Should you buy a GR Yaris AWD homologation special (is it a good investment)?

Should you bite the bullet and indulge your inner ‘boy racer’ … and buy a GR Yaris? Just associating the word ‘Yaris’ with anything even vaguely desirable does feel odd. Gotta say. And will it be a decent investment? There’s that to consider.

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The GR is essentially not a Yaris at all - at least not as we expect it. It’s a full-on WRC homologation special. Completely different body - three doors. Plus it’s lower and wider and lighter. It’s got 260 more spot welds and 15 metres more adhesive - and a carbon fibre roof. (All of which keep it stiffer.)

Massive grille, twin exhaust, world’s most powerful turbo petrol three-cylinder engine. 1.6 litres. So, they’re big cylinders. I like three cylinders, too - literally half of a straight six. And there’s an out-of-balance rotating couple that tends to make them rock longitudinally. So they’re typically categorised as ‘raucous’ - which a lot of cars need to mask. But not this one, clearly.

200 kilowatts and 360 Newton-metres - and the turbo makes it pretty punchy over about 3000rpm. Five and a bit seconds to 100, kinda thing.

Proper AWD, too. Not this part-time rubbish. Defaults to 60;40 drive (front to rear) but if you select ‘Sport’ mode you can get 70 per cent of the drive at the rear, or opt for 50:50 in ‘Track’ mode.

Full independent rear, too. Big brakes. 18-inch alloys running Pilot Sport 4S Michelins.

What I’m essentially saying is: Proper driver’s car. For a change, from Toyota. It’s a six-speed manual, with rev-matching (which you can turn off if you want to go ‘old school’ and heel-and-toe). And you can turn the ESC off if you want to recalibrate your ‘slide rule’. And an old-fashioned ‘pull-up’ handbrake, which (if activated while in motion) de-couples the AWD system.

Goodness me - why would anyone want to do that? (It would be a travesty having an electronic handbrake on a car such as this.) It’s even got radar cruise - which is pretty rare in a manual.

Bottom line - buying a car like this is a love thing. And you don’t have to rationalise love. Personally I’d love to carve up a rich wanker in an A45 AMG in a Yaris. In the wet. On the outside. That would be just one of those enduring, special moments.

So, buy this car if you love it. If it moves you … you know [LOOK DOWN] down there. Don’t justify it to yourself as an investment. That’s about as real as the Easter Bunny.