In the past few months, we found it tricky to judge which Toyota all-wheel-drive turbo hatchback will make its way to the Philippines in 2025.

When we look at our neighboring countries like Malaysia and Thailand, they now both have the new “evolved” GR Yaris and the GR Corolla. In the local setting, TMP is still offering the pre-updated version of the former, while the latter is still yet to be sold in official dealerships.

There’s now good reason to confirm we’re finally getting an “evolved” version this year of the GR Yaris. Toyota Motor Philippines has received homologation approval for the 3-door turbo hatchback. And surprise, surprise, they were approved for both the 6MT and 8AT versions of the GR Yaris.

The model refresh consists of slight changes to the exterior, an interior overhaul, a bump in power output from its 1.6-liter three-banger turbo, and the much-awaited direct shift 8-speed automatic transmission that was developed through the Gazoo Racing motorsport program.

Toyota Motor Philippines usually likes to launch these types of performance models in their Gazoo Racing events such as the Philippine Cup (formerly known as Vios Cup), but they’re yet to announce their racing activities for 2025. Stay tuned for more updates.