Introduction — My Personal View as Rikutsu-Kone-Taro
I own both an 8-speed GR-DAT GR Yaris and a 6-speed manual GR Yaris, and I have driven both repeatedly on the same course.
I’ll start with the answer:
Yes. Someone who learned performance driving in an automatic GR Yaris can absolutely enjoy the manual as well.
The automatic and manual tend to become enjoyable in different situations.
Two factors make the biggest difference: whether you are chasing lap time and whether the available grip is relatively low or high.
In this article, I use grip level to mean the effective grip available from the combination of the road surface and the tires.
Using these two axes, I divide the enjoyment of driving the GR Yaris into four types.
Two Axes That Shape the Driving Experience
Both the automatic and manual GR Yaris offer plenty to enjoy in performance driving.
The GR-DAT combines very quick shifts with sophisticated shift control. You can let the transmission handle the gear changes and concentrate on braking, steering, throttle control, and weight transfer, or take a more active role using the paddles or M mode.
With the manual, the driver handles gear selection and clutch operation. iMT can assist with rev-matching, while drivers who prefer to match revs themselves can do so.
In other words, the automatic and manual differ in how much of the driving process the driver directly controls—and that changes where the enjoyment comes from.
The difference becomes easier to see when driving purpose and grip level are considered together.
| Driving Goal / Grip Level | Lower Grip | Higher Grip |
|---|---|---|
| Chasing lap time | ① Automatic territory: enjoying weight transfer and the grip limit | ② Automatic and manual territory: precision and repeatability |
| Not chasing lap time | ③ Automatic and manual territory: enjoying slides and vehicle response | ④ Manual at its best: enjoying the act of operating the car |
① Chasing Lap Time × Low Grip — A World of Grip and Weight Transfer
When grip is limited, the tires have less capacity to spare.
How that limited capacity is divided among braking, cornering, and acceleration can make a major difference.
What matters most here is judging the grip limit and managing weight transfer smoothly.
Where do you start feeding in the throttle?
How quickly do you turn the steering wheel, and how smoothly do you unwind it?
How much brake do you carry into the corner?
When you concentrate on these inputs, the relationship between the car’s attitude and what the tires are doing becomes much easier to feel.
For me, this is where the automatic is more enjoyable.
When I let the GR-DAT handle the shifts, I can devote more attention to the relationship between throttle, steering, braking, and the attitude of the car.
The challenge becomes simple:
How effectively can I use the grip available?
The automatic lets me focus on that challenge with unusual clarity.
② Chasing Lap Time × High Grip — A World of Precision and Repeatability
As grip increases, the car can generate greater braking, cornering, and acceleration forces.
Once you begin chasing lap time under those conditions, small differences in braking points, racing line, steering input, and throttle application begin to matter.
With the GR-DAT, fast and highly repeatable shifts allow the driver to concentrate on making the car move as quickly and precisely as possible. The paddles and M mode also allow the driver to choose gears directly when desired.
With the manual, gear selection and clutch operation become additional parts of the task. You can use iMT, or you can choose to match revs yourself.
The goal may be the same, but the source of enjoyment is slightly different.
With the automatic, the challenge is how precisely you can put the car’s movements together.
With the manual, the enjoyment comes from putting the entire sequence together yourself—including the shifts—and turning that execution into a faster lap.
If my sole aim is lap time, I find the speed and repeatability of the GR-DAT extremely attractive.
The manual offers a different kind of satisfaction because more of the process remains in the driver’s own hands.
This is an area where both transmissions offer a clear form of enjoyment.
③ Not Chasing Lap Time × Low Grip — Enjoying Slides and Vehicle Response
Once lap time stops being the priority, low-grip driving takes on a different character.
You can pay attention to the moment the tires begin to slide, the changes you feel through the steering wheel, and the way the car’s attitude responds to throttle input.
The enjoyment comes from feeling how the car moves and how it regains grip.
With the automatic, letting the transmission handle the shifts allows you to concentrate closely on the car’s behavior from the beginning of a slide through the recovery of grip.
With the manual, gear selection and clutch operation become part of how you shape the car’s movement.
With the automatic, you can concentrate more closely on the car’s reactions.
With the manual, you add another layer of input and help create those reactions yourself.
That difference is part of the enjoyment.
For drivers who enjoy the sensation of tire contact and changes in vehicle attitude, this can be an extremely rewarding area.
④ Not Chasing Lap Time × High Grip — Where the Manual Is at Its Best
High grip, with no need to chase lap time.
For me, this is where the appeal of the manual becomes strongest.
Because I do not need to use every last bit of the tires’ capability, I can leave some margin and pay more attention to the act of operating the manual itself.
Brake for the corner.
Choose the gear.
Press the clutch.
Match the revs.
Release the clutch.
Turn in, let the car rotate, and then begin feeding in the throttle.
When that entire sequence comes together cleanly, it creates a kind of satisfaction that is separate from outright speed.
With the manual, you are personally putting the drive together—including the gear changes.
In this environment, the manual becomes a tool for enjoying the act of driving itself.
For me, this is the greatest appeal of the manual GR Yaris.
Conclusion — Someone Who Learned Performance Driving in the Automatic Can Still Enjoy the Manual
Can someone who learned performance driving in an automatic GR Yaris also enjoy the manual?
My answer is yes.
The automatic and manual simply place the driver’s attention in different areas.
With the GR-DAT, you can leave the shifting to the transmission or intervene with the paddles and M mode while concentrating deeply on braking, steering, throttle control, and weight transfer.
With the manual, gear selection and clutch operation themselves become part of the drive. iMT can assist with rev-matching, or you can match revs yourself.
When chasing lap time, the speed and repeatability of the GR-DAT are highly appealing.
When the act of operating the car becomes part of the goal, the manual offers greater room for direct involvement.
The automatic has its own kind of enjoyment, and the manual offers a different kind of enjoyment of its own.
If you learned the pleasure of performance driving in an automatic GR Yaris, stepping into the manual reveals another way to enjoy the same car.
For me, the automatic and manual GR Yaris are two different ways to enjoy the same car.
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