What's all this about?

It's Toyota finally starting to show signs of shrugging off the shroud of dullness that has swaddled the company since it decided to kill off the Celica, MR2 and Supra many moons ago. This is a Yaris with chutzpah. Or, more accurately, in excess of 210hp.

Good grief? A 210hp-plus Yaris?

Indeedy. Based on the three-door model, it's supposed to form a link between the existing road-car range - of which the 'fastest' model is probably the 99hp/169Nm Hybrid; deep joy - and the wild Yaris WRC competing in the World Rally Championship. No word as yet as to what the hot Yaris will be called (we've had SR and T-Sport variants in the past, although with only 105- or 133hp, these have been nowhere near as potent as this newcomer) but we'll get to see it at the Geneva Motor Show in March. And, what with the existence of the GT86, the wonderful C-HR and with rumours rife that the Supra is supposed to be on the way back, Toyota looks like it's getting its mojo back.

Is that all that's happening to the Yaris in 2017?

Oh, a brand-new 210hp+ rival to the Ford Fiesta ST, Peugeot 208 GTi, etc not enough for you? Well, rejoice in the fact the entire Yaris range is being facelifted front and rear, while all variants of the car are to benefit from a sharper interior and 'many technical modifications' to improve the comfort and handling. More details will be revealed in Geneva.

Matt Robinson - 12 Jan 2017