How much will the Toyota GR Yaris cost?

Plenty of questions regarding the Toyota GR Yaris have already been answered.

We know it’s going to have a 200kW/370Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine, a clever new constantly variable all-wheel drive system, six-speed manual gearbox, weigh 1280kg and use big brakes.

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We even know how it drives thanks to an early taste of some late-stage prototypes on road and track in Portugal at the end of last year. The one big question that remains, though, is how much is it going to cost?

Toyota Australia refuses to give a hint as to its projected pricing, saying only it won’t be a limited edition car and that it understands that the pricing has to be attainable. To be honest, that statement creates as many questions as answers, but there is some clues that should put us in the ballpark.

The only market for which Toyota has announced GR Yaris pricing is its Japanese home market. The RZ costs ¥3,960,000 and the RZ High Performance ¥4,560,000, however these prices are inclusive of Japan’s 10 per cent Consumption Tax.

Sadly, Australia won’t receive the High Performance pack, with its Michelin tyres and Torsen limited-slip diffs, so by removing the consumption tax and converting the base RZ’s price at current exchange rates we get AUD$46,332.

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However, the current RZ pricing is for the special ‘First Edition’, which has various body elements painted in matte black. Not a huge addition, but presumably one that still commands a premium. As such, it seems the best-case scenario Australia can hope for is a GR Yaris starting price of about AUD$45,000.

Of course, Australia has its own consumption tax in the form of GST and adding that to the straight conversion figure of AUD$46,332 leaves us with a price tag of AUD$50,965.

Helpfully, there are a couple of cars that allow us to sense-check this straight conversion maths. A Toyota Supra RZ (the six-cylinder one) costs ¥6,900,000 in Japan (including consumption tax) which equates to AUD$89,700, smack bang in the middle of Australia’s $84,900 GT and $94,900 GTS pricing.

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Australian 86s are even cheaper than their domestic counterparts. In its homeland the sports car starts at ¥2,623,320 (AUD$34,103) for the base G, rising to ¥2,981,880 (AUD$38,764) for the GT and ¥3,183,840 (AUD$41,490) for the range-topping GT Limited (all prices are manual).

In comparison, Aussie 86s starts at AUD$31,440 for the GT and AUD$36,640 for the GTS, figures which give us hope that the GR Yaris will edge closer to the $40,000 mark. We’ll find out for certain closer to its Q4 arrival, but in the meantime, a price tag in the $45,000-$50,000 region seems like the surest bet.