2018. ( Hairy Chest Spec ).

Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 Exclusive pick up June 2013. ( Shit Box )

Rennteam Hairy Chest Advisor.

Aww, thanks Macca for taking up your own time to post your pointers. 

If I purchase one I am not sure it will see a track but even still, I will note all down what you have said.

Cat back exhaust is of real interest though to me if I do get one 

"In the wet all over everything''  

As said, no more allocations at the moment but I am pretty sure they want to sell me one with 1200 miles on the clock.

Again, thanks to all guys for the above.

throt

"I Have Done It!".

991 GT3 pick up in October 2014.

991 GT3.2 pick up April/May 2018. ( Hairy Chest Spec ).

Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 Exclusive pick up June 2013. ( Shit Box )

Rennteam Hairy Chest Advisor.

My pleasure mate. All three of those recommendations I made will suit you for road driving, easily reversible and not expensive to achieve. For the track I can suggest a bunch of other stuff (and a more aggressive alignment). I simply got lucky. NZ had a single 100 car allocation in 2021. I put my name down Nov 2021 was told it could be a year and then they announced a second 100 car allocation and I had mine by the end of April.

Regardless what you end up doing let us know what your thoughts are after a test drive - hopefully they allow you to have a proper go down some country roads etc

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2022 Toyota GR Yaris, 2021 992 GT3, 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia QV, 2009 Lotus Elise SC

For some reason I find this more interesting than the 992 Safari.  
 

Hear Me Out: A Toyota GR Prius Prime Performance Hybrid

James Gilboy

Toyota Racing Development

Nobody could have imagined that the main character of the car world this week would be the 2023 Toyota Prius. Once the bugbear of the enthusiast community, its place as an eco-icon was taken by electric vehicles, which relegated the Prius to the role of a niche economy car. But now that the new Prius is a looker, and the Prius Prime plug-in hybrid is quicker than some late-model sports cars, the time is ripe for Toyota to build a GR Prius Prime. And if you take a close look, you'll realize Toyota has done most of the work already.

I know that got a scoff from some of you, but hear me out. What we can all agree a GR Prius Prime would need includes: A tight chassis, a potent powertrain, and the looks to tie it all together. The thing is, Toyota's already about 80 percent there in all three areas, starting with the chassis.

2023 Toyota Prius. Toyota

The 2023 Prius is based on Toyota's GA-C platform, which you may recognize as the one used in the GR Corolla. (Elements are used in the GR Yaris too.) Toyota wouldn't tell us what type of suspension the new Prius uses, but if its geometry is up to scratch, then it may be a spring and shock tune away from uproariously good handling. That's probably the case if the chassis got any attention from Satoshi Ogiso, the Hino president known for his 800-horsepower Supra, passion for autocross, and role in making a Prius a success. That goes for the outgoing model, too, which he made sure got better suspension geometry than anyone asked for.

Whether or not he was involved, we already have evidence that Toyota still cares about the Prius's handling—it emphasized that weight distribution is optimized by cramming the new Prius Prime's enlarged lithium-ion battery under the rear seats.

Next on Toyota's agenda would be the powertrain, and there are two ways it could go about properly GR-ing the Prius. The first, and more fanciful way would be using the 1.6-liter turbo three-banger of the GR Corolla, which wouldn't be the trickiest adaption seeing as the two share a platform. It's not a hybrid drivetrain, though, so it doesn't fit the Prius' ethos.

2023 Toyota Prius. Toyota

An altogether more likely (and easier) solution would be to tune up the Prius Prime's existing powertrain, which combines a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter with electric motors to generate 220 horsepower. Toyota doesn't say what the gas-electric power split is, but with displacement jumping from 1.8 to 2.0 liters in the new model, napkin math suggests an ICE power jump from just under 100 hp to around 110. That's nowhere near the potential of a Prius' ICE, as we learned from a guy hot-rodding a Prius C's 1.5-liter to nearly double its power output, all without even opening up its exhaust.

And as much as we'd like Toyota to go that far and build a 9,000-rpm Prius, that's not even necessary for a GR Prius Prime. Even switching the engine from the thrifty Atkinson to the simpler, more powerful Otto cycle would pick up plenty of power. Add hot cams, improve the head, extract more out of the hybrid system, and total power could easily get into the mid-upper 200s. That doesn't sound like much, but the 220-hp 2023 Prius Prime can already do zero-to-60 in 6.6 seconds. That's as quick as the old 86/BRZ, and in the same neighborhood as the current, 271-hp Subaru WRX. I'd bet real money that a GR Prius Prime could pip the Subie's 6.1-second zero-to-60 time, as measured by Motortrend.

2023 Toyota Prius. Toyota

Granted, the WRX isn't the highest bar to clear these days, but a GR Prius Prime with similar performance would be a much more appealing car. It'd have better torque, better gas mileage, better reliability, and wouldn't make people think you vape. It'd look better, too, and Toyota could improve the Prius still with GR aero parts that it has already designed. That picture of a GR Prius up top? That's an official Toyota concept with a GR splitter, spoiler, wind deflectors, and maybe more—Toyota didn't detail what all it changed.

All this probably sounds like wishful thinking, as it's hard to imagine Toyota building a GR Prius. Well, guess what: It's already selling them in Japan, where it offers a GR Sport Prius V and Prime, with added chassis bracing and engine or suspension tuning. They're only GR Sport, not full GR cars, but they prove Toyota sees some interest in performance Prii. With the 2023 long bottoming and emphasizing performance like never before, now's time for Toyota to alchemize the Prius' image with a real GR model.

Toyota Prius Alpha GR Sport and Prius PHV GR Sport. Toyota

There's one big flaw with this idea, though, and that's that the Toyota GR86's chief engineer says there are no more GR models in the pipeline. That about puts the kibosh on any hope of a GR Prius Prime, never mind standalone sports cars like a new MR2. In all likelihood, the most exciting thing Toyota will do with the new Prius is a GR Sport trim. While welcome, it'd only be a shadow of what we know Toyota could do with the Prius—and a disappointing neglect of the GR brand that Toyota has worked so hard to build.

Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com

I had my Evo stolen from in front of my house recently and just received the insurance pay-out (close to the price of a new GR Corolla - we don't get the GR Yaris in the USA, but GR Corolla is same drivetrain with a bit more power and heavier longer 5-door chassis).  Thought the GR Corolla would be most reasonable replacement (to get some good snowy mountain driving in without risking the GT3 and even seems as though my extra Gram Lights wheels for the Evo would fit the GR), but the car is sold out for the 2023 model year as far as I can tell (with some dealers getting large ADM's). Seems like the same situation as for a Porsche GT products.  Sad that there is clearly more demand than supply for fun cars these days...

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22 GT3 Manual, 73 Carrera RS 2.7 Carbon Fiber replica (1,890 lbs). Former: 18 GT3 Manual, 16 Cayman GT4, 73 911S, Two 951S's, 996 C2, 993 C2, 98 Ferrari 550, 79 635CSi, 06 EVO9 with track mods

Sad to hear about a theft in Denver!  Btw - thanks for a fun football game today. 

Thanks.  Unfortunately, I’m not alone in our small group.  I’m aware of buddies on this board who also had cars (much nicer than mine) stolen in Sweden and Nürburgring 

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22 GT3 Manual, 73 Carrera RS 2.9L Twin-Plug Carbon Fiber replica. Former: 18 GT3 Manual, 16 Cayman GT4, 73 911S, Two 951S's, 996 C2, 993 C2, 98 Ferrari 550, 79 635CSi, 06 EVO9 with track mods

I feel your pain, Grant. Getting out of the house and looking at the spot where you left the car and realizing what happened is a shock.Your Evo was one of a kind. Still stand as one of the best. At least your insurance seems to have paid you well back.  Maybe worth looking to find a very low milage car ? As you say, for your part of the world having a sporty 4x4 is a must for the winter month. Would it be possible to import the Yaris ? Any on the Canadian market ? 

So sorry to hear that Grant, you EVO was probably irreplaceable

Sorry to hear that Grant  

Thanks guys!  No, the GR Yaris isn't a US-legal car (these kinds of cars have to wait 25 years for an exclusion).  Almost time for a 996 GT3 RS like Frank's   A local friend just imported a 993 Carrera RS from Japan under that law...

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22 GT3 Manual, 73 Carrera RS 2.9L Twin-Plug Carbon Fiber replica. Former: 18 GT3 Manual, 16 Cayman GT4, 73 911S, Two 951S's, 996 C2, 993 C2, 98 Ferrari 550, 79 635CSi, 06 EVO9 with track mods

Grant:

Thanks guys!  No, the GR Yaris isn't a US-legal car (these kinds of cars have to wait 25 years for an exclusion).  Almost time for a 996 GT3 RS like Frank's   A local friend just imported a 993 Carrera RS from Japan under that law...

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22 GT3 Manual, 73 Carrera RS 2.9L Twin-Plug Carbon Fiber replica. Former: 18 GT3 Manual, 16 Cayman GT4, 73 911S, Two 951S's, 996 C2, 993 C2, 98 Ferrari 550, 79 635CSi, 06 EVO9 with track mods

 

Most welcome to try it out :)

1988 Peugeot 205 Rallye / 2004 Porsche 996 GT3 RS  / 2018 Mercedes-AMG E63 S / 2020 Ferrari 812SF

Porker:

Most welcome to try it out :)

22 GT3 Manual, 73 Carrera RS 2.9L Twin-Plug Carbon Fiber replica. Former: 18 GT3 Manual, 16 Cayman GT4, 73 911S, Two 951S's, 996 C2, 993 C2, 98 Ferrari 550, 79 635CSi, 06 EVO9 with track mods