Toyota GR Yaris Short Driving Sensation: Agile At Turnuungan, Buas Di Jalan

JAKARTA - Toyota's single brand holder (ATPM) in Indonesia, PT Toyota-Astra Motor (TAM) launched a GR Yaris facelift last July with a number of refreshers.

For the first time globally debuting at the Tokyo Auto Salon last year, this car has changed in terms of design, performance, to the presence of automatic transmission for the first time in this series.

To prove his ability, the VOI team got the opportunity to briefly try GR Yaris facelift on automatic transmission through the Gazoo Racing Media Day event on the sidelines of the 2025 Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) at JIExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta. What do you think? Here's the short review:

Aggressive Design

Different from the previous version, GR Yaris facelift has a different exterior with a lower front or bumper having a more sporty structure. The lower side Grill is now equipped with a larger opening to ensure cooling performance.

Changes are also clearly visible on the back with the bottom being redesigned, to optimize aerodynamics and exhaust disposal. The back lights also experience changes designed to be interconnected from both sides.

Interior Is Fresher

The inside also looks more sporty than ever with a full-color 12.3-inch TFT screen that can obtain technical information from this car.

The driving position is also improved by lowering its position by up to 25 mm and the visibility in the future is expanded so that the driver has clearer visibility.

Drivers can set the distance between the seat and the steering wheel and adjust the height of the chair using a conventional lever as desired.

Performance and a sense of driving

Toyota still maintains a 1.6 liter turbo 3-cylinder engine on the Yaris GR as before, but is more powerful from 272 ps to 304 ps and torques from 370 Nm to 400 Nm.

This figure is not arbitrary, this car has a fast response when the gas pedal is stepped on instantly, providing high adrenaline for the driver.

Although armed with automatic eight transmission acceleration, the flavor of changing teeth in this latest GR Yaris is almost the same as manual but faster and more exciting.

This system is controlled by optimized software so that the software is able to detect the way the driver steps on the gas pedal and brakes.

Not only powered, this car has a pleasant driving flavor. When passing through the slalom area, this car can pass through the cone with agile and preciseness. This is all thanks to the four-wheeled GR-Four drive developed by the Gazoo Racing (GR) division.

Conclusion

Toyota GR Yaris facelift is here to continue the success of the previous version which has not been produced again. Although the high-performance vehicle market is very small, this hot hatch has the potential to be a prima donna for young people who want more cars to perform but can be used for daily life.

This car is priced starting at Rp1,166 billion for manual type and Rp1,214 billion for automatic. This sporty hatchback is offered in Precious Metal, Platinum White Pearl MC, Precious Black, and Emotional Red colors.