Toyota GR Yaris v Subaru Impreza WRX STI track test and performance review

Hey guys, Atko here. Today we're back at Queensland Raceway. On my right I've got the Subaru WRX STI and on my left the Toyota GR Yaris. So both of these cars are born out of WRC rally tradition. The WRX is the original king of the stages and the Yaris is the new kid on the block. They're both all-wheel drive six-speed manuals with turbo engines and they're both absolute weapons on the road. Today we're going to see how they go on the track and find out which one's the fastest. All right, let's see how this STI feels. She's pretty entertaining. Still got it, the old girl. A bit of rally action off the road. You can go anywhere in this car. All right, so initial impressions. Seats not bad. I still miss the old WRX STI seats from the early days but they're pretty good, these Recaro seats. I would like something maybe a little bit deeper. Steering wheel, pretty good. A little bit thicker than I ideally like but no real issue. There we go. A bit of heel towing. Pedal positions seem good. A nice firm pedal as well. I'm able to rotate the car as I touch the brake. Engines performing well there. It's nice and smooth. It doesn't blow you away. It's 221 kilowatts, like it's strong but not crazy for sure. I like the support, the fact that I can lean on the car there. It handles the bumps well. A little bit of push there, a little bit of understeer. How does it rotate? Not bad. I like the nose to be a little bit pointier but handling it pretty well. The traction off those slow corners is excellent. I've put the diff mode in lock. I found that the best on this track. Normally I'd run it a little bit more open on a track but on this circuit because it's tight and twisty and I need good traction, it will understeer. If you just go in too hot and you just ask too much, it's going to understeer there. But if you drive it nice and smooth, it hangs on there no problem at all and riding up at the kerbs, it handles it really well. I like that it's soft but doesn't fall over so you've got traction basically and support. I just like how natural feeling it is. It just gives you feedback, gives you information. Just not afraid to tip it in at 120 there and get your hands off the wheel, hold there in a slide, power out. Awesome traction. Super confidence inspiring this car. It's got support, it's got traction, it's got a strong engine. It's a car that just still offers a lot of fun and it's going to be tough for the Yaris to beat. Alright, time to get serious. Enough fun and games and we're going to try and do a is like. Alright, turn two. Oh, there's a bit more movement in this thing. Seems to be a lot more nervous than the STi. Let's try the brakes. Stops pretty well but same again, just being a smaller car you notice that difference. Traction off the corner is actually pretty similar. No issues, both all-wheel drive. Oh, a lot more reactive with the handbrake as well. That's interesting. So when I'm sliding like that, I get some slip across the front and have understeer and I didn't have that as much in the STi. So it seems when I'm loaded that I lose inside wheel traction. Let's try it a bit smoother, see how that feels. Good on the bumps. Up on the kerb, no issue at all. I'd say their suspension feels really similar. The way it moves enough and then you're able to get support late in the corner, so that's excellent. Brake pedal feel is pretty similar as well, just the Yaris is a bit more twitchy and nervous. And steering, it's actually unbelievable how many things are similar. The steering weight is similar, brake pedal feels similar. I'd say the biggest thing is the movement in the Yaris. You also feel like you just sit a little bit higher and this seat's very similar to the STi's but just could be a little bit deeper for the track work. The engines sound quite different as you'd imagine, a three-cylinder versus a 2.5 boxer, but acceleration-wise pretty similar. There we go. You get away with a bit in this car. That's what you can't do in the STi. You can't rotate it just naturally, you've got to force the rotation a bit more on the STi, where this, you can just sort of come in and it will rotate, especially in the high speed corners. Gearbox feels good, nice and sharp, quick gears. The STi, also very good, I just struggled on a couple of gear shifts in the STi. Felt like I have a little bit more tyre grip in the STi as well. These tyres just seem to be going away and I know on the Rally Edition coming out later in the year, they're going to have definitely better rubber on that. And also the LSDs, so if there is a bit of a time difference, I reckon the Rally Edition is going to make it up with the LSD and the tyres. Such a playful little car, so much fun. That's the only thing I don't like there, that little bit of slip across the axle and it just washes a little bit of understeer. I can't hold the slide like the STi. The STi, I can throw it in, take the hands off the wheels and just slide through the corner, where the Yaris just struggled to do that and as soon as I ask for power, I get that slip on the inside and understeer. So whether that affects the lap time, that would be interesting to see, but then like I said, so many things are similar, they're just a slightly different package. All right, now the time that counts. Can the Yaris match the STi? Here comes the hot lap. 0.8 of a second win to the Subaru on the lap time, but so similar in so many areas. The steering, the braking, the balance, it's so close between these two cars and it's a tough decision to call which one's better. My heart still lies with the Subaru and it's fastest out on track, so I'm heading that way. Yaris still has some work to do and I think when it comes with the diffs and the better tyres in the Rally Edition, it's going to be a match for the STi, so I'm looking forward to that. Hope you guys enjoyed the video and the new format with the two car comparison. If you did, give it a like and don't forget to subscribe to the channel. Let us know your feedback on what else you'd like to see out on the track and we'll see you guys again soon.