'Zero to hero' best charts the rapid rise to widespread acclaim of Toyota's Gazoo Racing. From its 2019 start with the Toyota GR Supra to the astonishing Toyota GR Yaris that followed in 2020 and then the sublime Toyota GR86 coupé, it has earned our love and respect for its unique way of consistently nailing the affordable sports car brief.
This year, it has continued expanding its portfolio with the launch of an ultra-niche manual version of the GR Supra, but now it's time for its headline act: the Toyota GR Corolla.
Looking every inch a rally refugee, the hot hatch packs the mightiest of visual punches. From its flared arches, scoops, intakes, vents and ducts to its intricate aero measures, there is nothing fake about it, and everything serves the single purpose of going very fast indeed.
It comes in Core, Circuit and Morizo specifications, this hardcore third option demonstrating just how far Toyota's black ops have come. It bins the back seats and banishes luxuries such as rear electric windows, speakers and even the tailgate wiper to remove around 30kg from the standard car's portly 1470kg kerb weight.
Add in a special set of lighter 18in rims, a closer-ratio manual gearbox and optionally two Torsen differentials with shorter gearing for more explosive acceleration and, suddenly, you realise just how special and serious GR is in its bid to create the hottest hatch of all time.
Which makes it all the more frustrating that none of the three GR Corollas will make it to the UK. The exact reason why is unclear. One suit told us it's because Brits already get the GR Yaris, which better “connects” with us. Another hinted that emission rules might have been to blame. But whatever the reason, it seems cruel to deny one of the world's biggest hot hatch markets this Toyota.
With that in mind, we decided to torture ourselves anyway and see what we're missing by driving the GR Corolla at its American launch.
Before adopting any hardware from the GR Yaris, the Corolla body had to be stiffened for this role. It gets a further 349 spot welds plus an additional 2.7 metres’ worth of structural adhesive to more rigidly bond its panels to the chassis. The Morizo gets even more glue (6.1m) and two extra strut-tower supports.
The 1.6-litre turbo three-cylinder engine has also been boosted from 260bhp to 300bhp. (Torque remains the same, at 273lb ft.) The Morizo gets no more horses but does muster a more generous 295lb ft.
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We did not get the Yaris here in the USA as you all know. Now we get the Corolla and you guys don't. I have no experience of the vehicle as it's not yet available in the USA, but what i will say is that a regular Honda CRV or Hyundai currently commands a $4k or more 'market adjustment', American speak for an addition to the manufacturers stated price (yes, that's perfectly legal in the land of the free?). All that said, whats not to like about this unless your an EV diehard. If we criticize this, the what are we willing to embrace? Sorry, 'bold' would not disable, sort it Autocar!
Gazoo?, isn't that a character from a Kids animation?, doesn't matter really, it's a Corolla, and that seems to be enough for some fans.
Just checked and the weight quoted for the latest model Civic Type-R is 1430kg, so it's disappointing these cars are so heavy. It may have 300 horsepower, but 200bhp/tonne doesn't sound quite so good.
And bear in mind the Civic is 2 foot longer and has 4 doors, still waiting Jason.
This also has four doors, I'm sure some of the weight blame can be levied at the AWD system, that usually costs a bit in weight doesn't it.
Still, seems daft not to offer this as it would go up against the hot civic and golf etc as being a hot family hatch as opposed to the small, less family friendly Yaris.
Sorry got my yaris and corolla mixed-up regarding door count. Civic is still bigger and has a decent sized 4 pot. Thing is they've gone all out to keep the weight down in the corolla with a small stressed out engine so I think the writers point about being not quite a lightweight at a tadge under 1500kg is a valid one.