Review: 2025 Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport
Here it is, the 2025 Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport, a little bruiser sits near the top end of Toyota’s small car family, nestled just above the standard Yaris supermini, but a good few rungs below the proper off-roaders like the RAV4 and the Hilux. Think of it as the posh cousin who got a bit of a gym membership and a snazzier haircut, but still has to borrow its big brother’s boots for a proper walk. It shares its underpinnings with the regular Yaris, so they’re proper siblings, but this one's been to finishing school and had its suspension re-tuned by the clever folk at Toyota Gazoo Racing.
It’s got a bit more poke under the bonnet than the rest of the Yaris Cross range too, so it’s not just for show.
On the road
The first thing you notice is the ride. You’d think with that sporty ‘GR’ badge and the retuned suspension, it’d be a bit of a bone-shaker, but it's not. It's a bit on the firm side, mind, especially over our lovely, pothole-ridden UK roads. It can get a bit 'busy' and fidgety at low speeds, jigging you about like a kid on a sugar high. But get it up to a decent pace and it settles down nicely. It handles corners with a surprising amount of composure, feeling a lot more planted than its lofty stance would suggest. It's not going to set your world on fire, but it’s nippy enough for a quick dart into a gap in the traffic.
The 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain is a clever little thing. The 2025 model gets the more powerful 130hp version, which is a welcome addition. It’s not going to win any drag races, but it feels more responsive than the old model. The three-cylinder engine has a bit of a characterful buzz to it when you put your foot down, which is a darn sight better than the whiny drone you get from a lot of these sorts of cars. The whole hybrid system is incredibly smooth, switching between petrol and electric power without you even noticing. It’s just getting on with the job, doing its best to save you a few quid at the pump, which is about as Northern as it gets.
On a real-world mixed drive, I’ve been told it’ll do around 58mpg. However, with an indicated 225 miles showing on the dash, I drove down to Coombe Abbey Country Park, Coventry, which is 121 miles away at roughly 70mph, and arrived with a mere 22 miles left in the tank, which by my reckoning is around 36.mpg. So not the most frugal for long motorway jaunts.
Off-road
Now, for the bit our readers actually care about. Off-road ability. Ahem. Let's not mince our words here. No.
Despite its ‘Cross’ moniker it’s a city slicker that’s been given a couple of extra inches of ride height and some chunky-looking wheel arches. It's built for mounting kerbs outside a school, not rock-crawling in the Peak District. While some models in the wider Yaris Cross range offer an intelligent all-wheel-drive system (AWD-i), the GR Sport is firmly a front-wheel-drive affair. That AWD-i system is a clever bit of kit, but even with it, you're not going to be tackling anything more challenging than a waterlogged car park at a festival.
So, for us Mud Lifers, its off-road ability is, shall we say, theoretical. It’ll handle a muddy track down to your mate’s farm for a bonfire night, or a grassy field at a car boot sale, but that's about it. You'd be better off getting one of its bigger, burlier siblings if you’re planning anything more adventurous. So, if you're looking for a serious off-roader, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a car that looks a bit like one but will get you to the supermarket and back without costing you a fortune, then you're in the right place.
The Interior: Where the Mess Lives
Step inside and you’ll find a cabin that’s a sensible, practical place to be. It’s not exactly dripping in glitz and glamour, but it feels well-put-together, like a good pair of walking boots. The GR Sport trim gets some nice touches like Ultrasuede sports seats with red stitching and some extra GR branding, which adds a bit of flair to an otherwise functional space.
There’s a decent amount of room up front and enough in the back for two short adults to sit in relative comfort, though you wouldn't want to cram a third in for a long journey.
Now for the important question: can you load a muddy dog, camping gear and general tat in the back? Absolutely. The boot is a decent size for a car of this class at 350 litres. It's a nice, square shape, and you can get a two-tier boot floor that lets you either hide valuables or create a flat space for bigger items. The back seats split 40:20:40, which is a great feature for squeezing in longer bits of gear, like fishing rods or a collapsed tent, while still having space for a passenger. The doors open nice and wide, so getting a muddy Lurcher in the back shouldn't be a wrestle. Toyota's even thought of us messy types, putting rubber-lined seatbacks in some trims, which is a brilliant, simple idea for protecting the fabric from muddy paws and wet gear. It's a proper little workhorse in a party frock.
Tech & Pet Peeves: Pushing the Buttons
This is where things get interesting. For a lot of new cars, everything's been crammed onto a touchscreen. And that’s a massive pet peeve of mine. I like a proper dial to turn up the heat without having to take my eyes off the road for a moment too long. Thankfully, Toyota still gets it. You've got a smart infotainment screen for all the gubbins like the sat-nav and phone mirroring, but the climate controls—the things you actually need to use on the fly—are all good, old-fashioned, physical buttons and dials. You can change the temperature, fan speed and direction with a quick twist or press. Absolute bliss. They get valuable points for that.
As for the tech, it’s got all the usual modern wizardry like a wireless phone charger and a 10.5” multimedia screen on higher trims. But what about that other pet peeve: switching off the lane departure warning? On the Yaris Cross, it's a bit of a faff. You have to go into the menus on the digital driver’s display and press a button to disable it. It's not a simple switch on the dashboard like the Hilux. I'd love it if you could just press one button and turn the whole lot off like other manufacturers offer, but no. It's a couple of button presses every time you get in. It's the kind of thing that makes you want to shout "Just let me drive the bloody car!" at the windscreen, but at least the option is there.
Conclusion
So, where does that leave us? The 2025 Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport is a bit of a paradox. It looks like it wants to be a rally car, but it’s happiest pottering around town, sipping fuel like it’s a delicate cup of tea. It's got a sporty badge and firm suspension, but its real talent is being a no-nonsense, practical, and highly efficient urban runabout. It’s not going to win any awards for sheer excitement, but that’s not what it’s for. It’s a car that's built for real life, for the school run, for the tip run, for carrying your muddy dog to the woods and back.
It’s an excellent all-rounder that will cost you next to nothing to run, is easy to live with, and has just enough practicality to make it a genuinely useful bit of kit for anyone with an active, outdoorsy lifestyle. The GR Sport trim gives it a bit of a lift in the looks department, and the more powerful engine is a welcome addition. But don’t be fooled by the 'sport' in the name; its true strength is its frugality and sense.
And with that, I’m off for a brew.
Website - Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport
Price - £31,245
