Litchfield Toyota GR Yaris review

But you can bet there’ll be plenty of owners who will. The tweaked engine pulls appreciably harder through the mid-range and up towards the redline, and it never feels moody the way some boosted engines can. The upgrades I’m really interested in, however, lie elsewhere. Soon Litchfield will have its own seat rails ready to go, which will drop the front chairs by around an inch and a half. Taller GR Yaris drivers will rejoice.

Yet I’m more excited by this car’s new suspension arrangement. Litchfield has worked with Nitron to develop a coilover kit (£2600) that drops the ride height by a sizeable 40mm while also settling the ride quality (Litchfield’s cars have the optional Circuit Pack with the firmer springs). You can adjust the new dampers through 25 clicks for bump and rebound, meaning you can have a fluid ride one moment and the rock solid platform of a racing car the next.

Set-up somewhere down the middle the Toyota still feels taut and busy, but it now has the sophisticated damping of a Porsche GT car. You really feel that when it lands into a compression, or when the body is kept in check over a sharp crest. Like the best performance cars, this one blends body control and compliance over bumps expertly. New suspension doesn’t make the GR Yaris more fun at sensible speeds, but a brilliant car is now better still at maximum attack.

Litchfield Toyota GR Yaris
Engine: 1618cc, 3-cyls, turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, 4WD
Power: 299bhp @ 6895rpm
Torque: 284lb ft @ 4765rpm
Weight: 1280kg
Power-to-weight: 234bhp/tonne
0-62mph: 5.3 seconds (estimated)
Top speed: 143mph
Fuel economy: n/a
Price: see text
Ti rating 9/10