Toyota GR Yaris Takes On Civic Type R in Drag Race
The Toyota GR Yaris is the hottest new hatch on the block and it’s been stealing the hearts of all the European automotive journalists who actually get to drive it, unlike us poor souls on the other side of the Atlantic. More recently, Mat Watson from Carwow pit the GR Yaris against the more powerful Civic Type R in a drag race, and you may be surprised at the results.
Yes, despite its smaller powertrain, the GR Yaris came out the victor. Under the hood, the Yaris has a 1.6-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine rated at 257 horsepower and 266 lb-ft of torque. The Civic Type R, meanwhile, has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes 316 horsepower and 295 lb-ft. That should seem enough to put the Toyota in its place, but the small hatch has two crucial advantages: about 220 pounds less weight and an all-wheel-drive system.
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In damp drag race conditions, that proved enough to beat the Civic Type R — no small feat considering the Honda is the fastest front-wheel-drive car around the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The GR Yaris took off like a bullet, and the Type R’s bigger engine just couldn’t produce enough power to catch up in time to make up the deficit by the end of the quarter mile.
Even in the rolling race, which eliminates AWD advantages, the GR Yaris kept up surprisingly well. And in Carwow’s customary brake test, it simply smoked the Civic Type R. We imagine Watson, who was at the wheel of the Honda but made a video two weeks ago about why he planned to buy a GR Yaris, probably felt vindicated.
With an amateur driver at the wheel, the Toyota GR Yaris recently went around the Nürburgring Nordschleife’s tourist layout in under eight minutes. The result of the above drag race makes us hope that Toyota will have a proper go at the lap.
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Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.