Reading the editorial made me laugh a little...
More than 260 hp and rally pedigree. Look out, Golf R!
The R advertised at 315 is pushing more than that at the wheels...
But what if Gazoo Racing decided to target Volkswagen's all-wheel drive Golf R instead? The Golf R packs 315 hp and 280 lb-ft in six-speed manual form, and 315 hp and 295 lb-ft with the seven-speed DSG dual-clutch. In theory the three-cylinder G16E-GTS can easily match those numbers. Indeed tuners in Japan are already getting 375 hp out of the engine, and they've found the GR Yaris' six-speed manual is robust enough to cope with that sort of grunt. A GR Corolla with 315 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque would likely deliver a 0-60 mph time of under 5.0 seconds, and a potential top speed of 150 mph.
So a tuned GR 3 cyl pushing 375... against a stock R. How about a tuned GR vs a tuned R? This is why I don't like some of this writers.
Also, what's the deal with pushing the limits of an oversized 3 cyl? When you can get the same power from the same size 4 cyl, I understand the size constrain in the Yaris, but not in the Corolla. I hope they rethink that if they think they are doing to target the R. A turbo charged M20A, or the T24 would be a better choice if they really want to get serious about it.