Is the new Subaru WRX a better road-going rally car than Toyota’s GR Yaris? Let’s find out…
- Which is the better performance car – Subaru WRX or Toyota GR Yaris?
- How much does the Subaru WRX and Toyota GR Yaris cost?
- What are the Subaru WRX and Toyota GR Yaris like on the racetrack?
- What are the Subaru WRX and Toyota GR Yaris like on the road?
- Should I buy the Subaru WRX or Toyota GR Yaris?
Which is the better performance car – Subaru WRX or Toyota GR Yaris?
At first glance, the 2023 Subaru WRX and Toyota GR Yaris are strange bedfellows.
The Subie is a four-door mid-size sedan, the Toyota a diminutive three-door hatch, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find the two are quite closely aligned.
In price, performance and, in particular, philosophy, the new Subaru WRX RS and the proven Toyota GR Yaris go head-to-head, each leaning heavily on their respective manufacturer’s competition pedigree to convince buyers it offers the ultimate in driving thrills.
To firmly establish the hierarchy, we’ll put them to the test on road and track to discover which is the most fun, the fastest and the most deserving of your hard-earned cash.
How much does the Subaru WRX and Toyota GR Yaris cost?
You could throw a very small blanket over the two price tags of the 2023 Subaru WRX RS and Toyota GR Yaris.
To come clean, initially we wanted a Toyota GR Yaris Rallye for this test, but the car became unavailable, however the ‘base’ model is arguably a better match for the new Subaru WRX in RS guise.
The Toyota is listed at $49,500 plus on-road costs whereas the Subaru asks for a fraction more at $50,490 plus ORCs. (The GR Yaris Rallye starts from $54,500.)
The WRX can also be had as a standard model (from $44,990) or a flagship tS Sport (from $56,990). The latter is only available as an auto, while the CVT gearbox is a $4000 option on the base and RS variants – the reasons for the substantial premium will become apparent in the next section.
In contrast, the GR Yaris is a one-spec-fits-all proposition. There’s a choice of three colours but the six-speed manual is a take-it-or-leave-it affair and there are no options.
Equipment levels are healthy, however, with dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, LED lights, leather-wrapped steering wheel, handbrake and gear lever, heated seats and an eight-speaker JBL stereo.
Of equal importance to GR Yaris fans is the unique exterior features, like the bespoke three-door bodyshell with its aerodynamic roofline, carbon roof and aluminium bonnet, doors and tailgate.
Such exotic materials are basically unheard of in the hot hatch segment and help keep the GR Yaris’ weight down to a flyweight 1280kg.
The standard 18×8.0-inch Enkei wheels are wrapped in 225/40 Dunlop SP Sportmaxx tyres, with a set of monster brakes squeezed in behind. The 297mm rear discs with two-piston callipers would serve as the fronts on most small hatches, but the GR Yaris boasts 356mm two-piece discs and four-piston callipers on the front axle.
In comparison, the larger, heavier (1516kg) Subaru wears 316mm discs with two-piston callipers at the front and 290mm discs with single-piston callipers at the rear. Wheels are likewise 18 inches in diameter with Dunlop SP Sportmaxx tyres, though in this case they are slightly wider at 245/40.
The WRX also offers generous equipment levels, with keyless entry and start, dual-zone climate control, eight-way power-adjustable front seats, heated front AND rear seats, sunroof, Ultrasuede seat trim and a 10-speaker Harman Kardon stereo with subwoofer and amplifier. Eight colours are on offer, none of which attract an extra cost.
Both cars are covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and capped-price servicing costs are similar, albeit with a couple of caveats for the Yaris.
Toyota requires you to visit every six months or 10,000km, resulting in $1560 over the first three years or 60,000km. In comparison, Subaru offers a three-year service plan for $1266.27 or $2433 over five years with intervals of 12 months or 15,000km.
What are the safety and technology features on the Subaru WRX and Toyota GR Yaris?
If safety is a consideration then there is only one choice here as the 2023 Subaru WRX RS lacks a lot of features that the Toyota GR Yaris – and most other modern vehicles – possesses.
Subaru has vowed to rectify the situation, but for now its EyeSight active safety suite is incompatible with a manual transmission, a problem that affects both the WRX and BRZ.
As a result, manual variants go without autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency steering, lane departure warning and prevention with lane centring function, speed sign recognition and high beam assist, as well as convenience features like memory seats and mirrors.
There are seven airbags, however, as well as blind spot monitoring, lane change assist and rear cross traffic alert.
Not to make excuses for Subaru, but it’s unlikely too many manual WRX buyers will be put off by the lack of active safety equipment, especially as the price has been adjusted accordingly, yet equally there’s no real reason it shouldn’t be there.
On the other hand, the Toyota GR Yaris comes with Toyota’s full Safety Sense suite including AEB with pedestrian (day and night) and cyclist (day) detection, emergency steering assist, adaptive cruise control, lane departure alert and trace assist, road sign assist, auto high beam and blind spot monitoring, though there are only six airbags.
Where the GR Yaris falls short is with its dated 7.0-inch infotainment system. It’s quite functional, including smartphone mirroring, digital radio, sat-nav, voice recognition and myToyota apps including Waze and Stitcher, but in speed, size and resolution it lags well behind the best.
Not that you’d want the screen any bigger, for its location means that forward vision in the GR Yaris is heavily compromised. The amount of space between the rear-view mirror and infotainment screen is akin to looking out a letterbox and the heavily sloped windscreen doesn’t help.
No such problems in the WRX, its large 11.6-inch portrait-style touch-screen nestled in the dash. It works well, its orientation especially helpful with Apple CarPlay and the large icons easy to use.
Most of the HVAC controls have been moved into the screen but Subaru has shown wisdom in retaining hard keys for the temperature and demister and, crucially, the controls are always visible rather than buried in a sub-menu.
Which engine is better – the Subaru WRX four-cylinder or Toyota GR Yaris three-cylinder?
As with the pricing, the engine outputs of the 2023 Subaru WRX RS and Toyota GR Yaris are virtually lineball. However, the method used to produce those outputs, and the resultant performance, are quite different.
Subaru gave the new WRX a mere 5kW bump over the previous model and torque remains static for figures of 202kW and 350Nm, but the new, larger 2.4-litre turbocharged engine does make the power easier and peak torque does arrive a little earlier than before (2000rpm v 2400rpm).
In truth, it’s a fairly average engine – fine for the likes of the Subaru Outback XT that it also powers but not up to the task in a performance application.
It revs quite enthusiastically but the limiter cuts in at just 6000rpm, there isn’t much power, the power that is there is delivered in a very linear fashion so there’s no crescendo to the performance and it’s also very thirsty with a combined claim of 9.9L/100km.
I suspect Subaru is well aware of all this which is why it’s installed some of the shortest gearing ever fitted to a production car. Compared to its predecessor, gears 3-5 have been shortened as has the final drive to really make the most of WRX’s outputs.
It basically saves the day. The combination of the low redline and hyperactive gearing means you have to shift gears like you’re in a ‘Fast & Furious’ action scene, but the upside of this is you have the right gear for almost every corner and you’re constantly involved in the driving process.
It really ups the fun factor when you’re having a fang, and while potentially having to change gears all the time could get wearing in traffic, the ratios are close enough that you can just skip 1-3-5 if you’re feeling lazy.
When it comes to under-bonnet excellence, however, the GR Yaris clearly has the upper hand. It produces very similar outputs to the WRX at 200kW and 370Nm, yet does so from a tiny 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder.
This engine is truly a thing of wonder. Incredibly responsive, keen to rev (beyond 7000rpm) and with a distinctive three-cylinder growl, it too has very short gearing but in this case it’s not compensating for anything.
Combine this power with just 1280kg to propel and it’s no surprise that the GR Yaris bests the WRX by about a second from 0-100km/h, while also being far more frugal with a combined claim of 7.6L/100km.
Given the close relationship Toyota and Subaru enjoys – the former owns around 20 per cent of the latter and co-developed vehicles include the 86/BRZ sports cars and bZ4x/Solterra EVs – can this engine power the next WRX? Please?
What are the Subaru WRX and Toyota GR Yaris like on the racetrack?
Now we get to the business end of the test: which of the 2023 Subaru WRX RS and Toyota GR Yaris does the best rally car impersonation?
Let’s start with the racetrack, in this case the twisting and turning, ducking and diving Bryant Park hillclimb circuit in Victoria’s Gippsland region, which is as close to a tarmac rally stage as you’ll find with ripple strips.
First up is the Toyota GR Yaris, which should be tailormade for a venue such as this. Should be, but isn’t. No problems with the engine, which continues to do a fantastic job.
The brakes are equally impressive, with great stopping power and tireless stamina (Bryant Park isn’t the hardest circuit on brakes, but past experience at other tracks has proven the brakes virtually unkillable).
No issues with the straight bits, then, but the corners are a different matter.
Bereft of the Rallye version’s limited-slip diffs and grippier Michelin tyres, the standard GR Yaris is plagued with dogged understeer.
Turn the steering wheel results in the front tyres quickly relinquishing their grip and, unusually for an all-wheel drive car, hitting the throttle only exacerbates the problem.
Under normal circumstances adding power would mean the car at least roughly holds its line as all four tyres work to pull the car forwards, but in the GR Yaris a lot of power is spun away by the inside front wheel which drags the nose further wide.
It’s extremely frustrating because so many of the ingredients are right yet the car steadfastly refuses to go where you want it. Better tyres would certainly help, but the Rallye’s limited-slip diffs really improve traction and allow much more control over the car’s attitude.
Nevertheless, despite the shortcomings the GR Yaris lays down a best-lap 1:09.416, which is relatively handy.
First impressions are that the WRX will struggle to match it. It’s certainly better behaved with a more neutral balance, but the brakes quickly feel the stress, there clearly isn’t the same grunt as in the Toyota and the Dunlop tyres still don’t offer the last word in grip.
Sadly, timing issues mean that only the WRX’s first lap is recorded accurately, but one lap is all it needs. Its 1:08.458 is clearly superior to the GR Yaris and it’s very likely subsequent laps would’ve shaved a further few tenths off.
A faster lap and a more enjoyable experience? It’s racetrack bragging rights to the Subaru.
What are the Subaru WRX and Toyota GR Yaris like on the road?
The 2023 Subaru WRX RS continues to impress on the road.
The ride has a suppleness that ensures it soaks up most road irregularities which makes the WRX a fine daily or road trip companion and there’s a refreshing simplicity to how it operates.
While some rivals offer 134,874 combinations of settings the manual WRX doesn’t even have a Sport mode. It is what it is.
The steering is a little light and the brakes could use more bite but it’s a confidence-inspiring partner on a challenging road and its relative lack of outright performance means it can be driven with verve without falling foul of the law.
The Toyota GR Yaris is similarly simple – the drive mode controller can alter the front-to-rear power split but, to be honest, it doesn’t do much – and without the 10/10ths commitment of the racetrack it’s much more at ease.
On a fast, flowing road Toyota’s hot hatch is a certified weapon thanks to that brilliant engine and all-wheel drive stability, but as the corners tighten and become more frequent – an environment in which you’d think the GR Yaris would shine – the frustrations return.
Add a seating position that’s set way too high, interior plastics that are a stark reminder of the Yaris’s eco-car origins and a tiny 141-litre boot and it’s a difficult package to recommend when the dynamics don’t sparkle.
A word in the Toyota’s defence: fold down the rear seats – which are suitable for occasional use at best – and the Yaris almost turns into a quasi-van with a very useable luggage space.
Once upon a time the Subaru WRX used a similar recipe, a very cheap, basic interior that was easily excused by the available performance.
But it’s a more grown-up offering these days with plenty of room front and rear and a very sizeable boot.
Should I buy the Subaru WRX or Toyota GR Yaris?
Both the 2023 Subaru WRX RS and Toyota GR Yaris were declared the winner during this test on multiple occasions.
Poke around the two and the WRX is clearly the more useable machine, yet in initial road testing the Yaris’ strengths put it to the fore.
On track the two switched once again giving the Subaru a lead it would not relinquish.
It’s far more practical with a nicer interior, but in this context it’s the fact that it’s quicker on track and more enjoyable on the road that secures it the top step on the podium.
It is important to note, however, that had we secured a GR Yaris Rallye for this test the verdict almost certainly would have been different.
That car’s mechanical goodies make it quicker and more entertaining than the WRX and it’s a shame Subaru won’t be introducing a spicier STI with this generation to give the excellent chassis a harder time.
Still, that’s all ifs and buts. As it is, Subaru wins.
2023 Subaru WRX RS at a glance:
Price: $50,490 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 202kW/350Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 9.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 229g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested
2023 Toyota GR Yaris at a glance:
Price: $49,500 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 200kW/370Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 7.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 176g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested
Keyword: Subaru WRX v Toyota GR Yaris 2023 Comparison