Fiat 500X 2022

At the end of November 2020, we had the honor and the privilege of being among the first French media to put our finger on one of the holy grails of the sports car of the last decade, the Toyota GR Yaris. Awarded by many specialized magazines, the new Japanese bomb won all the votes with journalists, bloggers, influencers, Internet users and more generally the general public. Symbol of a category on the verge of extinction, it was unthinkable that we would not wait any longer to take control of the most endearing version of this GR Yaris, namely the Track. And as on the blog we like to do things the right way, it is obviously on the circuit that this test takes place. Fasten your seatbelts and embark with us for a big session of fun.

Track tool: definition

Difficult to hide his ambitions with such a surname. The GR Yaris Track (GR = Gazoo Racing, sport & competition division of Toyota) therefore comes to oversee the range composed of only two levels of finishes.

• Premium pack: focused on versatility with navigation system, head-up display, blind spot warning, front/rear radar, JBL audio system
• Track: focused on leisure use, it dispenses with the above elements but features forged BBS rims, red brake calipers, two Torsen limited-slip differentials (one on each axle) and so-called “circuit” suspensions.

The rest of the recipe is the same. The GR Yaris is in no way derived from a standard Yaris since it is based on a specific single platform incorporating elements from those of the Yaris and CH-R. Widened tracks, three doors instead of five, carbon roof, specific shields, 18-inch rims, difficult even for the average person not to realize that this small city car has swallowed something other than miso soup for breakfast. And for good reason. 261 hp and 360 Nm out of a 3-cylinder 1.6 L engine, even turbocharged, that's something to surprise, even the merry band of drivers from the Circuit de Mornay accustomed to much more powerful / demonstrative monsters.

Implementation

After a few reconnaissance laps behind a pace-car (a Supra 2.0 L, just that) masterfully led by my friend Florian from RoadToPerform just to discover the route of the circuit of Mornay in complete safety and a small demonstration of the capacities of the GR Yaris Track, I feel confident to finally attack my laps as I see fit during a full afternoon. No lap time objective far from it, the primary objective is driving fun, and believe me or not, the GR Yaris Track is one of the most suitable toys of the moment for this type of exercise. But before describing my impressions behind the wheel, let me briefly describe this famous circuit (a complete video tour of which is available in the video at the end of the article).

About 2 km long (disregarding the “school” route), the Mornay circuit is easy to remember and if it can be covered in just over a minute with this type of car, it has the advantage of grouping together several types of bends, in a forest environment reminiscent of the legendary Charade circuit. Elevation, hairpins left and right, double straight, long left turn & long right turn, double chicane twice, Mornay brings together on its wide ribbon of bitumen the dream of many amateur pilots to discover their machines far from the tumult of the GTI days of Ile de France circuits.

We tackle serious things. First of all, to take a more serious look at the behavior and the limits of the car. To do this, there's nothing like a short session with “oversteer” oriented tire pressures. Over-inflated tires at the rear and under-inflated at the front, traction control & ESP off, “Sport” mode engaged and off you go. As a reminder, the distribution of traction on the three driving modes is as follows:

• Normal: 60% front / 40% rear
• Sport: 30% front / 70% rear
• Track: 50% front / 50% rear 

As you will have understood, we have done everything in our power to trigger the sliding side of the rear axle so praised by the various media. The problem is that most of the circuit tests were carried out at the start of the year, with temperatures close to negative and above all, most of the time, a wet track. The observation on a dry track with 15 degrees on the thermometer is clear: even with our settings, the GR Yaris remains riveted to the ground, as if taped to the bitumen. Only a call / counter-call on hard braking will allow you to trigger a slight drift of the rear axle and despite this, the slightest solicitation of the accelerator pedal during the exercise will only have the effect of putting the GR Yaris back in the right way rather than maintaining a slide, even provoked. Very reassuring but a little less playful than I expected. It must be said that the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S fitted as standard on this level of finish are known for their exceptional grip on dry ground, so when they are fitted with permanent all-wheel drive, you have understood me.

If we favor grip over sliding, the GR Yaris proves to be imperial. Only the wear of consumables will stop your momentum at the end of your Open Pit-Lane day, and again. Regarding braking, the GR Yaris with 1280 kg empty on the scale for only 3.99 m long is not what can be described as featherweight. With an entire afternoon spent on the track making any driver completely addicted, braking is surely one of the strong points of this GR Yaris Track. Equipped with grooved ventilated discs at the four corners aided by 4-piston calipers at the front and 2-piston at the rear, the virile braking does not scare it at all, although it triggers the hazard lights at each request a little too much frank to his liking. I think I'm leaving for 5-6 laps and I find myself forgetting the passing of time, 

Cold balance

My hot impressions that you can discover in the video at the end of this article speak for themselves, I have rarely been so enthusiastic about a car (to the point of wanting to buy it). With a few days of hindsight, they have not moved one iota. I can easily understand why many specialist magazines have elected the GR Yaris Track “sportsman of the year”. At the time of writing these lines, I have just returned from a test session of a competitor's vehicle where I was given the opportunity to discuss with other testers who had tasted the joys of driving this Japanese. Among other things, I remember the words of a freelancer from Échappement magazine “I seem to remember that this is the only car to which I gave a score of 10/10”, there are worse as a reference. The 1.6 L turbo in no way suffers from a lack of cylinders. Demonstrative constantly up to 7000 rpm where it breaks like the old one, anyone who has had the opportunity to push it to its limits will come out with the same conclusion: this is a great success. The two Torsen limited-slip differentials do their job wonderfully and even erase any deactivated aids, the slightest understeer or skidding when exiting a curve and if they do not allow you to maintain a glide in the dry, they combine with the re-calibrated shock absorbers taking advantage of the slight relief of the rear under braking to help roll up any curve, wide or tight, with good heart. 

The only grievance to report that is important for a toy whose circuit vocation is clearly displayed: the roll. The handling is impeccable in support but the hardness of the damping does not change for me in any way from that of a GR Yaris Premium Pack, even on the open road to go further in the comparison (I did not have the opportunity to try the Premium Pack version on the circuit). 
Still, the GR Yaris remains a wonderful toy to try, drive endlessly and above all own, its collector character already no longer in doubt less than a year after the start of its marketing. 1200 km and a few dozen circuit laps later, the versatility of this car even in its Track version remains remarkable and the exhilarating man-machine interaction even allows dynamic driving on the open road, much less risky for your license than that on board a large sports compact with definitively erased sensations. Go for it if you can afford it.

A huge thank you to the Circuit de Mornay for their welcome and to RoadToPerform for the quality coaching that allowed us to discover this sport in the best conditions combining freedom, pleasure and safety.