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The 2023 Toyota Aqua is contemporary off of a redesign, and the hatchback is now additionally getting a refresh as a part of Toyota’s GR lineup in Japan. The Aqua GR Sport has extra in frequent with the Toyota GR Yaris, however the Aqua is healthier related to the Prius within the U.S., which principally makes the brand new Aqua GR Sport the closest factor we’ve seen to a GR Prius. Effectively, at the very least till the new Prius Prime is launched within the U.S. someday quickly.
The Toyota Aqua was bought because the Prius C within the U.S. till it was discontinued in 2019; the Prius C (or c for metropolis) was billed as a smaller model of everyone’s favourite hybrid, however didn’t catch on for a number of causes — not the least of which was how uneventful it was to drive. After the Prius C was discontinued, the compact hybrid mantle handed on to the Corolla Hybrid within the U.S., however the Toyota Aqua lived on abroad, together with in its dwelling market of Japan.
Now that the most recent mannequin is out, Toyota Gazoo Racing is treating the brand new Aqua to a couple upgrades. The Aqua GR Sport isn’t a full on GR mannequin, nevertheless, so it’s not going to make extra energy than the usual mannequin; the hatch will nonetheless be powered by a 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine making about 90 horsepower and simply over 88 lb-ft of torque. The five-seater hatch will likely be bought solely as a 2WD mannequin with energy despatched to the entrance wheels.
The bottom Aqua has a curb weight of two,535 kilos so Toyota engineers leaned into the automotive’s small dimension and weight, tuning the suspension for higher dealing with and bettering steering response by tweaking the ability steering management. Toyota GR additionally needed to make the automotive extra inflexible, in order that they added bracing underneath the ground and strengthened the rear bumper for extra stability whereas cornering.
And since it is a GR trim, the Aqua GR Sport additionally will get a number of exterior and inside design touches to set it aside from different Toyota Aquas zipping round Japan sipping gas. The bottom mannequin will get 79 miles per gallon mixed (WLTC) however the Aqua GR Sport will get barely much less, at 69 MPG. The added weight of the bracing and reinforcements don’t assist right here, nor do the bigger 17-inch aluminum wheels. However the Aqua GR Sport appears to be like the half, and I guess the brand new suspension and steering makes the small automotive enjoyable to toss round. Gentle vehicles that deal with are a deal with, and a Prius with a GR badge and retune is a stunning concept. The Aqua GR Sport will begin at ¥2,595,000 in Japan, or $18,761 at present alternate charges.
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