Lexus LBX vs Toyota GR Yaris

What's the difference?

The Lexus LBX Luxury 2WD is the sort of car you get if you’re kids have flown nest or you’re wanting to get into a luxury brand for a relatively affordable price tag.

It earns its compact SUV size tenfold, so don’t expect to be ferrying your crew in this; a cat or small dog maybe but it’s not adult sized in the back seat. However, this grade sees some solid features, it looks great and it’s well suited for city dwelling.

You already could have argued the GR Yaris was the best car Toyota made even before its update.

The GR Yaris’ refreshed interior and its slight bump in performance are the result of plenty of feedback from owners and even racing drivers that Toyota took on board, and the result is an even better sports car.

It helps that it’s not prohibitively expensive in the grand scheme of the new-car market these days.

Now, I reckon even fans of the rear-drive Toyota GR86 might start to doubt their preferences after a stint behind the wheel.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

Sitting smaller than any of its rivals at 4190mm long, 1825mm wide and 1560mm high, the LBX truly earns its compact tag and it shares some underpinnings with its cousin, the Toyota Yaris Cross. So, if you like that, you’ll love the LBX but Lexus has tuned the exterior to look more refined with softer edges and stylised LED lights.

The options for paintwork are all two-toned and that gives the LBX some cool-kid vibes. Add on the 18-inch alloy wheels and large Lexus badging at the rear and you won’t forget you’re getting into something nice.

As you’d expect, the cabin is far more refined than its Toyota cousin and there are a swathe of soft touchpoints and synthetic leather trims throughout the car that boost the luxury look. Doors close with a soft thump and all the joinery is flush and solid-looking.

The dashboard is accentuated by a 9.8-inch touchscreen multimedia system and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster – both of which look great. There are some nice focal points too with the adjustable ambient lighting and contrasting red stitching upholstery.

The GR Yaris isn’t just a regular Yaris with sports bits stuck on, and because of that it looks fantastic. 

It’s properly aggressive, sculpted to look more like a rally car than other Yarises (I’m not calling them ‘Yarii’), even down to the fact it’s a two-door design.

A carbon-fibre roof, aluminium bonnet, doors and tailgate, plus a series of functional aerodynamic and cooling features prove the Yaris doesn’t just look like this for show, though.

The redesigned front bumper directs air to more radiators for extra cooling but also through to the front wheel arches to cool the brakes.

Another change is the tail-light bar, which spans the rear and does away with the light integrated into the rear spoiler, which is now also body coloured. Down below that, larger exhaust tips reflect a more powerful engine.

There’s also significant change inside. The repositioning of some elements for better ergonomics make the GR Yaris a much more driver-oriented space inside, and despite some soft-touch materials it has a race car vibe to it.

The interior centre stack no longer looks like a standard Toyota interior, and the fact Toyota went to the effort and cost to do this purely because of driver feedback shows how serious it is about its GR division’s future.

The size of the cabin well and truly establishes this as an urban dweller that's best suited to one or two occupants. While I have plenty of head and legroom for my 168cm height, I jostle for elbow room with my husband whenever we travel together.

Individual storage up front is what you would expect for the class with a shallow middle console, two cupholders, phone cradle and small storage bins in each door. The glovebox is filled by the manual (I'd toss it in the boot for more room) but one of the cupholders slides backwards and forwards for easier middle console access and you get a handy little shelf under the centre console.

The LBX takes a hit with the cabin's rear-seat practicality and its here that the word 'compact' takes on new meaning. I literally can’t sit behind my driving position without my knees pressing firmly into the back of the seat and I'm only 168cm (5ft6').

Amenities and storage in this row are bare by anyone's standards with a single map pocket and two USB-C ports on offer. That’s it. Not the best for a luxury entry, no matter if it is a base model.

For any families considering this car, my big harnessed booster seat barely fits through the small door aperture and once installed, it blocks part of the view out of the back window. To accommodate my seven-year-olds comfort (and legs), the front passenger seat has to shift forward a lot. It's 100 per cent doable to have a kid in the back but it's not what I'd call a family- or adult-friendly rear seat.

Technology is pretty well-rounded with a multimedia system that is easy to use and responsive to touch. The wireless connectivity for smart phones is great and the built-in satellite navigation proved itself simple to operate.

Charging options are great up front with three USB-C ports, a wireless charging pad and a 12-volt socket to choose from.

Head to the rear and the boot offers decent capacity at 402L. The deep well makes it easy to stack groceries or luggage and underneath the floor is a tyre puncture repair kit. A powered boot lit also comes standard on the base model.

The changes to the GR Yaris interior come down to useability as a sports car.

Thanks to the update, some pre-update complaints about ergonomics like the driver’s seat being too high or impeded visibility have been addressed.

The seat is now 25mm lower and feels much more natural in terms of eye-level and body positioning, but also allows more space above to fit a helmet on your bonce.

The pedals have also moved for easier heel-toeing, while the steering column angle has been adjusted to feel more natural. 

Additionally, the dash panel is now tilted towards the driver by 15 degrees more and there’s better visibility between the dash and rear-view mirror with the multimedia screen now integrated into the centre stack.

Essentially, the Yaris has undergone a generation-level update in the interior and is much better for it.

Everything falls to hand without the driver needing to move their shoulders, but at the same time it doesn’t feel cramped.

While the second row is near unusable for adults - plus only seating two - the 174-litre boot is only 39L less than the GR Corolla. It’s not much space at all, really, but fold the seats down and there’s space for track day gear, maybe even a spare tyre or two. Not that there’s a standard space-saver spare with the car. Just a repair kit.

The GR Yaris comes in two grades, now called GT and GTS, and they're both available with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission.

The ‘entry’ GT comes in at $55,490 plus on-road costs for the manual or $57,990 for the automatic, and has plenty of kit for a performance-focused light hatchback including heated suede and leather-accented sports bucket seats, a leather heated steering wheel and leather-wrapped gearshift, aluminium pedals and park brake lever.

On the tech front you get an 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, USB-C and 12V power sockets, an eight-speaker JBL audio system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and digital radio.

The GTS comes in at $60,490 or $62,990 for the manual and auto respectively, and add some performance extras like a set of 18-inch BBS forged alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sports 4S tyres, red GR brake calipers and upgraded GR sports seats.

The GTS also gains a Torsen limited-slip differential, upgraded GR suspension, a sub-radiator for better cooling as well as intercooler spray.

At this price point, the GR Yaris is wanting for proper rivals. Similarly-priced cars like the Hyundai i30 N and VW Golf GTI are bigger, front-drive and less focused, while similarly-sized cars are either less powerful or less capable, like the Abarth 695 or Hyundai i20 N.

The Luxury 2WD is powered by a 1.5-litre three-cylinder hybrid-petrol setup with a continuously variable transmission (CVT), and it produces a combined power output of 100kW but Lexus hasn’t declared it’s torque figure. Based solely on the petrol engine, the torque figure is sitting at 185Nm.

To give you an idea of its power, the Luxury 2WD can do a 0-100km/h sprint in 9.2 seconds. So, it’s not a speedster but it's perfectly adequate for city journeys – just think of it as a little baby Lexus.

The GR Yaris now makes 221kW (at 6500rpm) and 400Nm (between 3250 and 4600rpm) from its 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, dubbed G16E-GTS in Toyota code.

Outputs are up 21kW and 30Nm from before, and both the six-speed manual and eight-speed torque converter automatic have matching figures.

Normal, Track and Gravel modes for the AWD system can distribute torque either 60:40 (front/rear) in Normal, 53:47 in Gravel or variably as needed in Track.

Toyota says, weirdly, both versions can hit 100km/h in 5.1 seconds and max out at 230km/h. We expect you’d need to be fairly handy to match the auto’s acceleration in a manual.

The official combined fuel-cycle consumption figure is 3.8L/100km and my real-world usage is 5.2L/100km after doing a stack of open-roading and some city driving. My consumption sat closer to the 4.5L mark in the city but I think that’s excellent consumption.

Based on the official combined fuel cycle and the small 36L fuel tank, you should see a theoretical driving range of 947km but realistically expect between 550km and 600km.

Toyota claims the GR Yaris sips 8.2L/100km of fuel (which needs to be 98 RON by the way) in manual, or 9.1L/100km as an auto.

Its 50-litre tank means you should be able to get more than 500km out of a tank of fuel if driving frugally, but let’s be honest, are you going to do that in a tiny all-wheel-drive hot hatch with a 0-100kmh time that would embarrass a great number of Aussie V8s?

While the LBX isn't what you'd call a powerhouse on the open road, there is more than enough power to easily keep up with traffic and overtake when necessary. At times the engine can whine at you when you hit hills and sometimes it sounds like its stuck in the wrong gear for too long, which is attributed to that CVT.

It's in the urban environment where the hybrid powertrain shines and manages to make the performance feel almost spritely. Despite heavy torrential rain for most of my week with the LBX, it remained stable and solid on the road.

Steering is responsive and there are some go-kart vibes when you're in a small carpark. That's where those vibes end as the ride is rather refined, despite the occasional engine complaint, and suspension feels well-cushioned. The cabin is also ridiculously quiet for such a short wheelbase.

With my child seat installed, visibility out the back window is compromised but otherwise, the surrounding view is pretty good and you are confident being assertive in tight traffic.

The LBX's compact size really makes it a breeze to park. The clear 360-degree camera system is top-notch and the front and rear parking sensors are sensitive.

To get straight to the point, the GR Yaris might be the best car Toyota builds if you’re a keen driver.

Most who’ve driven it in the past will know it’s extremely fun with a manual gearbox, but after the update it’s impressive how capable the new auto makes it, too.

For a start, while its GR Corolla sibling feels as it is - a hot hatch based on the Corolla - the GR Yaris feels bespoke.

From behind the wheel, as a performance car, there isn’t really anything that jumps out as a red flag.

Now that it’s got more power and torque, it’s also an even more convincing choice in Toyota’s hot hatch duo in terms of power-to-weight ratio.

Of course, it still holds up well as a car for day-to-day duties, if looking a little brash while doing so. In Normal drive mode with the diff set to front-bias, the GR Yaris feels ready to take on the suburbs.

But knock it into Sport and set the diff to Track, and you’ll find the rear wheels working harder out of corners as the Yaris sends torque backwards to avoid the front wheels spinning.

The Yaris’ suspension is definitely on the stiffer side of things, but it’s compliant considering the focused nature of the GR, and even sharp bumps you might expect to rattle the car don’t feel harsh.

At the same time, the GR doesn’t feel like it’s dulling any useful feedback from the suspension or steering, the latter being very direct but not too heavy.

It’s altogether very confidence-inspiring, and combined with the fact the GR Yaris is actually very capable, it makes for a rather quick car point-to-point. It means even if you make a small mistake, say coming into a corner on track, you don’t feel as punished on the way out because there’s a mix of power and composure to get you out of it.

Some of the best things about the Yaris though, are the things that speak to your heart a little more than your head. The sound of the exhaust itself but also the turbo flutter when you lift off after boost - even just the way it looks inside and out.

The GR Yaris isn’t the same as its non-GR cousins, and therefore the five-star rating ANCAP gave the Yaris a few years back doesn’t apply here.

Still, Toyota takes safety pretty seriously and the GR comes with the kit to back that up. Six airbags for a start, plus a decent reversing camera, auto emergency braking (AEB), a blind spot monitor, safe-exit assist, anti-skid brakes with brake assist and plenty of traction help.

There’s also a slew of features that fall under the ‘Toyota Safety Sense’ suite including a pre-collision system, intersection collision avoidance in daylight, emergency steering assist, adaptive cruise control, lane trace and steering assist with lane centring, lane departure alert, road sign assist for speed signs and auto high beam.

The Lexus LBX comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and you get five years of capped-price servicing where services cost $595, which is great for the class.

You get three years of roadside assistance as a part of your servicing plan and servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

Toyota’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty covers the GR Yaris, with an extra two-year warranty on the engine and driveline.

Toyota also offers a capped price of $310 on the first six services, though intervals of six months or 10,000km (whichever comes first) mean that capped price will only get you through three years of ownership.