With the third round of the National Extreme Festival headed to the Aldo Scribante Race Circuit in Gqeberha, CAR road test editor Kyle Kock thinks the updated Toyota GR Yaris in the GR Cup could shake the order up.
Looking for a new or used Jetour? Find it here with CARmag!
For the first two rounds of the 2025 running of GR Cup, the Media Challenge drivers have been behind the wheel of the first version of the Toyota GR Yaris that has been doing service in the Extreme Festival since the 2022 season. Now, the six media members ditch the manual models for the updated version, which makes use of an eight-speed direct automatic transmission (DAT), with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel.
Related: 2025 GR Yaris Pricing
There’s been some confusion about the power and torque outputs in previous reports, but Toyota South Africa Motors has stated that the GR Yaris makes 210 kW and 400 N.m of torque on local soil. In addition to the engine oil cooler, which sits on the front right, the media driver cars also have a transmission cooler on the front left.
The GR-Four all-wheel-drive system remains, of course, with the driver able to switch between sport and track modes to split the torque between front and rear, while the rest of the changes are cosmetic, with a revised front end and an updated facia. There’s also an intercooler spray system akin to those on the Subaru WRX STI models from two decades ago. These must be activated once the vehicle’s engine is running and self-activates under full throttle
“Even though we’ve gained 20 kg in the car thanks to the added weight of the automatic transmission, with more power and torque we’ll really be able to show the GR Corollas raced by the Toyota dealers’ clean heels,” says Kock.
Kock is running second in the GR Cup Media Challenge and goes into the third round with 20 points, behind championship leader Nabil Abdool from Supersport (28 points). TimesLive’s Phuti Mpyane is third with 16 points, ahead of AutoTrader’s Lawrence Minnie (12 points), Citizen’s Charl Bosch (8 points) and IOL’s Willem van de Putte (4 points).
“What we need to figure out fast, is whether to leave the automatic to its own devices or to override the system by shifting with the paddles or on the shifter, depending on individual driving styles. We’ve got brand-new racecars, both a blessing and a curse. It’s great to have more power to play with, but we also need to bear in mind that there are no spare parts available for these yet, so no argy-bargy…yet”
Click here and browse thousands of new and used vehicles here with CARmag!
