Toyota GR Corolla 2022 Review – International

Toyota Australia knows exactly what price it will slap onto its first allocation of 500 cars bound for these shores early next year, but despite plenty of arm-twisting at the international launch of the 2022 Toyota GR Corolla, it won’t tell us.

Instead, we’ll have to wait a little longer and closer to its arrival in the first quarter of 2023 until full details are revealed.

It’s a similar story for the model line-up we’ll be getting Down Under, but in markets like the US the Toyota GR Corolla is offered in three distinct variants – Core, Circuit and an extreme, stripped-out two-seat Morizo version.

Pricing in the US starts at $US35,900 ($A52,500) for the base Core, which gets a high level of standard equipment that includes dual-zone climate control, heated sport seats, a heated sports steering wheel, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and an 8.0-inch infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and two USB points.

There’s also plenty of safety gear including the Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 suite of driver assist technology, including autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian, motorcyclist and guardrail detection and intersection assist.

Count on adaptive cruise control, automatic high beam, road sign assist, hill start assist and lane departure warning with lane tracing and steering assist also being part of the standard package.

Available in Ice Cap white, Black or Supersonic Red, the Core misses out on some key ingredients – the forged carbon roof isn’t standard and you have to pay extra for the agility-boosting front and rear Torsen-style limited-slip differentials that both make a huge difference on the Toyota GR Yaris.

For an extra $US7000 ($A10,200), the Circuit version adds the missing lightweight roof and Torsen diffs, plus a set of sport seats trimmed in faux suede and leather.

Finally, at the top of the tree is the mighty Morizo Edition that costs $US50,995 ($A75,000) and deletes the rear bench seats and rear wiper to save 30kg, while adding extra strut braces.

There’s also some significant mechanical changes that include boosting torque from 370Nm to 400Nm, adding a new close-ratio gearbox and a set of stickier, 10mm-wider Michelin Pilot Cup 2 tyres in place of the standard car’s Michelin Pilot 4S rubber.

More supportive sport seats, a suede-wrapped steering wheel and the option of a special Matte Steel paint finish complete the changes.

For Australia, it’s likely we’ll miss out on the most basic spec and import a model closest to the US-spec Circuit pack.

As a result, the starting price is likely to be set at around $65,000 plus on-road costs.

Later on, the Toyota GR Corolla Morizo Edition will rock up, but only expect a tiny run of 50 cars to land.

Toyota will cover the GR Corolla with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, which doesn’t cover track use.

However, Toyota Australia says it will consider any failures that occur when hot-lapping on a “case by case” nature.

Menu servicing is also likely, but Toyota has not yet detailed maintenance plans. Like the GR Yaris, you’ll probably have to book your GR Corolla in for a health check every 10,000km.

Instead of being bashful about how much the 2022 Toyota GR Corolla shares with the smaller Toyota GR Yaris, the Japanese car-maker’s engineers are fiercely proud.

After all, the small 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder was created for Gazoo Racing and is not used in any other mainstream model.

That explains why the three-pot was never created to be modular and adding another piston wasn’t an option without a costly redesign.

Instead, to overcome the extra 150-200kg weight penalty of the considerably bigger Corolla’s body, engineers turned up the wick on the little three-banger.

The result is an extra 20kW, or so, that raises total power to 221kW, although torque remains pegged at 370Nm. The gains come from raising boost pressure, increasing fuel pressures under-bonnet, while reducing back pressure via a new exhaust.

This created some pretty “interesting” cooling issues on track, says the chief engineer who oversaw it, so there’s also been a pretty major redesign of the cooling system which involved the main heat exchangers being significantly enlarged.

This made the task of extracting a further 30Nm from the 1.6-litre turbo less of a daunting task for the Morizo version, although the gearbox had to receive some beefier internals to cope with the extra forces.

For now, only a six-speed manual will be offered, but Toyota admits demand is so high for an auto it will relent and offer a two-pedal version shortly.

Details are thin on the ground, but it won’t be a dual-clutch cog-swapper but a more conventional torque-converter-equipped auto with bespoke ratios and a unique GR calibration.

Like the GR Yaris, Toyota’s excellent GT-Four all-wheel drive hardware transmits all the fast Corolla’s might to the road.

Originally starting life as the same single-coupling four-wheel drive system that was offered in the RAV4, Gazoo’s engineers have further refined the trick system for use in the bigger hatch.

In Normal mode, AWD continues to offer a 60:40 front/rear split suited to slippery conditions, but twist the rotary controller between the driver and passenger’s thighs and Sport provides a 30:70 bias.

Finally, stab the button on top and you select Track mode that introduces a 50:50 torque split for the fastest lap times.

Speaking of performance, Toyota has yet to officially reveal just how quick the GR Corolla is, but says to expect a 0-100km/h sprint of “less than five seconds” – which is exactly what the Volkswagen Golf R (0-100km/h, 4.9sec) dishes up.

A top speed of 250km/h is expected.

Underpinned by the same TNGA architecture as the regular Corolla (and other models), the 2022 Toyota GR Corolla shares a development of the fast GR Yaris’ front strut and multi-link rear suspension.

Adaptive dampers were considered but ruled out, although the Morizo Edition gets some cool motorsport-derived monotube dampers that are better suited to fast road and track use.

To boost rigidity, an extra 349 spotwelds are added on the production line, plus a further 2.7 metres more structural adhesive in a bid to reduce body flex. A further 6.1m is claimed to have been added to stiffen up the Morizo.

All models also come with extra structural bracing.

If you’ve read this far, you know Gazoo Racing means business then. Buoyed by the reception of the GR Yaris, the team chose to focus on trading some of the smaller car’s agility for high-speed stability to provide more of a mature feel.

Which, of course, is completely blown out the water by its steroidal looks that scream rally car, or heavily modified hoon-mobile.

Climb into the familiar Corolla cabin and, like every other small Toyota hatch, you sit too high. Engineers say lowering the seat would mean repositioning the airbags and redesigning the crash structure that would require separate homologation for the GR Corolla in every market. Not cheap.

Want a lower seat? GR says plenty of aftermarket companies are already working on a solution.

Select first and the smooth, light clutch, slick gear change and perfectly weighted steering hint at the attention to detail lavished on the car.

Flatten the throttle and the cheeky three-pot still sounds like the cheap Toyota Aygo city car that’s offered in Europe. For the GR Corolla, engineers were forced to completely redesign the exhaust, and the result is a wacky dual-pipe set-up with a large central outlet.

Above 35km/h in normal driving the central oval pipe is non-functional, boosting refinement at country and highway speeds, but opens depending on driving style and mode.

The sound isn’t actually a highlight, with the cheery three-cylinder warble evolving into nothing more than a drone at high speed.

As well as a lack of decent noise at the top of the rev range, lower down the weight of the bigger hatch’s body blunts responses and it’s only above 3000rpm that the GR Corolla flies.

Up until then, it’s easy to question its sub-5.0-second 0-100km/h sprint claim.

It’s the sheer efficiency of the all-wheel drive system that steals the show, with not a single kilowatt or Newton-metre wasted in vain, such is the level of traction.

On track, this translates into incredible pace with little effort by the driver. The level of precision is also a highpoint.

Back on the road, at sane speeds, on a small stretch of bumpy road available for our drive, the GR Corolla mimics its smaller brother in dishing up phenomenal cross-country pace.

Grip levels remain incredible and, again, traction flawless, but there’s always the nagging feeling the driver plays little role in the experience, nor pace served up.

Despite lacking adaptive dampers, we’re happy to report that ride quality seems decent on the fast Toyota, the shock absorbers playing a starring role of smoothing things out when the going gets rough.

Back on track, as temperatures rise above the mid-30s, I finally begin to bond fully with the GR Corolla and that happens just when the Michelins begin to struggle with the high temps.

As grip slips away, the eureka moment happens. The GR Corolla is at its very best when being driven near and (well) beyond its high limits.

Trail-brake, lift, left-foot brake, come in too hot – it doesn’t matter – the Toyota laps it up and obliges with lurid slip angles that are easily catchable. It makes the driver begin to feel like a superhero.

Incredibly, the brakes – four-piston front, two-piston rear – cope with the extreme abuse without fading away, a grumble or even a groan.

Climbing from the Circuit model to the Morizo version and you might think Toyota would have been tempted to create an altogether more serious beast of car.

It hasn’t.

Instead, it’s just made something just as approachable but even quicker.

To be honest, the extra torque isn’t that noticeable and certainly doesn’t fill the gap lower down in the rev range.

There’s a reason for that; the higher torque peak is developed 250rpm higher but the shorter first, second and third gear, plus those Cup 2 tyres, translate into higher cornering speeds.

Its best attribute, though, must be the fact the Morizo is just as playful as the regular version and doesn’t alienate less confident drivers on track.

Even after the GR Supra, GR Yaris and the most recent GR 86, it’s still remarkable that the 2022 Toyota GR Corolla exists – and not least that it’s the product of Toyota.

From our first taste, Gazoo Racing has dished up yet another appetising high-performance serving that rockets to the very top of the hot hatch class.

Sure, it could be quicker and a little more involving on the road, but as it is we think buyers will love its more grown-up feel and the extra pair of doors compared to the cramped GR Yaris.

We’d also understand if you buy one on looks alone because, compared to cars like the sober Volkswagen Golf R, it stuns.

It’s just such a shame that purchasing will be an issue, as was the case with the GR Yaris. With only 500 cars coming in the first batch, expect them all to sell out – hours after the order book opens.

How much does the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla cost?
Price: $65,000 estimated (plus on-road costs)
Available: Early 2023
Engine: 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 221kW/370Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: Not tested