Five fiery Toyota hatchbacks that get us hot under the collar

The starting point to any performance model is weight — little of it. It was Lotus founder Colin Chapman who believed firmly in this ethos, famously saying he added "lightness" to his cars. Watch races from 1960s between Mini Coopers and larger cars to marvel at the quality of having little weight.

I recently spent a short time with the Toyota GR Yaris, in the week the local subsidiary announced it would introduce the new GR Corolla. The GR Yaris isn’t the first hot hatch from the Japanese brand.  

Toyota Yaris GR Four-Rally 

The tidy little GR is powered by a turbocharged three-cylinder 1.6l petrol motor. It outputs 198kW and 360Nm — staggering numbers frankly — and feeds a four-wheel drive system through a six-speed manual transmission.  

It was developed on know-how collected from the stages of the World Rally Championship. It has regular essentials: air con, Bluetooth and electrically adjustable windows, while sophistication is had through a head-up display unit to keep the speed in check.  

The performance is a 0-100km/h sprint in 5.6 seconds and a 230km/h top speed. It has stronger brakes, stickier tyres and a sports exhaust. The true perk is that below 4,000rpm it can be operated within the remit of a regular Yaris city cars. Press on beyond that mark and a giant-slaying little Frankenstein pops out.  

In 2022 the company introduced a pokier and limited-edition Yaris GRMN. This one’s 20kg lighter, thanks to also losing the back seat and upgraded with a mechanical limited-slip differential, an even closer ratio gearbox,  a suspension lowered by 10mm, and more personalisation options.

Aston Martin Cygnet V8

Despite the iconic Aston Martin badge, the pint-sized Aston Martin Cygnet is a Toyota IQ — a model marketed only in Japan and Europe. In a 2008 collaboration, under emissions duress, the British company had commissioned Toyota to build the Cygnet. While the Cygnet’s three-seat skeleton and innards were Toyota, the design inside and out was pure Aston.  

The Cygnet also adopted the Toyota 1.3l engine with 72kW and 125Nm mated to a six-speed manual transmission or a CVT gearbox. Performance was distinctly un-Aston-like; 11.8 seconds to 100km/h and top speed of 171km/h.  

Its out-of-character design didn’t sit well with a customer, who in 2021 approached Q by Aston Martin — the company’s skunk works department — seeking and willing to bankroll the correction of this deviant. He wanted a Cygnet with real Aston power, so they weaponised it with a 4.7l V8 from the marque. One unit was ever built.