New Models / 25 October 2025 / Michael Taylor

New Toyota GR Yaris goes on sale in South Africa – Pricing and features

Toyota has finally launched the updated GR Yaris in South Africa.

The iconic hot hatchback has been refined to deliver even greater performance and, for the first time, it can now be had with an automatic gearbox.

“Toyota South Africa Motors is proud to announce the arrival of the updated GR Yaris – a performance icon that continues to blur the line between rally car and road car,” it said.

“Since its debut in 2021, the GR Yaris has become a cornerstone of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing brand and a favourite among driving purists, accounting for 38% of all GR model sales locally.”

The GR Yaris is available as both a manual and an automatic, and prices start at R942,200.

Performance

The hot hatch is still equipped by a 1.6-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine; however, it has been uprated to produce even more power.

It now generates 210kW and 400Nm – 12kW and 40Nm more than the previous units.

As a matter of fact, the Yaris now boasts even more torque than its big brother, the GR Corolla.

This lets the hot hatch sprint from 0 to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds (down from 5.5 seconds) and reach a top speed of 230km/h.

Power is distributed to the GR-Four all-wheel-drive system, which has been optimized to provide traction across a variety of surfaces, from asphalt to gravel.

Toyota has also refined the suspension and cooling system to improve the car’s stability and durability.

The other big selling point is the new eight-speed Gazoo Racing Automatic Transmission (GR-DAT), which was developed and tested under the Japan Rally Championship.

Old-school fans will also be pleased to know that the six-speed manual stick is still available.

Features

Other changes to the Yaris include a new grille with a lightweight steel mesh, a larger exhaust, and a new two-part front bumper that is cheaper to replace.

The lower side grille has been enlarged to improve cooling, and there’s a new set of 18-inch forged alloy wheels.

Attention has been given to the interior as well, as the centre console has been redesigned to be more ergonomic with repositioned buttons.

There’s a new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, and the infotainment screen is angled towards the driver for better visibility.

Features on the hot hatch include automatic LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, keyless entry and start, Sports seats, BRIN NAUB upholstery, aluminium pedals, a multifunction steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, and six airbags.

The automatic version has paddle shifters, too.

It also comes with driving aids like parking sensors, a reverse camera, tyre pressure monitoring, lane-keep assist, blind spot detection, and adaptive cruise control.