The GR Yaris was designed to be a contender for the 2021 World Rally Championship title, and there are a total of 25,000 units available worldwide. Only about 200 units made it to Malaysia.

This fully-imported limited unit GR Yaris carries a price tag of RM 299,000. Compared to the ordinary Yaris, this GR Yaris comes with only two doors, and it is 55 mm longer, 60 mm wider and 45 mm lower.

The GR Yaris measures 3,995 mm in length, 1,805 mm in width, 1,455 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,560 mm and weighs 1,280 kg. It has a 50-litre fuel tank capacity.

The front of the GR Yaris looks fierce and sportier than the normal Yaris. The pointy design LED headlamps are connected to Gazoo Racing’s signature ‘Functional Matrix’ grille. It also has a massive bezel to cool down the engine and brakes.

The rear of the GR Yaris features the LED taillamps that are connected to a black glossy bar. It also has a rear spoiler, diffuser and twin exhaust system.

Headlamps are LED units with LED daytime running lights and LED Signal lamps. It will automatically light up when it's dark and has the auto high beam function.

Taillamps are LED units with rear combination lamps.

Finished in glossy black, it is power adjusted and auto-retractable, with turn signal lamps.

The 18-inch BBS Forged alloy rims are wrapped with the 225/40R18 Michelin PS4S tyres.

It has a simple and practical design layout, with a few open tray platforms to store your devices, smart tags, keys, and door access cards. Every switch and buttons were clearly within the driver’s reach.

The analogue instrument cluster is fitted with the 4.2-inch TFT colour multi-information display. It displays important vehicle information clearly.

The front features the manual-adjusted semi bucket seats finished in black and red stitching, while the rear occupants get the 60:40 split-fold seats.

This 2-door Yaris can ferry 4 adults at a go. Front occupants have no issues with headroom, legroom and shoulder room. However, the rear occupants will face a shortage of headroom and if there is a front occupant that fully extended their seats, the rear occupants will also face a shortage of legroom.

The leather-wrapped multi-function steering wheel has a GR logo at the bottom. It has buttons to switch your infotainment system’s volume, change your radio channels, pick up a phone call, activate voice command, cruise control settings, lane departure control and many more.

It has a standard size glove compartment, that can easily fit in four to six 500ml mineral bottles inside.

There is only one cup holder at the centre, near the hand brake, and two bottle holders at the door panels.

The GR Yaris has one 12-volt power socket to charge your devices.

It has 174-litres of boot space compared to 286-litres in a standard Yaris. This is because the revised rear suspension and the new all-wheel-drive system took up some room at the rear floor.

It features the Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) and Pre-collision system (PCS) that comes with the dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert, lane tracing assist, auto high beam. It also has a vehicle stability control, and tyre pressure monitoring system.

It is equipped with six SRS airbags, an anti-lock braking system with brake assist, 3-point safety belts with pre-tensioner and force limiter and ISOFIX child seats mounting points.

With the TSS, it comes with dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert, lane tracing assist and auto high beam to give the driver peace of mind.

It features a 7-inch touch screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto ready connectivity.

The GR Yaris has a total of six speakers.

Powered by the 1.6-litre inline three-cylinder, double overhead cam, turbocharged engine. It produces 268 hp at 6,500 rpm and 370 Nm of torque from 3,000 and 4,600 rpm.

Mated to the six-speed intelligent manual transmission.

Equipped with the very complex GR-Four all-wheel-drive system. The system uses a multi-plate clutch to distribute the power between the front and rear axle. It is able to manage the power split between the front and rear wheels.

The GR Yaris can complete the century sprint in 5.5 seconds with a top speed of 230 km/h.

It has a fuel consumption rating of about 7.6 l/100km.

It comes with a keyless entry and push-to-start button, as well as three driving modes – Normal, Sport and Track. In Normal drive, mode activates the 60/40 front-to-rear power split, and it can change to 50/50 in Track mode, as well as 30/70 in Sport mode. There’s also the heads up display to let the driver have full concentration on the road.

One would need to expect a stiffer suspension setting, like all performance cars, equipped with sports suspension, the ride will be solid and firm.

The GR Yaris doesn’t have much sound insulation and noise-cancelling tech. After all, it is a performance hot hatch. It is meant to be loud and fast.