If you owned a GRMN, would you trade it for a GR Yaris ?

If you owned a GRMN, would you trade it for a GR Yaris ?

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Discussion

ChrisW.

Original Poster:

6,827 posts

262 months

Friday 4th December 2020
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According to How Many left there are only 88 GRMN registered in the UK.

Apart from having to take road calming calmly ... it is a fabulous car ... and with the decals removed very Q car.

The cost to change would be around £18k for the circuit version ... the new car having twice the current value of a 30 month old car with 15000 miles on the clock.

Toyota sell 10 million cars a year 1% of which are in the UK. There will be 25000 GR Yaris manufactured to homologate the car .. although I understand that it may never be rallied ... none are going to North America and France has taxed them out of the market, so how many are destined for the UK ?

North America is 16% of Toyotas market so I am guessing that we should see 300 of them ... unless they make more or we are Hot Hatch central. We received 20% of the GRMN so if that was to be repeated we could see 5000 of them ... at which point they would need sales close to the Honda Civic R ... with residual values to match.

And there will be the new Golf R etc etc.

For 1 sec faster to 60, a four seater rather than a five with less rear headroom, a smaller boot and 6cm wider, is the experience worth the extra cost ?

Discuss please ... I am looking for inspiration and the local dealer has just treated me like they are in no rush to look after me ... edited ... the person on holiday has just caught up on their email ! To be fair.



Edited by ChrisW. on Friday 4th December 12:53

anonymous-user

61 months

Friday 4th December 2020
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Personally I'd swap if the finances weren't too much of a stretch.

marcella

165 posts

131 months

Friday 4th December 2020
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There's already about 100 people ordered on this forum alone.

I think this car is appealing to a wider market than your typical hot hatch, a lot of super car owners are getting excited about it which is quite rare these days.

On top of that the decent finance deals available are making it a lot more appealing.

I was very close to putting a deposit down, but I don't need a new car more just a want. I think this car will depreciate more than a lot of the people who have ordered are thinking. I think it will hold its price very well initially but I think we will see a lot of them in the UK and if Toyota keep churning them out then I think it will be a very good used buy in a couple of years after the 0% finance deals start ending.

The last car to have a similar launch was the Mk2 Focus RS which I bought when they came out. Big hype and hard to get when they came out. They are still holding decent values today although there were less made, around 11,000 I think (apparently less than 8,000 remaining).

I certainly think you won't go wrong with buying these new with the deals going around. I just hope I'm not wrong and wish I ordered one now.


ChrisW.

Original Poster:

6,827 posts

262 months

Saturday 5th December 2020
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And the answer is, yes.

ecsrobin

17,825 posts

172 months

Saturday 5th December 2020
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Try 1750 in the UK not 300.

250 for 2020
1500 for 2021

And there’s talk of a 2022 allocation being used in 2021 (but no more allocated apparently)

ChrisW.

Original Poster:

6,827 posts

262 months

Wednesday 9th December 2020
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Just drove the GR Yaris ... it's a car that really engages but it isn't without it's faults.

The view out of the window and the interior of the car feels a darker place to be.

The 4WD system and turbo can be heard working ... I loved the engine noise, but the engine does feel very flat at low revs where the GRMN would be happy to go.

The steering felt a little less tactile and of course, no torque steer or front wheel drive'y ballistic'ness ...

It revved very cleanly to the top-end and I did hit the rev limiter by mistake ...

The brakes had a slightly soft feel at the start of braking and the whole car felt a little insulated ...but it certainly delivers to goods and I do like the 3 cylinder sound ...

The suspension was firm but not crashy ... I think more compliant than the GRMN ... but not a huge difference.

I wonder what my impression of the GRMN will be when I next take it out ??


GRMN27

35 posts

47 months

Thursday 24th December 2020
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I have just come out of my GRMN after almost 2 years.

I loved the old school feel of the car. Most modern hot hatches don’t have that.

I test drove a GR Yaris thinking it would be the perfect next car. It was great to drive. Much quicker than 260bhp. I test drove in the wet and it’s traction was incredible. Only problem I found was the seating position higher than the GRMN. I kept slouching in the seat to try and feel lower when driving. Such a shame. Didn’t place
an order.

If I had the money I would love to had put the GRMN in a bubble in the garage. It really is a quirky cool hot hatch. At high speed it can feel on edge which I like.

I went and drove a civic type r 2020 and the driving position is so much better for me. Also when you put in r+ Mode it remind me of the GRMN. Very track focused.

I imagine a special edition of the GR Yaris will be released at some point because of the positive reviews. A GRMN maybe. Be interesting to see what happens after the hype dies down. I think some people talking of buying 2 cars and making money are getting slightly carried away. I think the used market in six months will be interesting. Owners will know the car better and will start to show if they can live with a Yaris daily. If they have no other cars. Anyone and everyone seems to be placing an order but in time in won’t be for everyone. So glad Toyota made it

ChrisW.

Original Poster:

6,827 posts

262 months

Thursday 24th December 2020
quotequote all
I agree ... I adore the single minded focus of Toyota and to be fair, the GR Yaris has a long travel rally type set-up that plays to fun on normal roads in away that the GRMN does not. And the Torsen diffs on both axles .. a class act. And the option to adjust the torque split front to rear, even better.
Having driven on a frozen lake in Norway with studded tyres ... a Ford Focus and a BMW 328i Coupe ... I would love to play with the drive ratios on the GR Yaris on similar tyres !
As for a GRMN GR Yaris, what would they do the make it GRMN ??


GRMN27

35 posts

47 months

Thursday 24th December 2020
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That’s a good question

I imagine it would be 300bhp, stiffer suspension ( more like the GRMN ) which could be worse for UK roads, sports exhaust, no rear seats, better front seats like the GRMN, alcantara steering wheel, livery option, something like that. Or they could release a performance pack like prodrive did for Subaru back in the day.

ecsrobin

17,825 posts

172 months

Thursday 24th December 2020
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GRMN27 said:
That’s a good question

I imagine it would be 300bhp, stiffer suspension ( more like the GRMN ) which could be worse for UK roads, sports exhaust, no rear seats, better front seats like the GRMN, alcantara steering wheel, livery option, something like that. Or they could release a performance pack like prodrive did for Subaru back in the day.
Prodrives performance pack was a remap, exhaust and fuel pump. Plenty of options already available for the Yaris in those respects.

ChrisW.

Original Poster:

6,827 posts

262 months

Friday 8th January 2021
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I owned a P1 which I loved ... after an Audi Quattro 20v which rolled terribly making weight transfer something to be managed !

If Toytota have got on top of their intercooling the tuned versions could be astonishingly good ... the more I read the more exciting it becomes. I mean, torsen diffs on both front and rear axles and the ability to adjust the front / rear balance ... in a £35k car ...

And rear drive disconnection when the handbrake is applied ... phew !


Ste372

654 posts

94 months

Wednesday 3rd March 2021
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Bit late to the party. I've had my grmn 6 months now. I'm hoping to hold onto it for two years then move I to a gr yaris when they become two years old finances permitting.