Toyota Racing Developments (TRD for short) has been responsible for cobbling together some pretty hot cars in the past. So then why is the new, limited-edition (only 200 are set to be made) Toyota Auris TRD so slow? I haven’t driven one but just looking at the on-paper performance figures, well, I can’t see what all the fuss is about. A 132kW/203Nm supercharged 1.6-litre 16-valve engine sounds promising but on-paper it’s only good for a top speed of 220km/h and and a 0-100km/h sprint time of “around” nine seconds. nine seconds? Sorry guys but a 90kW, normally-aspirated MINI Cooper is as quick off the mark.

Toyota is yet to announce the Auris TRD’s official price-tag but you can bet that the MINI Cooper will probably be a lot more affordable too. In fact considering that the Auris Sport X (the car upon which the new TRD version is based) currently retails for the princely sum of R234 300, I’d expect the TRD to be priced a lot closer to the turbocharged R288 500 MINI Cooper S. I know which of the two I’d rather have…