√Toyota GR Yaris automatic, more power due with facelift next year

The Toyota GR Yaris hot hatch is set to gain the option of an automatic transmission early next year, according to a new report – alongside a power boost and a revised look.

The long-awaited option of an automatic transmission for the Toyota GR Yaris hot hatch may be less than six months away, according to a new report out of Japan.

Respected Japanese magazine Best Car reports a facelift for the GR Yaris is due to be announced by Toyota imminently ahead of a start to production in January 2024, and first deliveries in Japan early next year.

The update – which may be named ‘Evolution II’ – is reportedly set to bring a power boost from 200kW/370Nm today, to 221kW/370Nm to match the larger GR Corolla hot hatch introduced last year.

And for the first time it is tipped to be available with the option of an eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, in place of the standard six-speed manual offered since launch three years ago.

Toyota has been developing the gearbox for 18 months in a GR Yaris entered into a rally series in Japan to prove its durability, with a desire to add it to showroom models.

It is a conventional torque-converter transmission – rather than a typically quick-shifting dual-clutch automatic – but it is being developed with a focus on speed, rather than just convenience.

According to Best Car, the facelift is planned to introduce mild exterior changes – including a revised front fascia, and a larger rear spoiler on some models – as well as a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster from the GR Corolla, replacing the current analogue dials.

MORE: Automatic Toyota GR Yaris and GR Corolla in development

The magazine says the “suspension and brakes have also been further improved”, and that body rigidity has been improved.

It predicts a price rise from the 3.96 to 4.56 million yen ($AU41,000 to $AU48,000) of the current model – which is not available to order in Japan – to a price “likely to approach” 5 million yen ($AU52,000).

Stock of the Toyota GR Yaris is limited in the markets in which it is sold. Orders are currently paused in Japan, and Toyota Australia re-opened orders late last year after a one-year pause with a small allocation of 160 cars.

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