Toyota’s Asking $1,700 For Software That Could Void Part Of The GR Yaris And Corolla Warranty In Japan

Most hot hatches get a single round of mid-cycle attention and then ride out their lifespan untouched. Credit where it’s due, Toyota has built two of the genre’s best in the GR Yaris and GR Corolla, and keeps finding reasons to come back to them. The latest round of changes sharpens both cars, but the most aggressive upgrade comes with a line of fine print Toyota wants owners to read twice.

Read: The Updated Toyota GR Yaris Hides Its Biggest Change Inside

The bulk of the work is related to performance-focused software tweaks that Japanese owners will be able to purchase from Toyota. These consist of the Street (99,000 yen / $635), Circuit (173,800 yen / $1,115), and Competition (265,100 yen / $1,700) packages, all of which are available for the most recent GR Yaris and GR Corolla models

The Street package adds a new shift timing indicator to the digital gauge cluster, while the software allows owners to tweak the accelerator response, actively manage the four-wheel-drive torque distribution, and adjust the steering. Things promise to get particularly thrilling with the Circuit and Competition software upgrades.

Flat-Foot Shifting

With the Circuit pack, six-speed manual models gain a flat-shift function, meaning you can keep the throttle bolted to the floor while shifting through the gears. Toyota has also added a rally-inspired anti-lag system to increase boost pressure, offering five different settings. Models equipped with the automatic gearbox benefit from improved transmission responsiveness too.

Would You Risk The Warranty?

The Competition upgrade adds more configurability. Owners can adjust the power distribution in 1 percent increments, ranging from 70:30 to 30:70 front-to-rear. The torque coupling can also be adjusted in 1 Nm (0.7 lb-ft) increments between 0 and 299 Nm (221 lb-ft). Further software tweaks bring steering weight adjustability across no fewer than eight options.

Toyota’s engineers have also developed new ‘Competition 4WD Settings’ for the pair, further tweaking the torque distribution. In Gravel mode, the cars aim to maximize stability, while in Track, they’re focused on improving turn-in, ideal for gymkhana events.

There is a catch. Toyota states the Competition upgrade is intended for competition use only, and any damage to the four-wheel-drive system that results from it falls outside warranty coverage. Read that twice before clicking buy.

Rounding out the updates are mechanical upgrades for pre-facelifted versions of the GR Corolla, meaning torque has been increased to match the current model, rising from 370 Nm (273 lb-ft) to 400 Nm (295 lb-ft). Power remains the same at 224 kW (300 hp). Tweaks were made to the four different-wheel drive modes as well.

Whether any of this crosses the water is another question. Toyota has not committed to bringing the software or the hardware updates to markets outside Japan.