The Toyota GR Yaris is arguably the hottest subcompact hatchback available right now. Developed as a homologation model for the World Rally Championship, the GR Yaris packs well in excess of 200 horsepower and an impressive amount of race-spec tech. Some say the GR Yaris is the supercar of the subcompact market. But is it capable enough to go against full-fledged supercars? Autocar decided to find out by pitting it against the Nissan GT-R Nismo on the race track.

Granted, this is a rather unfair comparison. While the GR Yaris is plenty powerful at 257 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque, the Nissan GT-R Nismo packs a massive 592 horsepower and 481 pound-feet of twist. The Nismo is also significantly quicker to 60 mph, taking just 2.5 seconds to get there, while the GR Yaris takes twice as much. So does the small Toyota stand a chance against Nissan's finest supercar? This comparison by Autocar says that it does, but only in certain conditions.

Specifically, both cars were driven on a short race track that's somewhat slow, with top speeds barely exceeding 100 mph. The test also occurred in rainy weather, so the driver had to deal with a wet track and reduced grip. Not surprisingly, the GT-R Nismo hit higher speeds on the straight sections of the track, but it wasn't as grippy as the Toyota in the bends.

The GR Yaris had better traction and the lightweight construction helped it go faster through tough corners.

That's a rather small gap, but one you wouldn't expect given the extra amount of power coming from under the GT-R's hood.

While this is a spectacular result for the GR Yaris, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's quicker than the GT-R Nismo. As Matt Prior concludes, the result would be different on another track and in different weather conditions. But the test still proves that the Toyota GR Yaris is the hot-hatchback to beat right now.