Audi S4 vs Toyota GR Yaris

What's the difference?

Audi would probably prefer you not to realise this, but the five distinct versions of S4 and S5 on the market all pertain to a single performance and equipment formula spread across five different bodystyles. 

Yes five, and this has been the case for more than a decade, with the S4 sedan and Avant wagon, A5 two-door Coupe, convertible Cabriolet and five door liftback Sportback all representing vastly different shapes for you to choose from, with the same underpinnings. This simply echoes the A4 and A5 ranges they’re based on of course, and BMW clearly thought it was a good idea too, given the 3 and 4 Series ranges were split into individual lines at the start of last generation.

Mercedes-Benz offers a similar array, minus the liftback, but is happy to wrap the whole lot under the C-Class label. 

So, given that the A4 and A5 range scored a mid-life update a few months ago, it’s only logical that the changes flow on to the performance S4 and S5s, with the top-tier RS4 Avant following suit. 

We’ve covered the latter in October, and now it’s the turn for the former, and CarsGuide was among the first to drive the updated S4 and S5 ranges at their Australian media launch last week.

Thank the automotive gods cars like the GR Yaris still exist.

Not only are hot hatches the funnest way to drive, but in a world that’s obsessed with electric vehicles, these combustion-powered beasties remind us what we’ve got before it's gone.

The GR Yaris arrived in 2020 and won praise for its rally-car-for-the-road feel with Toyota’s high-performance division Gazoo Racing heavily modifying the docile Yaris hatch - while adding a bit of Corolla - to create this little monster.

In early 2025 Toyota added more power and torque, along with an automatic transmission for the GR Yaris and now a new variant has been launched - the GTS Aero Performance Package and this is what we are testing.