Toyota GR Yaris v Subaru Impreza WRX STI track test and performance review
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TechTranscript
00:00Hey guys, Atko here. Today we're back at Queensland Raceway. On my right I've got
00:04the Subaru WRX STI and on my left the Toyota GR Yaris. So both of these cars
00:09are born out of WRC rally tradition. The WRX is the original king of the stages
00:15and the Yaris is the new kid on the block. They're both all-wheel drive,
00:19six-speed manuals with turbo engines and they're both absolute weapons on the
00:24road. Today we're going to see how they go on the track and find out which one's
00:27the fastest.
00:31Alright, let's see how this STI feels. She's pretty entertaining. Still
00:39got it, the old girl.
00:44Bit of rally action off the road. You can go anywhere in this car. Alright, so initial
00:49impressions. Seats not bad. I still miss the old WRX STI seats from the early
00:56days but they're pretty good, these Recaro seats. I would like something
01:00maybe a little bit deeper. Steering wheel, pretty good. A little bit thicker
01:06than I ideally like but no real issue. There we go, a bit of heel towing. Pedal
01:11positions seem good. A nice firm pedal as well. I'm able to rotate the car as I
01:17touch the brake. Engines performing well there. It's nice and smooth. It doesn't
01:23blow you away. It's 221 kilowatts, like it's strong but not not crazy for sure.
01:42I like the support, the fact that I can lean on the car there.
01:48It handles the bumps well. A little bit of push there, a little bit of understeer.
01:54How does it rotate? Not bad. I'd like the nose to be a little bit pointier but
02:00handling it pretty well.
02:10The traction off those slow corners is excellent. I've put the diff mode in lock.
02:13I found that the best on this track. Normally I'd run it a little bit more
02:17open on a track but on this circuit because it's tight and twisty and I
02:23need good traction, it will understeer. If you just go in too hot and you just
02:27ask too much, it's going to understeer there. But if you drive it nice and
02:31smooth, it hangs on there no problem at all. And riding up at the kerbs it
02:42handles it really well. I like that it's soft but doesn't fall over so you've got
02:47traction basically and support. I just like how natural feeling it is. It just
02:52gives you feedback, gives you information. Just not afraid to tip it in at 120 there
02:57and get your hands off the wheel, hold it there in a slide, power out. Awesome
03:02traction. Super confidence inspiring this car. It's got support, it's got traction,
03:07it's got a strong engine. It's a car that just still offers a lot of fun and it's
03:15going to be tough for the Yaris to beat.
03:19All right time to get serious. Enough fun and games and we're going to try and do a
03:24hot lap and see how quick it goes.
04:18All right let's see what this little Yaris is like. All right turn two.
04:48Oh there's a bit more movement in this thing. Seems to be a lot more nervous
04:54than the STi. Let's try the brakes. Stops pretty well but same again just being a
05:01smaller car you notice that difference.
05:06Traction off the corner is actually pretty similar. No issues, both all-wheel
05:11drive. A lot more reactive with the handbrake as well. That's interesting. So when I'm
05:21sliding like that I get some slip across the front and have understeer and I
05:25didn't have that as much in the STi. So it seems when I'm loaded that I lose
05:30inside wheel traction. Let's try it a bit smoother see how that feels. Good on the
05:36bumps. Up on the curb no issue at all. I'd say their suspension feels really
05:42similar. The way it moves enough and then you're able to get support late in the
05:48corner so that's that's excellent. Brake pedal feel is it's pretty similar as
05:52well just the Yaris is a bit more twitchy and nervous. And steering it's
05:58it's actually unbelievable how many things are similar. The steering weight
06:01is similar, brake pedal feels similar. I'd say the biggest thing is the movement in
06:05the Yaris. You also feel like you just sit a little bit higher and this seats
06:11very similar to the STi's but just could be a little bit deeper for the track
06:16work. The engines sound quite different as you'd imagine a three-cylinder versus
06:222.5 boxer but acceleration wise pretty similar.
06:36You can get away with a bit in this car. That's what you can't do in the STi. You can't
06:46rotate it just naturally. You've got to force the rotation a bit more on the STi
06:50where this you can just sort of come in and it will rotate especially in the
06:54high-speed corners. Gearbox feels good, nice and sharp, quick gears. The STi also
07:01very good I just struggled on a couple of gear shifts in the STi. Felt like I have a little bit more
07:08tire grip in the STi as well. These tyres just seem to be going away and I know on
07:14the Rally Edition coming out later in the year they're going to have
07:18definitely better rubber on that and also the LSDs. So if there is a bit of a
07:24time difference I reckon the Rally Edition is going to make it up with the
07:28LSD and the tyres.
07:32Such a playful little car, so much fun. That's the only thing I don't like there
07:37that little bit of slip across the axle and it just washes a little bit of
07:42understeer. I can't hold the slide like the STi. The STi I can throw it in, take
07:46the hands off the wheels and just slide through the corner where the Yaris just
07:50struggled to do that and as soon as I asked for power I get that slip on the
07:54inside and understeer. So whether that affects the lap time that would be
07:58interesting to see but then like I said so many things are similar they're just
08:02a slightly different package. Alright now the time that counts can the Yaris
08:06match the STi? Here comes the hot lap.
08:24I'm on it there.
08:54So there you go guys I did not expect that big a gap 0.8 of a second win to
09:21the Subaru on the lap time but so similar in so many areas. The steering,
09:26the braking, the balance, it's so close between these two cars and it's a tough
09:30decision to call which one's better. My heart still lies with the Subaru and
09:34it's fastest out on track so I'm heading that way. Yaris still has some work to do
09:38and I think when it comes with the diffs and the better tyres in the Rally
09:41Edition it's going to be a match for the STi so I'm looking forward to that. Hope
09:44you guys enjoyed the video and the new format with the two car comparison. If
09:48you did give it a like and don't forget to subscribe to the channel. Let us know
09:51your feedback on what else you'd like to see out in the track and we'll see you
09:54guys again soon.