Toyota GR Yaris (GXPA16) road clip: G16E-GTS three-cylinder note

Toyota GR Yaris: mechanical breakdown

Thirty seconds on the road

A GR Yaris on the road, filed under exhaust sounds. The caption names no parts and no events, so only the engine itself can be discussed. The G16E-GTS is an inline-three that fires every 240 degrees of crank rotation, which gives the off-beat thrum that separates it from four-cylinder hot hatches.

Carbon roof, aluminium panels, GR-Four

The GR Yaris has its own three-door body, not the regular Yaris shell. The roof is carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer, and the bonnet, doors and tailgate are aluminium, which keeps kerb weight at 1,280 kg. That mass carries 257 hp and 360 Nm, and the GR-Four all-wheel-drive system splits it by mode: 60:40 in Normal, 30:70 in Sport, 50:50 in Track. Sport sends most of the torque rearward, so the car steers like a rear-driven hatch, while Track's even split favors traction out of slow corners. Light panels up high lower the center of gravity; the AWD hardware is what adds back weight.

Remap, intercooler and downpipe trade-offs

An ECU remap gives large gains in power and torque on the stock single turbo. The cost is higher engine stress and possible warranty problems, which matters given reports of cylinder 3 failures and high oil consumption on early cars. An upgraded intercooler answers the heat soak that cuts power on track in hot conditions; it lowers intake temperatures, though an oversized core adds turbo lag. A downpipe and exhaust make the turbo and wastegate louder and support higher-boost tunes. Against that sit emissions and noise legality concerns, and drone.