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Short of donning a mask and cape, driving a GR Yaris on an ice track is the best way to feel like a superhero. This new Gen 2 version gets more power, revised chassis tuning and an automatic gearbox option for the first time, but is it still the king of hot superminis? We sent Yousuf Ashraf for an early drive on a frozen lake in Finland to find out.
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0:00
Oh my God
0:11
This is what driving's about. I think we all know what we do with one last tank of fuel
0:23
It could be an MC20 in the Pennines, or you could take a GT3RS to Silverston and just go completely
0:29
nuts. But here in Finland, in the new Gen 2 G.R. Yaris, I think I found driving heaven
0:40
I'm not sure it gets much better than this. This place is really special. These ice circuits near Yavaskola have been used as training
0:52
rounds for some of the best drivers on the planet. Calorovampara grew up around here and
0:58
A guy called Sebastian Vettel has been known to visit once or twice
1:02
As for the car, well you should probably know all about this thing already
1:07
We drove a prototype Gen 2 G.I. Harris on track last year and the signs are very good
1:13
It feels like a real step on in all the areas that matter
1:17
So for a start, you can see out of this car now because we've got a new dashboard
1:22
The rearview mirror is now mounted a bit taller. It's hard to talk when you're trying to put down 276 horsepower on snow
1:32
We'll give it a go. Oh, but I could do this absolutely all day
1:41
And that the thing the GR on the road it all about grip it all about just putting that power down in any conditions
1:51
But here, the thing is just alive. Lock stops. And we've got different modes for the four-wheel drive system in this new car
2:03
So we're currently in gravel mode. So that's 53% front and 47 rear
2:09
47 rear on the torque split and it works amazingly well. Honestly, if you think track days are fun, you've got to try this
2:19
Oh my god. This is what driving's about. This car, it works superbly in these conditions
2:29
You can just play with it on the throttle and much more on the road
2:33
You can feel the natural balance and it feels like it's just come completely alive
2:39
What we're looking at here is way more than your average facelift
2:46
All the important bits of the GR have been redesigned to make it faster, more durable and more fun
2:53
The 1.6 litre three pot now has stronger pistons and better cooling
2:56
and power is up from 257 brake horsepower to 276. To make use of every last drop of power, spring rates are up by 28% at the front and 10% at the rear
3:08
and you get a beefier front roll bar too. Some of the bodywork is new as well
3:15
At the front there's a steel mesh to protect the radiator and big events to cool the brakes
3:20
The bumper is even split up into sections to make it cheaper to repair if you bump into a snowbank Toyota really cares about this stuff and it put the G Yaris through hell to find and figs any weaknesses Just look at this
3:35
That's former WRC driver Yari Mati Latvila thrashing a GR on gravel until the rear end
3:42
was literally bent out of shape. You'll be happy to know that the new car also has a stiffer body shell
3:49
I actually don't think there's a better way to learn car control than this
3:53
Because in the standard car on the road, you have to be driving so hard to feel anything
3:58
because it's so capable. There's so much traction all the time. But now you can really feel the chassis working
4:05
You can get the four-wheel drive working. Dance it on the throttle. I know it's a road car
4:12
It's not, they call it a rally homologation special, and it is
4:17
But when you take it out here, you do feel that this has rallying in its blood
4:22
It really does. And that's the thing, you do make mistakes because you have no grip
4:26
If you go in a bit too hot, it will punish you
4:32
And you have to sort of relearn what you know. If you're used to circuit driving in this car to get more rotation, you just stamp on the throttle mid-corner
4:40
If you're off the throttle, you just get understeer, which is really the opposite of what happens on a circuit
4:48
So you relearn that. But once you do, once you get accustomed to what this thing is like
4:52
You can just dance with the thing. We had a go in the old car just before jumping into the new one and the changes really
5:02
have made a huge difference. The driving position is now miles better, the engine has more punch and there's less weight
5:09
transfer to manage thanks to a beefier front roll bar and stiffer springs You might have noticed that I not changing gear Well I am but I using paddles on the wheel because this is an automatic
5:20
GI-Aris. It gets an 8-speed tall converter that can change gear in 300 milliseconds, but on this track
5:27
you don't really go beyond third, so a proper test will come later
5:32
So we're not getting a really good impression of what this gearbox is like, because we're
5:38
just in the lower gears really. trying to light the thing up. But I can tell you, this cabin, when I first saw it in pictures
5:48
I wasn't too fussed. It almost looked like a prototype, but now it's got a sort of motorsport vibe to it
5:54
which I quite like. This makes me almost wish that you could access more of this balance on the road
6:05
Because the G.R., like I said, is all about grip and traction. all-weatherability. I want one on skinny tires that can do this. Obviously not to quite these
6:16
angles but just to feel it moving around a bit on the road. But if you have the means, you need
6:25
to get out to Finland. I want to move here and do this every day. There's nothing quite like it
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