Toyota GR Corolla: King Of Hatches. Or GR Yaris’ Fat Twin?

Brilliant in its Own Right, it’s Not All That Simple for Toyota GR Corolla

When we first drove the new GR Corolla, albeit briefly on launch, we called it the King of Hatches. That brief sojourn had us convinced. But how does it pan out with a bit more time behind the wheel? The GR Corolla of course slips in just below the GR Supra and above the wicked little GR Yaris in the local Gazoo range, although the Yaris is not available in the ‘States. Based on the latest incarnation of the world’s favorite car, GR uses all the same innards as the GR Yaris to return Corolla to the top of the performance pile.

Which means it borrows its 1.6-litre gas turbo three-pot, and drivetrain from the apex Yaris GRMN. The 300 HP 273 lb.-ft lump has a thin wall cylinder head with two-level cam caps, eccentric pressed intake valve seats and an extra exhaust cam bearing. Specific injector spray, intake port, and combustion chamber shapes promote increased tumble, flow, and optimized combustion. And spherical pistons and combustion chambers reduce knock. Incredible stuff.

Sophisticated AWD Brings Splendid Poise

The sophisticated all-wheel drive system adapts to what you want to do. Track mode brings a 50:50 front rear split. Sport mode bumps it to a 30:70 rearward bias. GR Corolla also has Eco, Normal and Sport engine modes, while VSC Off resets vehicle stability and traction control parameters. Toyota Safety Sense driver assistance includes all the stuff you need if you need it. And there are seven SRS airbags too.

Then GR takes Corolla’s light, rigid and sophisticated TNGA-C architecture and adds 349 spot welds and an extra nine foot of structural adhesive, while trimming weight by 25 pounds. Light and rigid MacPherson strut front and modified trailing double-wishbone rear suspension has reduced rigidity torsion bars. Add performance dampers and coils, spacers and knuckles, increased camber, and optimized aggressive track and stage geometry.

Increased-ratio Speed-sensing ECU-integrated brushless-motor electric power steering has a braced gear to lighten low speed effort but increase high speed feel. Stopping is courtesy of red GR monobloc four-piston aluminum front calipers with 356 mm ventilated two-piece discs up front. And two-piston aluminum monobloc calipers and 297 mm vented discs at the rear.

GR Corolla Stands Well Apart From its Common Kin

GR Corolla stands well apart from its common kin from first glance. Its far more aggro face frowns by functional fins, spats, under spoiler and matrix GR grille and vents to cool everything from the radiator to the turbocharger and brakes. Flared arches house 2 inches wider front, and 3 inches broader rear tracks. They emphasize its wide, low stance.

The GR has signature DRL LED headlights, shortened fenders, entry and exit vents and ducts, GR-Four embossed skirts, a new rear diffuser and signature triple-exit exhaust. 18-inch 15-spoke ENKEI cast aluminum wheels have 235/40R18 Yokohama Advan rubber. Riding 10 mm lower, GR Corolla is 35 mm longer than the regular hatch thanks to half-inch longer front and inch longer rear overhangs.

A driver-focused GR-themed suede and leather two-tone cockpit is headlined once again by the GR Yaris’ chunky 3-spoke leather steering wheel, alloy pedals and front bucket seats. A short-throw GR gear knob and a manual handbrake top the silver stitched leather center console. Add a charging pad, USB-C and 12V ports beneath the tacky dwarf monochrome 7-inch CarPlay Auto multimedia touchscreen that is nowhere near Toyota’s regular systems. Clearly this one’s an afterthought and would be a total deal breaker for some of us.

GR Corolla Cockpit Conundrums

The track-focused 12.3-inch gauges may look cool, with the choice of racy linear or circular digital tachometers around the speed and gear displays, but this also had us scratching our heads. You can bring configurable multi-info screens up on each side, but the display does not give you nearly enough information. A lightweight air conditioning unit powers the dual-zone climate control.

Fantastic to look at, wide arches and that aggro front end certainly give GR Corolla mega road presence. The cabin is, well, still a Corolla with a few extras bolted in. Nothing too fancy in there. Especially not the infotainment screen. Or blasé. It’s practical, even if just slightly more than its hoodlum kid bro, Yaris, with a touch more passenger space and an almost sufficient boot. But then you fire it up.

Near perfect suspension and diff settings make GR Corolla so well balanced. It only starts to understeer really close to the limit. Making a small adjustment to your driving style, it is possible to turn it with the rear. That’s where GR Corolla really shines for the driver. Get on it far earlier than you’d normally dare thanks to that exceptional lateral grip, and literally claws into the track. It will even light up all four tires to exit in a fantastic 4-wheel drift.

Drive it Right and GR Corolla is Perfect

On the road, there’s a little turbo lag when you push it. It spools up quickly, even at low revs. And then bolts to the 7,000 rpm redline. So, there’s more than enough grunt to overtake and merge, even in 6th. But drop the clutch in anger and the throaty little 1.6-litre turbo triple barks to life. The IMT button, which allows you to flat-shift and auto blip, is a great feature that adds driver enjoyment. Push it hard and GR Corolla is a gem. Its wide track makes it incredibly agile. If you drive it right, its dimensions help you rotate the car perfectly on the apex. And brakes are fade free.

Most controls fall easy hand when you want them. There are a few cons. We wish it sounded a bit better. And fuel economy. They claim 24 mpg. Good luck with that! Which is a pity, because that dismal range flies right back in the face of a reasonably practical package. We hate touch screens. This is among the worst we’ve encountered, not just at this, but at any level. Most of which we don’t really give a hoot about.

But is it Really Much More Than a Bloated GR Yaris?

Well, at face value, at least. Spend a bit more time with GR Corolla, think it out a bit and this car starts making a little less sense. Look, if you simply cannot do with a 3-door GR Yaris, then this 5-door solution is manna from heaven. Or if you live in the US, it makes no difference because you don’t get the GR Yaris there. But for the rest of us, looked at any other way, we could not help thinking that this car is a bit of a half job. As if they inserted an air tube in one of the GR Yaris tailpipes and just inflated it a little. Because in reality, is this car really much more than just a bloated GR Yaris?

When we first heard of the GR Corolla, we were so excited. We expected something special as a real big brother to the GR Yaris. Something like an RS3, that takes the complete genesis of Audi’s 5-pot quattro heritage and stuffs it into a Corolla sized body. Or Mercedes’ mad AMG 45S that clearly is a legend in its own lunchbox. We were expecting something more in line with a GR Corolla to rival those AWD rockets. With a bit of Toyota Hybrid zing to push it to the flag. Instead, we got GR Yaris’ fat twin.

So, yes. While the Toyota GR Corolla is in itself a truly exceptional car, it has a little brother called GR Yaris in most other markets. Which kind of makes the GR Corolla a bit redundant. So come on Toyota Gazoo Racing, show us some real balls with the next GR Corolla. Give us the 500 horsepower four-pot turbo Hybrid wild thing that we really can call the King of Hatches. This badge so deserves that!

ROAD TESTED: Toyota GR Corolla 1.6T GR-Four Circuit
Engine: 300 HP 273 lb.-ft 1.6-litre turbo gas I3
Drive: 6-speed stick-shift AWD
TESTED:
0-40 mph: 2.33 sec
0-60 mph: 4.97 sec
0-80 mph: 6.57 sec
0-100 mph: 10.85 sec
¼-mile:     13.1 sec @ 106 mph
50-75 mph:  3.15 sec
75-100 mph: 4.65 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax:       145 mph
Fuel:       24 mpg
Range:      360 miles
LIST PRICE: $44,740 base MSRP
RATED:      8

Images: Giordano Lupini

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