GR Yaris MrJ’s Daily Driver

[MrJ]

Hi everyone

I had a thread in ‘the other place’ so thought I’d have one here too. It’s a lot less exciting than some of the others on here, but it will chronicle my (hopefully) long-term ownership of a GR Yaris as my daily driver.

My past car ownership has been:

Mk1 Austin Mini (my first car and still owned but tucked away in storage, slowly rusting.)
Mk1 Yaris D4D
Mk2 Yaris D4D

Not quite the Evos, McLarens, and Porsches I’ve seen on the forums, but previous priorities were always cheap and reliable motoring.

I first heard of the GR Yaris at the tail end of 2020, and it took me until mid January 2021 to figure out that it was actually a sensible proposition, affordable, and with a 10 year warranty, unlikely to bankrupt me if something went wrong. My order was placed online during the lockdown, changed spec and colour twice, and then the wait began…

I’ll fast-forward through the next 9 months of accumulating bits and bobs (brochures, road tests, CUPHOLDERS),learning how to detail a car and machine polishing my old Yaris for my girlfriend, and finally a lot of ship tracking (thanks @Brasso!)…

 

[kinboshi]

Subscribed.

 

[MrJ]

9/9/21 - Collection day

My first new car, collecting from long time friends of the family at Harlech Toyota.



My order was originally slated for November/December delivery, so I was determined to make the most of collecting it at the tail end of summer and being able to prep and protect the car nicely before winter. More importantly, imminent road trips and lots of driving. So, I booked the week off, and got my hands dirty…

 

[MrJ]

I saw all these amazing photos of GRs fresh out of the detailers, looking incredible and decided I fancied giving it a go myself. Lots of YouTube videos later (thanks Forensic Detailing Channel) and I tested out my new machine polishing skills on my old Yaris (over 100k miles on the clock), which was being passed on to my girlfriend. Ok, ok, I was basically practicing ruining her car instead of my new one


I was really pleased with how it turned out, so was happy to give it a go on my new car...

First I borrowed a driveway (thanks Dad!), and set to work giving the car a full decontamination from the journey from Japan, a super light finishing polish (Menzerna 3800), and a coat of Gyeon Cancoat, which is a really easy to use lightweight ceramic coating. I don't have a garage so could only use products that can be used in the dry.


I don't remember any marks on the paint, but there were swirls on the black plastic trim and some bird poo that had etched in. Nothing that didn't come out with a bit of polishing with the DA though.

I fitted MFF mudflaps for protection, covered the underneath in Lanoguard and Bilt Hamber Dynax, PPF panels from @Sticky, and a 13 x 8 rear plate just because, and the finished article looked like this:



Next, interior stuff...

TRD fake carbon panels and the cupholders, which are the best mod ever:



Garmin Dashcam Mini front and rear, hooked up to a Cellink battery. I managed to tidy up the rear cable later and run it through the inside of the bootlid. TGR 3.0 Mirror riser:

 

[MrJ]

I gave the interior a bit of protection, using Gtechniq Matte Dash on the plastics and Smart Fabric on the alcantara and carpets, which is great for stopping water spills absorbing into the fabric.

Next, the bit I was nervous about. Fitting mesh behind the grille to protect the radiator and intercooler. I'm glad I did this, and it's holding up well. Not a bad job at all to remove the front bumper, I followed the Lazer lamps guide on YouTube for it.


Finally, swapped out the rear number plate lights for Prius LED ones, just so all the lights at the rear match up now. Standard on left, Prius on right:

And there it was, I managed to collect the car and do all the jobs I wanted just in time to take it on a road trip from Manchester to Sussex for the Goodwood Revival. One happy bunny

 

[gr-fun]

Welcome.

 

[MrJ]

Road trip! Manchester to Goodwood Revival to run the car in, and enjoy this wonderful little brand new car. I mostly avoided motorways and constant speeds, and varied the driving as much as possible, before reaching the magical 621 miles.

Gratuitous cup holder shot:


At this point, I think I started my unhealthy habit of taking too many photographs of my own car:


Stopped off on the way home to have an immobiliser fitted so I can be a bit less nervous about leaving the car parked up in the city.

The car didn’t miss a beat all trip, and was a joy to drive. The first of many road trips

 

[coded2112]

Welcome, i really admire your hard work and the effort put into detailing and adding the little bits that will save your car in the future!

Top job!

I on the other hand am a lazy so and so, see attached pic waiting for Road Grime Black to be detailed back to Precious by the dealer when serviced on Monday!!

 

[MrJ]

Next up was a set of winter wheels. Slight paranoia about the expensive BBS kicked in, and I always liked having all season tyres on for the winter months, so decided to spend half the year on Michelin Crossclimate 2, mounted on 18x8 ET35 Speedline 2013c, because 90s rally? I'm quite happy to sacrifice a bit of weight over the winter months for less wear and tear on the originals. I'm biased, but also think they look great on the car. I can't put my finger on it, but I find it very aesthetically pleasing! Some standard Yaris rubber mats and a Harrison's Trim Supplies boot liner, and it was good to go for autumn/winter.



Next up was simply a lot of use and enjoyment. It's been used for trips all over the UK, mostly to North Wales, camping in the Lake District, spirited drives around the Peak District, and some quality bonding time. I have so many photos because it basically begs me to drive it to spectacular places, and then I can't help but stop, admire the view (and the car).

 

[MrJ]

And finally to take us up to the present day, I have succumbed to a few more mods, and it's mostly all your fault, and not because I'm weak-minded, nope, not at all.

The completist in me hated how the Japanese cars had a strut brace, and we had six naked bolts, so on with the GR item picked up in the Black Friday sales.



Next up, an HKS Legamax exhaust. Yes, I always said the best thing about this car is how silent it is, and doesn't draw attention to itself etc etc... but I just couldn't resist in the end. Everyone says it about their own choice of exhaust, but to me it sounds how I would have imagined it did out of the factory. So easy to install, no slip joints, just four bolts and pop it on the exhaust hangers. Those tailpipes



Last of all, I fitted a Brodit mount, onto which I fixed a MagSafe holder onto now that I've got a newer iPhone. It's nice and small and holds my phone really securely, and I can run a short USB cable to the phone now.



That's about it for now. I won't go into all the issues with the immobiliser and flat battery, as hopefully that will be sorted very shortly, and I'd quite like to forget about it, and do a lot more of this instead:

 

[MrJ]

Welcome, i really admire your hard work and the effort put into detailing and adding the little bits that will save your car in the future!

Top job!

I on the other hand am a lazy so and so, see attached pic waiting for Road Grime Black to be detailed back to Precious by the dealer when serviced on Monday!!

Thanks I'll be honest, before this car, I don't think I'd used anything more than an old bucket and grit-filled sponge on anything I've owned. But 9 months waiting does strange things to a person!

Mine is filthy more often than not, but I must admit, I did really enjoy going over it in that first week, seeing all the details inside and out, and getting to know it. I'll never keep it clean over the winter, but I'm trying to get into half decent habits with jet washing the salt off underneath every couple of weeks and things like that. It would be nice if 10 years down the line and I still have the car, it will have made a bit of a difference.

 

[coded2112]

Great to see you enjoying it and getting out and about in it!

 

[gr-fun]

Does the Brodit mount still clamp well to the dash, or does having the TRD trim make life difficult?
I already use the Brodit mount, but haven't looked at buying the trim because I thought it could compromise the bracket!

 

[MrJ]

Does the Brodit mount still clamp well to the dash, or does having the TRD trim make life difficult?
I already use the Brodit mount, but haven't looked at buying the trim because I thought it could compromise the bracket!

Yeah, it sort of hooks around it with clearance, rather than pressing against it. I fitted the trim before the mount, but it doesn't seem to put any pressure on the TRD trim itself. It's secure enough that I haven't even bothered using the sticky pads:


Not the best angle, but I could see no issues. Those are residue from stickers on the trim rather than scratches, it's not that delicate. I have had to resort to stickers all over the dash to remind me to deactivate start/stop before every journey until the immobiliser is sorted

 

[MrJ]

Does this mean I'm an influencer now? Oh lordy...

I like them enough that I was genuinely considering buying a second set to put away while they are available, in case of damage or when wear and tear gets the better of mine. Result!

I'll wear anyone's logo for a freebie Do you hear that Eventuri? ANYONE'S!

Edit: Which reminds me, I have a certain Zoo sticker to put on my car.

 

[MrJ]

This happened today

Yes, ok, I might be the first person who’s ever matched their exhaust to their pre-ordered boot carpet…

 

[coded2112]

Wow that's a carpet!!

 

[MrJ]

Wow that's a carpet!!

It makes up for the lack of a boot light

 

[Chris64]

Perhaps you can get it on a roll and put it in your living room?!

 

[MrJ]

Perhaps you can get it on a roll and put it in your living room?!

Plenty of options out there