2023 Toyota GR Corolla pricing announced

Australian pricing and specifications for the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla have been revealed, and the big news is the Japanese giant’s first Corolla hot hatch in decades will be priced from $62,300 plus on-road costs.

Only a single GTS specification will be available from launch in Australia, where 700 units will be available in the first year – up from 500.

Later in 2023, just 25 examples of the super-hardcore Morizo Edition – named in honour of Toyota’s soon-to-depart CEO, Akio Toyoda, who used Morizo as his driving pseudonym – will touch down at $77,800 plus ORCs.

The circa-$63K price tag puts the GR Corolla in its own pricing sweet spot, above the likes of the Hyundai i30 N (from $46,200) and VW Golf GTI ($55,490), but undercutting the VW Golf R (which is also all-wheel drive, priced from $66,990), Honda Civic Type R ($72,600) and Renault Megane RS Ultime ($67,500).

In contrast to its two-tier strategy with the smaller GR Yaris, Toyota is offering the GR Corolla GTS with all the goodies as standard.

Mechanically this means a 221kW/370Nm version of the 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine found in the Yaris, while a six-speed manual gearbox with rev-matching is the only available gearbox.

The extra 21kW over the GR Yaris was extracted via reinforced pistons and valves, a larger fuel pump and oil-cooler, and reduced back-pressure courtesy of the unusual triple-exit exhaust.

This power is sent to all four wheels through a variable all-wheel drive system that alters the drive split depending whether Normal (60:40 front:rear), Sport (30:70) or Track (50:50) is selected.

Claimed 0-100km/h acceleration is listed at a very precise 5.29sec and combined fuel consumption is 8.4L/100km.

Crucially, Toyota has included the pair of Torsen limited-slip differentials that so transformed the handling of the GR Yaris Rallye, as well as 18-inch ENKEI wheels wrapped in 235/40 Yokohama Advan tyres.

The GR Corolla’s disc brakes are also a straight lift from the GR Yaris, with 356mm rotors and four-piston callipers at the front and 297mm rotors with dual-piston callipers at the rear.

Inside, there are heated front sports seats, leather and suede-trim, a heated leather steering wheel, leather-wrapped gear knob and handbrake, aluminium pedals, a 12.3-inch digital instrument display as well as keyless entry and start, dual-zone climate control and wireless phone charging.

Infotainment is handled by an 8.0-inch touch-screen with Apple CarPlay (wireless) and Android Auto, plus AM/FM/DAB+ radio, native sat-nav and an eight-speaker JBL stereo.

Unlike manual variants of the Toyota GR86, the GR Corolla GTS carries Toyota’s full Safety Sense package, including autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, plus intersection assist.

Also included is active cruise control, lane departure warning, lane-keep assist, road sign assist, auto high-beam, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera in addition to seven airbags.

The exception is the wild two-seat Morizo Edition, which ditches the rear seats (joining the Megane RS Trophy-R in the exclusive five-door, two-seat club), dual-zone climate control (in favour of basic air-conditioning only), sat-nav, heated steering wheel, wireless phone charging, six speakers from the stereo and parking sensors to help save 45kg.

Aiding this is a number of bespoke enhancements including a carbon-fibre roof, additional body reinforcement and wider (245/40-section) Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 track tyres.

In addition, the engine develops an extra 30Nm and gears 1-3 are stacked closer together (longer first, identical second, shorter third), which Toyota says cuts the 0-100km/h time to 5.21sec.

Four colours are available for the GTS (white, black, grey and red) and three for the Morizo Edition (white, black and matte grey).

Both versions are covered by Toyota’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, with seven years’ coverage on the engine and driveline.

Servicing is required every six months or 10,000km, with each service costing $300.

Stay tuned for our first Australian drive review from the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla’s local launch.

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