The new Toyota GR Yaris will set you back at least £44,250

Toyota has confirmed that the updated GR Yaris will start from £44,250 for UK customers. Ouch. Oh, and you'll need £60,000 for one of the special editions. That’s a lot of money for a dinky hot hatch, and it's a little more shocking given the sub-£30k starting price for the previous model. No matter though, we still love it. 

The entry-level GR Yaris will now be offered with either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed ‘Gazoo Racing Direct’ automatic, with the latter setting you back an extra £1,500. Regardless of gearbox choice, the rally-bred turbocharged three-cylinder remains, although power and torque have both seen healthy increases to 276bhp and 287lb ft.

Toyota has also fiddled with the chassis and suspension, adjusting spring rates and reinforcing the front shock absorbers to achieve small gains when you’re giving it the beans. The all-wheel drive system remains untouched, however, and will continue to be supported by a pair of Torsen limited-slip differentials.

And we almost forgot! Toyota will also offer a choice of two special editions: the ‘Ogier’ and ‘Rovanpera’ versions. If you aren’t familiar with those surnames, they belong to eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier and two-time-winner Kalle Rovanpera, who race for (and often win with) Toyota’s Gazoo Racing World Rally team.

They both put a few extra hours into working on these special editions, so you now get a ‘Gravel’ and ‘Track’ mode added which reflects the corresponding driver’s preferred settings when activated. That’s pretty cool, right?

But is it another £15,000 over the standard model cool? We’ll let you answer that below…