LET'S get the bad stuff - if it can really be labelled such - out of the way first.

Its ride is almost cart-like in harshness, the cabin buzzes with engine noise and it's pretty cramped. Oh yes, and it's expensive at around £45,000.

The rest is all good, very good. Because the Toyota Yaris GR is something special and rather rare ⦠a hotter than average hatch that drives better than almost anything on the road with a price tag of less than six figures.

At the business end of the low-slung, squat three-door - yes, unlike the standard hatch, the GR has lost its rear doors - is a 276bhp, four-cylinder engine.

But that's just a small part of the story. Because it's been made super light thanks to the use of carbon fibre for the roof and aluminium for the rear hatch. Instead of front drive, its four-wheel-drive - one of the lightest systems ever made.

All this has been done because the Yaris GR is, beneath its pretty skin, a World Rally Championship contender.

It was first introduced four years ago and recently tweaked to be better cooled, more powerful and tougher. Certainly, it's a niche model but since its launch more than 30,000 models have been sold - so it's a pretty sizeable niche.

Duck your head down to access the driver's seat and you fit snugly into cockpit which totally driver orientated with a near vertical leather clad steering wheel and all the vital read-outs and info in front of you.

It's a tight fit for two up front but cossetting and really comfy. There are backs seats but access to them requires the flexibility of a limbo dancer.

Fire up the engine and there's a gruff, slightly coarse note from the three-cylinder, 1.6litre turbo. The version we drove is fitted with a quick shifting automatic gearbox with steering wheel paddles that are forever in use.

Propulsion is immediate and impressive with loads of torque that allows mid-range pace to be particularly rapid without the need for high revs. The background mechanical clamour increases and the road noise via the low profile rubber beneath is ever present.

Somehow the row merely adds to the GR's character and driving experience as bends are swept through with confidence and total composure almost no matter the speed - it may be rather different in the hands of a rally star!

The tail can be coaxed out on slippery roads, but that takes a degree of confidence and ability, plus it helps to have the safety net of a decent run-off area.

It's best not to expect frugality. Our average was 22mpg, but perhaps a lighter right foot could approach the 25mpg mark.

With its extra low hind quarters and reasonably high boot platform, it's hardly surprising the GR's luggage carrying capacity is limited to just a couple of cases and the odd squashy bag.

There's always the back seats for extra cargoâ¦as few passengers would elect to travel far in them! Much better to be sitting the driver's seatâ¦

£45,750

1,618cc, 276bhp, 3 cyl petrol engine driving 4 wheels via automatic gearbox

143mph

5.2sec

29.7

36

215g/km

37%

5yrs/100,000 miles

4.8