Yaris Cross GR Sport

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport brings sporty flair to range - Toyota UK Magazine

New Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport delivers performance spirit and style - Toyota Media Site

New Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport unveiled | Auto Express

[IT Troll]

"performance spirit and style" - but no actual performance increase.

Apart from the retuned suspension, this is just a set of badges. I don't understand who this is marketed at.

[Hybrid21]

7 minutes ago, IT Troll said:

"performance spirit and style" - but no actual performance increase.

Apart from the retuned suspension, this is just a set of badges. I don't understand who this is marketed at.

Probably marketed at someone who fancies a Yaris Cross, but something just a wee bit special.

Maybe myself 😀

[TonyHSD]

6 minutes ago, IT Troll said:

"performance spirit and style" - but no actual performance increase.

Apart from the retuned suspension, this is just a set of badges. I don't understand who this is marketed at.

Lol, too many if not most of its potential new buyers. Recent years cars purchases simply shows the huge amounts of new cars are coming with enormous wheels and low profile tyres that has absolutely no benefit at all except look, "styling", and a large percentage fault has auto journalist who vote and vouch on that stupidity trend. Anyway car manufacturers and car parts stores and wheel refurbishers has made good money from repairs and wheel replacements, so again business before anything . These GR Toyota models look good but even they come not as loaded as in some other countries which gets leather seats and other goodies. 

[flash22]

The first £30K Yaris ?? (excluding the proper GR)

The GR Sport tend to have different interiors and steering wheel too

[forkingabout]

2 hours ago, IT Troll said:

"performance spirit and style" - but no actual performance increase.

Apart from the retuned suspension, this is just a set of badges. I don't understand who this is marketed at.

People who might buy a GT Line Peugeot, S Line Audi, ST Line Ford, N Line Hyundai, VW R Line etc etc 

[Cyker]

i.e. People who choose style over substance  

Why pay for real performance when you can just stick a fancy Badge on the car!

Like that GTI STI AWD 16v Turbo Kompressor VXR AMG GTR Corsa I talked about in another thread...  

 

I'm the total opposite, absolutely detest things like that - I much prefer innocuous-looking cars that are total monsters underneath  

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Down to individual choice really. Much in the same way that people may go for an Excel over a Design, etc.

One advantage of performance styled ranges is they don't necessarily incur larger insurance premiums for more powerful drivetrains, etc.

There is a market for performance styled ranges, so why ignore that demand.

[forkingabout]

14 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Down to individual choice really. Much in the same way that people may go for an Excel over a Design, etc.

When I was picking a C-HR I might have chosen the Excel trim if the paint colour range offered on that trim level wasn't so limited to 6 options ( 5 at the time )

GR Sport trim has 9 colour options ( 8 when I ordered mine ) 

 

 

[Cyker]

I agree with your first point about the individual choice, but not the second; The Excel spec has real improvements over the Design - Keyless entry, all around sensors, options for improved sound system and HUD etc.

From what I've read so far, the GR Sport is all style and no substance - Doesn't offer anything over e.g. Excel apart from a worse ride and likely higher insurance premiums due to the bigger more easily damaged rims!  

I do see (and have overtaken  ) some Mk3s with GR badges on them so I don't doubt there is a market for them, but I seriously think it is a smaller market than my Kitchen Sink-spec idea. Esp. with regard to the normal Toyota customer-base, who tend to stick with them for their technical and mechanical excellence.

The sort of person that gets the Poser-spec is much better served by German marques - No amount of GR badges will make them happy with the interior and fit'n'finish of the average Toyota.

It's a criticism I've had about Toyota's marketing and direction for a while - They are chasing other demographics who aren't really interested in them, and are meanwhile neglecting their core customer base by leaving out things that we'd want that are available to be specced!

[Cyker]

3 minutes ago, forkingabout said:

When I was picking a C-HR I might have chosen the Excel trim if the paint colour range offered on that trim level wasn't so limited to 6 options ( 5 at the time )

GR Sport trim has 9 colour options ( 8 when I ordered mine ) 

 

 

Yes, this is the sort of thing I mean!! It makes no sense to me the Excel spec had LESS colour choices than e.g. the Design spec!!

Absolutely no reason for this! But that is what they chose to offer!!

This is what I mean about them leaving out things their core customer base might want - Other things the Mk4 could have had are things like heated seats and steering wheel, wireless charging, 360 degree cameras etc. which are available in euro-spec and JDM cars but not here!

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

4 minutes ago, Cyker said:

The Excel spec has real improvements over the Design - Keyless entry, all around sensors, options for improved sound system and HUD etc.

But these type of features may not be attractive to others in preference to the performance styling, etc. Yes, you think the Excel offers real benefits over the Design, others may disagree.

For example, I'm not bothered about keyless entry, all round sensors, sound system options, etc - that's my view.

Again down to personal choice, and what people want to pay for.

[Cyker]

Yeah, but then those people would probably get the Design; They wouldn't get the GR Sport!

It just annoys me as they won't offer stuff we want because they consider it a low-margin niche, yet they offer this which, given their normal customer base, is probably even more niche!

I just want my kitchen sink!  

But this is all quite trivial in the grand scheme of things - I guess they'll do what they think is best and it'll all boil down to sales figures.

IIRC they were expecting the Design to be the highest volume seller, and I suspect there is more margin in that vs e.g. the Excel-spec judging by the apathy of my salesman when I told him I wanted that and not the Design, so maybe they've priced the GR Sport for a similar sort of margin...?

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

You don't know!

[Cyker]

Well this is all idle speculation at the end of the day isn't it?  

 

[IT Troll]

Nothing wrong with design choices which are purely cosmetic. But I find the marketing term of "performance spirit" and the association with a high-performance racing team really disingenuous. Surely it's in contradiction with the eco driving credentials of the hybrid engine. Drop the badges and the marketing guff and it's a perfectly fine trim option.

I would have thought that if you are into the racing scene and want the racing look. It would be rather embarrassing for the car to have the same performance as the entry-level model. All mouth no trousers.

Surely they could at least have given it a special driving mode; Eco > Normal > Sport > GR

[FROSTYBALLS]

'Spirit' can mean quality or similar - so presumably if the GR Sport conveys an impression of performance through it's design or features, that's all there is to it. 

No different to the Yaris and Corolla GR Sport, Vauxhall Crossland GS Line, Renault Captur RS Line, etc, etc.

[Cyker]

Hmm, maybe I should buy some GR Sport badges to stick on my Excel so I can sell it as a GR Sport Excel and jack the price up some!  It already has everything and more than the GR Sport, excluding the 18" rims but including 'sports seats' and 'sports tuned suspension' afterall...  

 

[Baytree]

9 hours ago, Cyker said:

It already has everything and more than the GR Sport…including '…sports tuned suspension' afterall...  

 

Ok, so the Excel has a different suspension set up from the Design or is it just the AWD version that does (rear)?

[Puglet]

Remembering some of the aftermarket body kits shockers of the 70s/80s often fitted to a 1.1/1.3 whatever, I happy the manufacturers taken over the 'performance' styling mantle, thankfully most get it right. Always been a market for this stuff and the manufacturers in last few decades seem taken over with loads more personalisation.

[Cyker]

2 hours ago, Baytree said:

Ok, so the Excel has a different suspension set up from the Design or is it just the AWD version that does (rear)?

It *says* it does on the blurb for my one - The line-up for the new ones is different, but originally there were 4 trims (Icon, Design, Dynamic and Excel) and the Dynamic and Excel came with 17" rims and supposedly had 'sports seats' and 'sports suspension'  

I'm slightly skeptical as, although mine did feel firmer than I remember from the testdrive I'd done at the launch event, once I swapped out the 17's for 15's it didn't feel much different so I suspect that was more the pointlessly large rims the higher specs came with...

We don't get the AWD Yaris in this country, only with the Cross SUV version had it available (No longer I think?), but IIRC the AWD versions usually get double-wishbone or multi-link suspension (I guess they can't fit the rear drive unit in with the normal torsion beam suspension in the way?), so it's totally different for those anyway!

 

[IT Troll]

2 hours ago, Cyker said:

The line-up for the new ones is different, but originally there were 4 trims (Icon, Design, Dynamic and Excel) and the Dynamic and Excel came with 17" rims and supposedly had 'sports seats' and 'sports suspension'

In the UK, Icon is 16", Design 17", whilst the Excel and Dynamic sit on 18". Suspension is the same across the range except for AWD which gets an upgrade to double-wishbone arrangement at the rear.

[NeverConsideredToyota]

I am looking at the Excel. Having 18inch wheels drops the mpg by by 6mpg

Stupid decision by Toyota UK I think. 

[Cyker]

Oh I didn't realize they'd put 18" rims on the Excel too... good grief the 17"s were bad enough!  It's an eco box! Not a sports car!!

Thank smeg I got mine when I did, it seems they're just making the cars worse!! At least Mazda haven't succumbed to this madness yet with the rebadged 2, so there's still an alternative option!!

I reiterate my opinion that Toyota GB have no idea of their customer base...

 

[IT Troll]

4 hours ago, Cyker said:

once I swapped out the 17's for 15's it didn't feel much different

Would you be willing to post a photo? I am intrigued about how this looks.