Toyota have found out and released a GR Sport variant of their smallest SUV, the Yaris Cross. The Yaris Cross GR Sport has an edge in both looks and feel, but has this added or taken away from what the Yaris Cross already offers?
The Yaris Cross GR Sport comes with GR Sport 18″ alloy wheels, GR Sport unique bumpers on the front and rear, GR tuned suspension and GR branded brake callipers, complemented with an enhanced GR interior trim. For me the ride in this Yaris Cross felt jiggly and unrefined, so for these GR tuned features at least I was not impressed.
This Yaris Cross is powered by the same 1.5litre, 3-cyclinder engine with the Toyota Hybrid System as found in other grades of the Yaris Cross. It is front-wheel drive and has a dreary CVT, so there is not much GR Sport excitement from the driving experience. There are three drive modes to select from, Eco, Normal and Power, plus, you can drive in EV mode under certain conditions, but I happily spent the week in the Normal drive mode. The engine produces 85kW of power and 120Nm of torque and has a claimed combined fuel efficiency of 3.8L/100km and for my week I used 6.5L/100km of the recommended 91RON petrol.
On the interior though I did like the leather accented seats with the GR logo on front seats, steering wheel and smart key for keyless entry and keyless start and the Aluminium pedals. Both front seats have manual adjustment only for recline and forward/back with the driver’s seat also getting manual height adjustment. The seats are not heated and you only get single zone climate control.
The Yaris Cross still comes with the older style 7” Toyota infotainment system with wired Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. Voice control is accessed by pressing the button on the steering wheel with the masculine looking silhouette on it and worked well for changing the radio station, making a phone call and setting a destination on the sat nav. You also receive Complimentary 3 years access to Toyota Connected Services including SOS Emergency Call, Automatic Collision Notification and Stolen Vehicle Tracking.
Storage in the Yaris Cross is a bit hit and miss as there is no arm rest and the hard plastic cubby at the front of the centre console is square shaped and was not large enough for my phone and it stuck out from the cubby. In the cubby there is one USB-C, one USB-A, and one 12V socket with two rigid cup holders in centre console and large drink bottle storage in the front door cubbies.
For me the rear seat leg room was tight and the headroom was adequate, but taller individuals may find it tight. For younger passengers there are two ISOFIX/three rear tether child seat restraint points but only enough room for two car seats due to the vehicle’s width. The whole centre seat folds down with two rigid cup holders in it and there are decent sized drink bottle storage cubbies in the rear doors. Rear passengers get no central air vents or USB ports and there is a lot of hard plastic on the door trims, but I do like that there is a mat over the transmission tunnel to prevent wear on that area of carpet.
The power assisted manual opening tailgate reveals a decent sized boot with a two level boot floor with a removable top floor so you can have a deeper space when it is taken out and under the lower floor is a space saver spare tyre under. There are deep storage cubbies behind the wheel arches, with two hooks and one light in the boot space and a light weight parcel shelf. If more space is needed the rear seats have a 40:60 split fold mechanism.
The Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport does not have an ANCAP safety rating, but dual frontal, side chest, and side head-protecting airbags are standard. A centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes is also standard on all variants. The GR Sport does come with Toyota Safety Sense including Pre-Collision Safety System (includes Pedestrian (night and day) and Cyclist Detection (day only), Intersection Turn Assistance, Lane Trace Assist, and Active Cruise Control. It also has blind spot monitoring and a 3600 view camera and a standard rear view camera with front and rear parking sensors. For convenience you get auto lights and auto high beam, but no auto wipers.
All new Toyota vehicles come with a five year/unlimited kilometre warranty and this can be extended for up to seven years with unlimited kilometres on Engine and Driveline if your vehicle is properly serviced and maintained as per the vehicle’s Warranty and Service book. For hybrid vehicle batteries the standard five-year warranty can be increased to up to ten years with unlimited kilometres, subject to annual Hybrid Health Check. The service interval for the Yaris Cross Hybrid 2WD GR Sport is 12 months or 15,000kms, whichever occurs first, with the first five services priced at $250 each.
The Yaris Cross GR Sport starts at $35,840 plus on-road costs and as tested with Atomic Rush two-tone paint ($1,350) this Yaris Cross was $37,190 plus on-roads. You can Build and Price your Yaris Cross GR Sport online or visit your preferred Toyota dealer for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| The voice control works well | No ANCAP safety rating |
| Only requires 91RON petrol | The ride is jiggly and unrefined |
| Up to 10 years warranty on the hybrid battery | No rear air vents or USB ports |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.