First Drive: 2023 Toyota GR Corolla — Together with Morizo!

There are three phrases I by no means anticipated to make use of in the identical sentence: Toyota, Corolla and enjoyable.

That was earlier than the debut of the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla, the very definition of a sizzling hatchback. And, as I realized throughout a day on the Utah Motorsports Park close to Salt Lake Metropolis, it’s the very definition of transformative, turning a bland five-door into the type of tire-smoker that’s a blast to drive, whether or not on-track or on the road.

Overview

Barely a 12 months after introducing the Corolla Cross CUV, Toyota is again with a completely totally different tackle its acquainted compact nameplate. The latest version to the line-up is a high-performance hatchback boasting a turbocharged 3-cylinder engine delivering a tire-spinning 300 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, placing it in league with the newest variations of the Subaru WRX, Volkswagen Golf R and Honda Civic Sort-R.

The physique undergoes a variety of revisions — virtually all of them purposeful — whereas the cabin provides grippy sports activities seats and twin digital shows.

For 2023, three variations of the Toyota GR Corolla will probably be supplied, beginning with the bottom Core mannequin priced at $36,996 — together with supply charges — the Circuit version at $43,995, and the Morizo at $50,995.

With every step up you wind up including extra performance-oriented options, together with entrance and rear locking differentials. The Morizo adopts a less-is-more strategy, shaving weight by deleting issues just like the rear seat in a bid for max efficiency.

(Oh, and if the identify doesn’t resonate, Morizo is the nom de observe adopted by Toyota President and CEO Akio Toyoda — who used it to proceed his semi-professional racing profession as soon as he reached the C-suite on the usually conservative automaker.)

Exterior

What begins out as a normal Corolla hatchback undergoes some important exterior updates — most of them targeted on performance. The physique is barely widened, for one factor, and, together with the GR badges, the hatchback will get a particular matrix grille framed by slender LED lamps including to the aggressive look. There are new bumpers and fascia, back and front, and the GR will get a triple exhaust package deal reflecting its 3-cylinder engine.

Weight is the enemy of efficiency and the Gazoo racing staff has taken a variety of steps to restrict bass, beginning with light-weight aluminum used for the hood and entrance door panels. On the Circuit and Morizo fashions, in the meantime, it will get a carbon sheet-molded roof. The Morizo even deletes the rear windshield wiper.

Aerodynamics are equally vital and all variations function a flat underbody and air curtains to scale back drag and turbulence. The Circuit and Morizo packages take the Core’s modest built-in rear spoiler and exchange it with a more practical excessive wing.

Underneath the pores and skin, the hatchback encompasses a MacPherson strut-style suspension up entrance, and a rear multi-link double-wishbone design. The Circuit Version provides a number of distinctive options, together with entrance crimson brakes and LED foglamps.

Inside

The cabin of the GR Corolla goes by a welcome transformation, as properly, the GR staff choosing “race-inspired, driver-focused” sport seats.

The usual-issue gauge cluster, in the meantime, as been changed by a 12.3-inch digital show. The infotainment system — which introduces Toyota’s new voice assistant know-how — makes use of an 8-inch touchscreen.

There are sporty accents all through the cabin, and niceties similar to a tilt/telescope steering wheel.

To additional save weight, the rear seat of the Morizo version has been eliminated — the track-focused mannequin even sacrificing six of the eight audio system discovered on the Circuit and Core editions.

Powertrain

The 2023 Toyota GR Corolla makes some spectacular numbers, all of the extra so contemplating it’s pulling from a modest-sized 1.6-liter 3-cylinder engine. In its base Core configuration, the package deal punches out 300 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque.

To place that into perspective, the standard-issue Corolla hatchback’s 1.8-liter 4-cylinder DOHC 16-valve engine manages a mere 139 hp and 126 lb-ft.

The Gazoo version physique slams the newly redesigned Subaru WRX and falls simply in need of the 306 hp and 295 lb-ft delivered by the Honda Civic Sort-R. And the numbers are even nearer with the GR Corolla Morizo version which boosts torque to 295 lb-ft.

Energy on all fashions is directed by a short-throw 6-speed handbook gearbox and goes to all 4 wheels by the racing-tuned GR-4 all-wheel-drive system. Drivers can select from a number of mode settings, with the GR Corolla nominally pumping 60% of its torque to the entrance wheels when driving on the road. For the observe, it begins with an excellent 50/50 cut up, whereas that goes to 70% rearward when set to Drift mode.

Each the Circuit and Morizo fashions come normal with entrance and rear limited-slip differentials. That’s an choice on the Core package deal.

Security and Expertise

The 2023 GR Corolla doesn’t skimp on the superior driver help know-how, providing the identical Toyota Security Sense 3.0 options discovered within the base Corolla. Whereas some methods come as upgrades, all fashions get welcome options together with ahead crash avoidance know-how with pedestrian detection, in addition to lively cruise management.

The hatchback swaps out its typical analog gauges for a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, with an 8-inch touchscreen dealing with infotainment duties. Good below good lighting situations, however, like a variety of different current Toyota fashions, the gauge cluster tends to be surprisingly tough to learn below brilliant lighting — like what we confronted throughout a sizzling summer season day in Utah.

The GR Corolla additionally presents Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come normal throughout the board. In the meantime, in its effort to save lots of weight, the Morizo package deal eradicated six of the eight audio system discovered within the Core and Circuit fashions.

Different tech options — relying on mannequin and choice package deal — embrace cloud-based navigation, an onboard WiFi hotspot and Toyota’s latest voice assistant-based infotainment system.

Driving Impressions

I’d problem even essentially the most hard-core efficiency drivers to complete a couple of laps within the GR Corolla with out cracking a smile. Spending time on a observe just like the Utah Motorsports Park actually comes as a revelation for anybody used to the remainder of the Corolla line.

I deliberately selected to work my method up the road, beginning with the bottom Core mannequin. With modest expectations I took my first lap of the winding, 2-mile observe and rapidly realized that this machine likes to be exercised. The GR staff has carried out much more than simply amp up the engine. Each side of the automobile’s manners has been upgraded. Steering proved exact and predictable. The handbook transmission was simple to run by the gears. The suspension minimized physique roll and helped maintain the tires firmly planted by even the tightest turns.

The Circuit version took issues up a notch, with a lot of the credit score going to the dual differentials. They helped handle left-to-right torque and made it even simpler to energy by corners. The outsized brakes, in the meantime, readily scrubbed off extra pace.

The actual revelation got here once I slipped behind the wheel of the Morizo. It won’t look like a lot, however the additional 22 pound-feet of torque proved substantial on observe, approaching low within the REV ban and serving to me launch out of the circuit’s corners with loads of momentum. The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires have been a transparent plus. So have been the added braces and structural adhesives, the stiffer physique making the GR Corolla even simpler to maintain below management, even after I overcooked one notably difficult nook — appropriately named “Perhaps I’ll Make It.”

I did.

2023 Toyota GR Corolla Specs

Wrap Up

Let me admit that I’ve by no means been a giant fan of the standard Corolla. Sure, it’s the automobile I’d advocate to of us who put high quality and reliability on the prime of their listing. And at as much as 53 mpg, it’s onerous to beat from a gas financial system perspective. Nevertheless it’s additionally the dictionary definition of plain vanilla.

Or so it was, till now. All of the sudden, the GR Corolla vegetation a flag in a completely totally different market phase. It’s quick. It delivers nice dealing with. And with its quick-throw handbook transmission it’s merely quite a lot of enjoyable to drive.

And that might create a completely new marketplace for Toyota — even when it’ll barely transfer the needle by way of general gross sales. People purchased simply in need of 250,000 Corollas in 2021. By comparability, Toyota expects to ship simply 6,500 GR fashions to the U.S. in the course of the 2023 mannequin 12 months. And that features a mere 200 of the top-line Morizo version.

So, in order for you a mixture of significant observe and avenue efficiency, together with conventional Toyota Corolla attributes, you’d be amiss not to take a look at the brand new GR line. For the primary time, the Japanese large can stand tall in opposition to extra acquainted sizzling hatch gamers like Honda, Subaru and Volkswagen.

2023 Toyota GR Corolla ­— Steadily Requested Questions