Toyota Muscles Up the GR Yaris With Beefy Body Kit

It’s been about five years since the GR Yaris came out. The hot hatch underwent a facelift in early 2024, but as it turns out, Toyota is still finding ways to improve its diminutive performance car. For 2025, the feisty subcompact car gains a body kit of six items. By far, the most noticeable is the rear wing, which the driver can adjust for a track day. It’s claimed to increase stability at higher speeds and during hard braking.

The updated GR Yaris also has better engine cooling for the turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder mill. The hood with a central duct is borrowed from the flagship GRMN limited-run special edition, but it’s made from aluminum instead of carbon fiber. Speaking of ducts, Toyota added new ones behind the front wheels to boost the car’s stability during high-speed cornering. There are even more ducts at the corners of the rear bumper to achieve a lower drag coefficient.

The aero pack is rounded off by the front spoiler lip and a newly designed undercover for the fuel tank, adapted from the GR Yaris race car that competes in Japan’s Super Taikyu Series. Toyota also tweaked the eight-speed automatic transmission just a little over a year after its launch with the facelifted model. It touts quicker gear shifts and improved responsiveness, especially when Sport is activated in manual mode.

But wait, there’s more. From widened bolts for better rigidity to retuned electric power steering, the GR Yaris has a surprisingly large number of changes for a car that has been around for so long. Toyota also worked on the shock absorbers and made the footrest bigger for the vehicles equipped with the automatic transmission. Additionally, the vertical parking brake availability has been extended across the lineup, while the Toyota Safety Sense is now standard even on the base model in Japan.

Prices for the updated GR Yaris start at 3,560,000 yen ($24,700) for the entry-level trim with the manual and rise to 5,330,000 yen ($37,000) for the range-topping version with the auto. For now, Toyota isn’t saying whether the new goodies will be offered outside the car’s domestic market.