What's everybody hoping for from this update (let's just assume it's happening at this point)?
I suspect a lot of current owners don't really want a face-lifted version – which is why there's a lot of pessimism about a new GR in this thread.
A new one might make the original feel a bit less special – i.e. less of a limited-edition-last-hurrah-ICE-homologation-sold-at-a-loss-etc. On the flip side, it could also make the original car more desirable, depending on what they change. Fair play to Toyota though. You've gotta admire their direction of travel with Gazoo Racing.
There are clearly lots of owners who've bought the GR Yaris as a long term investment or as a fun car that might be more resistant to heavy depreciation. It'll be interesting to see what what happens to used values if/when the new GR is announced (ignoring the broader used car market price trends).
As someone who isn't really interested in a mild upgrade, an auto box, isn't looking to sell anytime soon, and isn't rich enough not to care about heavy depreciation – here's my dream scenario:
I suspect a lot of current owners don't really want a face-lifted version – which is why there's a lot of pessimism about a new GR in this thread.
A new one might make the original feel a bit less special – i.e. less of a limited-edition-last-hurrah-ICE-homologation-sold-at-a-loss-etc. On the flip side, it could also make the original car more desirable, depending on what they change. Fair play to Toyota though. You've gotta admire their direction of travel with Gazoo Racing.
There are clearly lots of owners who've bought the GR Yaris as a long term investment or as a fun car that might be more resistant to heavy depreciation. It'll be interesting to see what what happens to used values if/when the new GR is announced (ignoring the broader used car market price trends).
As someone who isn't really interested in a mild upgrade, an auto box, isn't looking to sell anytime soon, and isn't rich enough not to care about heavy depreciation – here's my dream scenario:
- The face-lifted car is released purely as an auto and the styling is slightly tweaked. Being totally selfish, I hope they slightly mess up the bumpers (like that horrible render above with the Halfords-special canards). This will only make the original more desirable. Failing that, I'm quite happy if it doesn't come to the UK.
- The face-lifted car is priced at £40k. Although, I can imagine the new version being rarer without the cheap interest rates and with a higher base price.
- Ideally, the new parts upgrade program will be widely available to UK customers and will allow current owners to make warranty approved upgrades. As someone who prefers OEM+ cars, it would be great to get a proper solution to the seating position. (My lowering kit works, but it's a bit shonky and it's a shame to add the weight to the car). I'd be keen to improve the throttle response, increase the mid range torque, add more rear bias to sport mode (the Kinto programme in the UK). An upgraded GR exhaust that actually makes a noise would go down a storm too – I'm thinking something like the JCW tuning package you could buy for the R53 Mini Cooper S. I'm also hoping this stuff would be priced more fairly than some of the aftermarket upgrades that come with added GR tax.
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