This is the European-market 2021 Toyota C-HR GR Sport - and in one way or another - serves as a peek into Malaysia's upcoming 2021 Toyota Vios GR Sport. 

We'll explain as we get further into the post, but let's take a look at this car first. 

Gazoo Racing goodies in an SUV

Recall that the Gazoo Racing hierarchy is split into two tiers: with GR reserved for bespoke performance cars like the GR Supra and GR Yaris, while the GR Sport badge is for cars with slight chassis upgrades but with limited to no changes to the powertrain. This is the latter.

Updates to the front fascia are black headlight housings and emblem background, a piano black finish on the front bumper (which now features a new front splitter) and fog lamp surrounds as well as a dark chrome grille.

Touches to the side of the car are piano black door moudling inserts (the cladding under the doors) and unique 19-inch wheels.

More black details are peppered round the back - black emblem background, piano black reflector surrounds, a bespoke under-bumper trim garnish and of course a GR Sport badge.

The C-HR GR Sport comes in a selection of nine exclusive Proton X50-esque dual-tone colours - including the new, model-unique Dynamic Grey finish with a black roof.

More goodies in the interior

The C-HR GR Sport features a new Cool Silver interior finish and a choice of Alcantara-trimmed leather or fabric seat upholstery, both of which comes with GR-inspired red and grey stiching.

Other elements in the cabin include a perforated leather steering wheel, red stitch accents on the steering wheel and shift boot, GR Sport scuff plates, a unique GR start-up animation on the insturment cluster and a smattering of GR logos.

Performance upgrades

As stated earlier, it's got slight platform updates, the bulk of which is uprated suspension and retuned steering to give it a sportier drive than the base C-HR.

Not only that, it's got model-specific Continental Premium Contact 6 (225/45R19) tyres that Toyota says "increases front axle grip levels and cornering stiffness", which theoratically translates to less understeer. No word on engine or transmission modifications.

So how is it similar to the upcoming Vios GR Sport?

If you've been following our posts, you know that the facelifted 2021 Toyota Vios will be launched sometime in December and with it, the relatively spicier Vios GR Sport variant. 

Although it's bound to have chassis upgrades, it's wise to temper your expectations - there most likely won't be a manual version with fire-spitting performance modifications. You'll probably see some exterior improvements however, in similar vein to the C-HR GR Sport covered here.

Toyota C-HR review

Meanwhile if this tarted-up C-HR has really got you going, you can check out our review article here, or sit back and let Adrian take you on a walkthrough of the shapely SUV.