Malaysians love “sport”. We can tell from the many souped up regular cars on the road, whether DIY or optioned at the showroom. The carmakers know this as well, and have been profiting from it while fulfilling demand. Our penchant for all things sporty has even influenced local design – see the deeply cut and sharp bumpers of the Perodua Bezza for instance.
Most of the time, it’s just aesthetics, but this Toyota Vios GR-S is rather comprehensive for a sporty variant. Sure, there are “fierce” looks, but our market’s first GR Sport car sees changes to the powertrain and chassis as well, plus some interior enhancements that can’t be done at Brothers. Locally developed by UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT), it tops the Vios range at RM95,294 on-the-road without insurance (without sales tax).
Based on the 2021 Vios facelift that was launched yesterday night, the Vios GR-S’ headlining feature is a “10-speed CVT”. Not the same thing as a 10-speed automatic, Toyota has programmed the stepless automatic gearbox to have 10 virtual ratios in its manual mode. That’s three speeds more than the seven in the regular car, and there are steering paddle shifters for you to DIY.
Toyota says that the 10-speed configuration improves response by keeping the 1.5L NR Dual VVT-i engine (unchanged at 107 PS/140 Nm) in a higher RPM range. Now that may sound a bit gimmicky (there are “10-speed” logos on the side skirts!) but GR ambassador and two-time Vios Challenge champion Tengku Djan Ley says the feature is useful in spirited driving.
“It’s a car with a lot of character, it’s a lot more engaging, and has better steering feedback. The availability of a 10-speed CVT transmission may sound too much, but for a 1.5 litre, it allows the car to be driven at the optimum power band and keeps it spirited throughout the RPM,” the pro drifter said.
CVT aside, the GR-badged Vios also comes with sports suspension tuned “for both increased handling and confidence in high speed as well as comfort”. It rides on 17-inch multi-spoke wheels, the largest ever fitted to a Vios from the factory. The black wheels are paired with 205/45 Toyo Proxes TR1 performance tyres, which sport an aggressive asymmetric tread pattern.
Previous sporty Vios variants that went beyond an aerokit included the 2017 Vios Sports Edition and the TRD Sportivo with optional sports suspension from the “Dugong” generation.
As for the looks, there’s no mistaking the GR-S as a regular Vios. The significantly more aggressive exterior is fronted by a bumper that’s “reminiscent of the GR Yaris“. That’s in reference to the “side vents”, but the mouth also gets a honeycomb mesh instead of horizontal slats on the regular car. Side skirts with the above-mentioned “10-speed” badges adorn the sides.
At the back, the rear bumper has a much larger black section and an integrated diffuser. That’s matched with a boot spoiler in black. Also in black are the wing mirror caps and door handles (instead of chrome). Gazoo Racing emblems can be found on the boot and front wings. Only two colours are available: Platinum White Pearl and Red Mica Metallic.
The sport treatment goes deeper than expected in the cabin as well. The most prominent items are the sports seats, which are in a leather and suede combo, with red stitching. Leather and red threads also appear on the steering wheel (with shift paddles) and gear knob. GR logos can be found on the front seat headrests, push start button and floor mats.
Another sporty touch is the red Optitron meter panel with red needles. This scheme replaces the blue-white theme in other Vios variants. As a bonus, the 4.2-inch multi-info display has GR animation. As for the rest of the equipment list, the GR Sport builds on the 1.5G, the highest non-GR grade priced at RM87,584 on-the-road before insurance, with the 2020 sales tax exemption.
Once again, the Toyota Vios GR-S is priced at RM95,294 on-the-road without insurance, without sales tax. It’s available exclusively at GR Garage outlets and Toyota dealers participating in the Vios Challenge. The official pics from yesterday didn’t show much of the details, so go on and browse our usual all-round, in-and-out gallery below for a closer look. What do you think?
GALLERY: 2021 Toyota Vios GR-S
GALLERY: 2021 Toyota Vios GR-S official images
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Makin hodoh pulak Vios ni aku tengok
Sudah la babe, tak abes2 cermin muka hodoh tu
Biasa2 je, Tak lawa pun bios yaris
Hi hater aka tcp driver. Both facelift for yaris and vios are more beautiful bro. Lagi sudah u bro.
Middle aged people and you said this is not nice. But everyone including younger said this makes them very exciting.
Overall, all perfect with excellent design
Wow, well done
Plus interest for 9 year loan this angry bird Vios actually cost Rm125 grand…Think hard before inflating UMW month end sales volume.
Times have been altered by the rampaging virus.
Who would fathom Air Asia Japan go bust? Or Virgin Airways?Or even well managed SIA lost so much money.
If u only have Plan A…without backup plans,u r definitely digging a money pit if u sign up without due diligence.
The good old days may never come back.The horizon seems to have shifted.
9 year loan plus interest. Cannot afford to pay, just apply car loan moratorium. Ptptn here to help out too..
Life too short to over worried. Be YOLO you only live once! Iphone12, yeezy, Yaris GRS, yzf r25, tiktok, kpop. Happy peace yo’
Sangat cantiknya bro.
So now silently Tengku Mahaleel make a stint at UMW.
Welcome to our new brother king.
Toyota all the way
This Vios grown up to be so handsome and good looking …. last time all those vitriol of names, dugong keli dolphin cencorot.
Those adrenaline-rush bhoys better can afford a vios … before trying to ngorat my little teen gal..
Vios has new nickname: The Joker frown.
Nope. You are referring in the past and pre facelift. But at least this new facelift doesn’t look joker frown at all.
Good point: Safety features top class.
Bad point: No matter how many hundreds virtual speed you give to the CVT, it is still powered by a boring and lazy 107PS NA engine.
Verdict: Still a lame product to challenge the X50 I guess.
You will experience soon. With 10 speed CVT, the acceleration will be lower and top speed will be over 200 km/h since Vios with 7 speed CVT accelerates in 10.3 sec to reach 100 km/h in 200 km/h as top speed which I watched Yaris Ativ 1.5 India YouTube.
Both got 10 seconds sprint which is slow
You will should try this Vios with 10 speed. Believe that it will be lower than 10 seconds when accelerates from 0-100 km/h
Agreed.
Both X50 and Vios are not performance car,
Both does 10s sprint in reality.
But 1 is more fun at cornering, hi speed with the injection of GR strengthening, 10CVT sport mode NR engine higher rpm rev for spirited drive.
Previous, affordable cars like Wira, Kelisa Manual also very fun, despite more than 13s to 100. It’s due to capable spirited drive, handling at thier era.
No mention if the final drives stay the same though.
It’s still the same CVT gearbox. Whatever “gears” you have are virtual ratios. The CVT technically does not have gears. In fact shifting manually with the paddles might even slow you down.
Tg Djan must have puked a lil bit inside his own mouth and swallowed just to toe in with the UMW Toyota marketing gimmicks on the CVT.
Dude they’re not competing each other..
Bro, you’re comparing the China car to the Japs big brother product? Haha!
@hongyeehong, Don’t underestimate your own capability.
You are saying that whatever your profession/business is, the Japs are better and they are big brother and therefore cannot compare.
Please eliminate this inferior mindset.
Auto cruise?
Better than pre facelift
Looks more sportier than current City. Well done to UMW Toyota!
I think ur better off with a used 86 if you want something that will put a smile on your face and not a car that your kids drive to university.
This is a game changer in the RACE car category
High rpm dual vvti, 10speed CVT, 205R17, sports dampers and suspension yet magically comfortable, Semi-bucket Sofa, GR-fied.
Previous entry level RACE car:
1. Satria LotusR RM 115k.
2. Renault Clio Cup RM 172k.
Others are not considered with only higher performance enigne, but not track RACE ready.
No pun intended if any is missed out to this definition of RACE.
Toyota 86 is excellent, but one compromised the fun of owning a sleeper, and race at the Vios Cup. Even there is a Saga Cup, no pun intended to insult. Its a norm in the racing industry.
Even R3 Saga tapau Honda at S1K sepang race.
Can’t agree more.
Wake up bro. He is telling his truth
Agreed, Toyota 86 is a legend, a pre-loved in the Western and Eastern racing industry.
i will NOT buy this car. don’t have air con vent rear passenger and NO cruise control.
– TSS with AEB, LDA
– 7 airbags
– Reliable Engine
– Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
Robust NR dual vvti, GR-s
Nice combo drivetrain for more modifications.
More stable daily cornerning and highway drive.
1.15tonne, but 205/R17 tyres, good grip
near RM100K for this ah beng car?????
add a few K more can get top top Proton X50 dee…
Copy and Paste II: “ This is perfect car. Not ah beng car”
Funny that people put X50 and the Vios GR-S in comparison. They don’t car? Or I know too much about car?
Anyone have the right to compare anything they like. You do not need to have a Phd in automotive to compare things about cars.
Yes, I think you know too much about car.
Perfect car must match with perfect driver
Snailivo
Allegro
Not worth it, unless we can get full suite of Toyota Safety Sense 2.0. The radar, camera are there, just enable it, please.
Brother, it’s a sub-100k car.
Proton also need above RM 100k for AEB, more expensive.
Perfect sport car
It’s going to be fun when driving this
A lot fun I suppose.
So sporty
this is 2021 model toyota. Have you all tried this car? it is slower than 2004 or 2007 model of the same!
Whats the point of a 10 speed CVT ratio for performance reasons? The main advantage of CVT in terms of performance is the ability to maintain a constant RPM which the max horsepower of the engine is on a dyno graph while your speed is increasing.
Handsome looker
Extremely sedan
Looks even more prettier car
So now when bringing new Fortuner. Btw, GR Sport Vios looks more handsome
i urge the gov to ban the sale of these so called “sports cars” as it’s proven to be a menace on the road
The cars become too expensive in Malaysia due to nobody argue abt the price… In another 10 years the vios will be selling at 200k and still we will say it’s a nice car and worth the penny.. on Malaysians
Definitely will becoming king of vios
Looks cool to me
with 97k i will op for civic anytime
With 10 virtual ratios gear, it was very interesting to all
Awesome and congrats to UMW Toyota
Wonderful
10 speed on a cvt is just a gimmick. The engine is still one of the lowest output in it’s class. The honda city has more power and can easily smoke it even though thus vios got useless 10 speed.
lowest output comparison, should based on the wheel dyno:
Peak dyno performance for current range, 2020 engine, below red line:
Myvi 1.5L 84hp/121Nm
Vios 1.5L 88hp/124Nm
City 1.5L 97hp/87nm
Almera 1.0T 82hp/107Nm
Racer judge based on testing wheel dyno,for performance study-rpm matching, not paper spec.
Perfect car
And this is what we called finished design. Great job
Toyota – All About Awesome Drive
The current Persona standard MT would very likely beat it after several laps around the track.
Why need 10CVT? How fast it can go now? 6 speed good enough.
Give more, more and more gadget, make it go beyond rm200k!
maybe Toyota can replace Vios Engine with Yaris GR engine (i.e. 1.6L 3 cyls turbo) into the Vios GR-S model. Just front wheel drive. So it will be unique as compare to J, E or G Vios spec..I dont know the performance & price…just idea only
If it had a 1.0 turbo 3 cylinders might be worth it due to there is tunable capability. For 95k, just not worth it. What a dissapointment. Might as well go for City RS which had the turbo 3. More syiok! But I prefer Toyota’s looks though. The GR badge definately more desirable. Standard equipment are top notch!