Not your common Toyota: The all-wheel drive GR Corolla, reviewed

Though the overwhelming majority of our automotive opinions are for hybrids and electrical automobiles, we do nonetheless recognize a great fanatic’s automotive. All of the extra so once they’re tweaked variations of extra pedestrian fare. Inbuilt low quantity and with one thing particular below the hood? Depend us in.

That brings us to at present’s matter, the Toyota GR Corolla.

Some common readers could be feeling a contact of deja-vu at this level; Toyota builds the GR Corolla in three completely different specs, and in March we drove the most costly, most centered of them, the GR Morizo Version. With no again seats, a $49,900 price ticket, and solely 200 items imported for model-year 2023, the GR Morizo might be a bit too hardcore for many.

The purple automotive you see in these photographs is the GR Corolla Core, which begins at a way more affordable $35,900, a value that helpfully does embrace again seats, like extra widespread, much less racy Corollas. However there may be lots right here to justify the 35 p.c premium in comparison with a Corolla Hatchback XSE.

A Corolla hatchback is the GR Corolla’s place to begin, however quite than transfer down a manufacturing line like all these boring driving home equipment, it is hand-assembled at a devoted GR manufacturing facility. For starters, the physique shell is handled to virtually 400 new spot welds and greater than 9 ft (3 m) of additional structural adhesives to be able to strengthen it. Underfloor braces additional enhance stiffness.

The physique appears to be like a bit completely different, too, courtesy of muscular wheel-arch extensions and a few practical air vents and scoops. It even has three tailpipes, an uncommon trait shared with one in every of its rivals, the Honda Civic Kind-R—but additionally the Ferrari F40.

Then there’s the powertrain. Below the hood is a 1.6 L turbocharged three-cylinder engine that first appeared in the GR Yaris—a automotive we do not get right here within the US—however on this case in a barely larger state of tune, 300 hp (223 kW) and 273 lb-ft (370 Nm). That energy and torque will get despatched to all 4 wheels by way of a six-speed guide transmission.

The all-wheel drive system comes with a neat occasion trick—you may change the torque cut up on the fly by way of a rotary controller by the shift lever. By default the automotive begins off 60:40 entrance to rear, however a twist of the knob will set that to a way more rear-biased 30:70 cut up. Pushing the knob as an alternative of turning it engages a observe setting that is a 50:50 torque distribution.

The wheels are bigger than you discover on a daily Corolla hatchback—good-looking 18-inch shiny black multispoke alloy wheels wrapped in 235/40 R18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4s. Behind these spokes are upgraded brakes; four-piston aluminum calipers and 14-inch slotted, ventilated discs on the entrance, two-piston calipers and 11.7-inch ventilated rotors on the rear. Our check automotive was geared up with the non-compulsory efficiency package deal ($1,800) that provides entrance and rear torsen limited-slip differentials but additionally red-painted brake calipers.