2nd Gen Toyota GR Yaris Launched in Malaysia: Upgraded Pocket Rocket at RM 315.6k, Automatic Comes Later.

From the silent unveiling of the GR Yaris facelift during KLIMS last month, UMW Toyota Motor has just launched the GR Yaris facelift at the Toyota Gazoo Racing Season 7 finale, which took place at Sepang International Circuit yesterday.

Toyota has made some impressive improvements to the car, particularly the tweaks to the engine. The G16E-GTS now makes 304PS and 400Nm of torque from the previous generation’s 272PS and 370Nm, quite the power boost.

To transfer all that power to the wheels, the engine can be paired with the old fashioned 6-speed manual or Toyota’s new 8-speed automatic they call the Gazoo Racing Direct Automatic Transmission. However, the 8-speed automatic will be available at a later date so you can’t buy one right now. Makes sense considering the new automatic GR Yaris is on everyone’s radar right now, so be quick-handed when allocations are made available.

Chairman of Toyota, Akio Toyota, and the Gazoo Racing team have gone through trial by fire on countless different surfaces to develop and tune the automatic. This resulted in Toyota confidently saying the new automatic has “transmission speed and reliability that can be enjoyed by a wide range of people.”.

Due to the increase of gears, the gear-ratios are now closer in both manuals and automatics that results in constant gear shifts, fitting for a rally homologation car. Toyota has also claimed that the gearbox’s software is now better tuned for world-class gear-shifting speeds.

Since there’s more heat in the engine and new automatic gearbox, there’s a new transmission cooler that comes standard in all automatic cars as well as a highly heat-resistant clutch. There’s also a factory cooling package that comes with a sub-radiator, cool air intake and intercooler spray.

There’s an option for a Circuit Package that removes the speed limiter, but Malaysian models sadly don’t get the globally available anti-lag system.



Looking into the bones of the GR Yaris, there’s 2 more bolts (1 to 3) to keep the shock absorber to the body, improving the handling and steering response of the car. There’s also 13% more spot welding points and 24% increased application of structural adhesive for increased rigidity and cornering ability.

The exterior includes a new steel mesh lower grille for better aerodynamics, with the front side of the lower bumper having a separable structure that makes it easy to work on. There’s also enlarged side grilles and outlets on the bumper sides to aid in cooling the sub-radiator and automatic transmission cooler. 



The rear has a new tail light that spans across the hatch and the Toyota logo has been removed, which is an interesting move from Toyota but it now gets a cleaner look. The GR emblems still remain with the bottom half of the rear receiving no changes.

The interior is now upgraded to be even more driver focused, with the center infotainment and control panel now pointed 15 degrees towards the driver. Toyota has also lowered the driving position by 25mm as the previous generation’s felt a tad too tall for a sports car.

For the automatic, the gear lever is 75mm higher, which is on par with the manual shifter. The automatic also gets the rally sequential transmission treatment by pulling the lever up to downshift and down to upshift.

Pricing-wise, the manual 2nd generation GR Yaris can be driven home for RM315,600 OTR without insurance. The new GR Yaris has some juicy upgrades and made it more appealing for the general public. However, will the automatic be as well received as its manual brother? Will 2 pedals be better than the 3 pedals? Guess we’re gonna have to wait and see.


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