I've owned my fridge white Jun-22 car for exactly 1yr today (happy GRY birthday to me

) and having given this a fair bit of thought over last couple of days, reading the Toyota UK press release and watching all the videos I could find..
Almost definitely stating the obvious, I would definitely change for a new one if money was no object. I would have to drive the auto and manual back to back to decide which one I enjoyed more. I do wonder how the additional stiffness (spring rates, structural adhesive, strut mounts) would would play out on a B road blast. And I'd also need to see grey in the flesh to see if I preferred it to white.
I'm ambivalent about the driving position, which I find fine in mk1, and I can't get too excited about the new dash one way or another, but unfortunately money is quite the object!
Given the mk2 new technology and associated development costs, significant inflation since mk1 launch and a narrow to negative margin on mk1, I think a new one will be nudging, if not exceeding £40k. So for me, a significant chunk of cash to change, and as a B road blaster, I don't think smiles per gallon would change measurably with the mk2.
In addition, having had some awesome times in my current car, the bond is strong and I like the feel of having the original version of a game changing car. I popped out to the garage earlier for something and I still have the flutter of excitement seeing it sat there, let alone getting in it for a drive!
Part of me would like the mk1 to have been the end of the story, securing exclusivity for mk1 owners but a bigger part of me is thrilled Toyota are continuing on the GR journey, meaning more people will be able to enjoy a GR and join the community, and more OEM and aftermarket products, services and support can only be a good thing.
I hope and think the mention of 300 UK cars is marketing hype to drive demand. Yes, there is legislation which penalises companies that don't hit the required ratio of EV to ICE cars but surely all those development costs wouldn't have been incurred for such low sales volumes...
So I'll continue to enjoy reading other people's thoughts and views with interest and eagerly await the next installment of the mk2 story, Mar-24 when pricing is announced
