Apparently nobody has told Toyota that the automotive world is in an unprecedented state of flux right now. Because while everybody else is pondering the future of iconic nameplates, factories and powertrains, it’s tinkering with niche hot hatches to make them ever so slightly more awesome than before. A noble cause that we can absolutely get on board with.
Having launched a GR Yaris aerokit last week, Toyota has now updated the GR Corolla ‘for a driving experience underlined by a high sense of driver-car unity, not only in city driving but also in demanding environments such as at the Nürburgring.’ Fighting the good fight, are Gazoo Racing. As with the smaller hot hatch, the Corolla benefits from Toyota’s participation in motorsport; there are now 13.9 metres more structural adhesive than the first car, for 32.7 metres in total, focused on the floor, front end and rear wheel wells. It promises better rigidity for a nominal weight gain. And the point? Racing, of course. While much is made of Toyota’s Super Taikyu competition and its benefits, they’re thinking further afield this time around, the extra adhesive added to ‘achieve stable driving performance even on overseas circuits, which typically generate more intense vertical and lateral g-forces than circuits in Japan.’ So there. Plenty of those in the UK, that’s for sure…
Alongside the boost in stiffness, this latest Corolla benefits from a new cool air duct has been added into the grille. This reduces intake temp ‘significantly’, keeping the G16E-GTS delivering its fullest even under a prolonged track thrash. Or ‘continuous high-load driving’, to give the activity its proper name.
Less encouraging, given the gritty authenticity of GR hot hatches, is the addition of Active Sound Control to the Corolla. It’s the usual scenario, with the speakers of the newly upgraded JBL Premium Sound System employed to ‘emit sporty sounds… that match changes in vehicle acceleration/deceleration’. And that’s seldom successful. More concerning still are the overrun effects: ‘Furthermore, when the accelerator is released, the system generates the signature motorsports sound of burbling (resulting from explosions triggered by the activation of anti-lag control during the exhaust process to reduce turbo lag).’ Which sounds a bit naff. Perhaps manufactured sounds will finally come good thanks to Toyota. But the fact that ‘off’ is the factory setting (of four available) says quite a lot.
Back to the good news, at least for Japanese customers that is. Because since the GR Corolla’s launch in 2022, availability has been limited as well as entirely decided via lottery. Which isn’t exactly ideal. But thanks to the ‘supply system revisions’ - the move to make some in Derbyshire, perhaps - there are going to be more this time around. The implication, without totally confirming it, is that the lottery system will be abandoned and all those customers that want a GR Corolla will be able to get one.
Even those drivers with one already won’t feel left out with the latest refresh. Because Toyota will launch a software update early next year for the first 2023 models, which adds another 22lb ft (as per last year’s fettle) and makes adjustments to the GR-Four all-wheel drive. It introduces a ‘Gravel’ mode, that splits the torque 50:50, alongside a variable ‘Track’ setting, that can swing all the way from 60:40 to 30:70. Which sounds pretty good. As every release from Gazoo Racing tends to, which is partly why we get upset about not having the Corolla - or not yet anyway. But there’s hope, not least in the classifieds: a freshly imported 2023 GR, at Golf R money. Imagine asking your local Toyota dealer about the software update on that…
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