Guys and Gals, JDM is HEATING UP with the GR Corolla
There’s been a flurry of new releases lately and one that I, and according to the views, a lot of you are stoked about is the Toyota GR Corolla.
And now it’s been confirmed so let’s dive into what we know.
GR Corolla Details
Yes, it’s been confirmed, but not by Toyota themselves…aww boo.
BUT WAIT, the people that did report the confirmation was Forbes…weird place to confirm, but hey I trust ’em.
But what we’re going to do here is talk about what we know about the GR Corolla and how it fits into the ever developing JDM landscape.
So, a few months ago I actually made a GR Corolla video and covered a lot of the details that were speculated, but now with more information shored up let’s revisit.
GR Corolla Engine
In the last video we talked about it getting a turbo 4 banger, BUT we know now that the motor will be the same 1.6T 3 cylinder that the instant classic GR Yaris gets.
I know some of you in the comments had OPINIONS on the 3 cylinder, but im all about weird cars so a quirky 3 cylinder motor does it for me.
In the baby brother, GR Yaris, the motor is tuned to produce 257 hp BUT we’re thinking they’ll ramp the output closer to 300 HP for the Corolla since it’s bigger and heavier.
That puts it in treacherous waters with things like Type Rs and Ns, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
The GR Corolla will also come standard as a 6 speed manual…YES.
It will also get an AWD system and 0-60 should be around the mid 5 second range which is pretty dang good.
The most exciting thing is that we’ll be able to get the GR Corolla in North America unlike it’s exclusive little brother the Yaris.
Supposedly they’re talking mid to late 2022 availability, but with this chip shortage who knows…
That’s most of the important stuff, aside from that it’ll probably get fancy GR seats and red accents on the interior, but it’ll still be a corolla which is fine because i really liked the corolla i tested a while ago…and the Apex ain’t it chief.
GR Yaris
I’m not really going to touch this because we can’t get it here in the states and I’m petty about it and…well I already covered it in the first GR Corolla video.
Civic Type R
This, to me is the spiciest battle here. We just got out of the Type R and yeah it’s still fantastic, but it’s on the eve of a new gen. Still 2.0T, still FWD, still 6 speed, but 325 hp and 305 lbft – more power, no AWD weight…we’ll see (more expensive)
Elantra N, Kona N, Veloster N
These are some of the most exciting offerings in the space right now. They’re very raw feeling and all about the driving experience. Not much in the way of refinement or softening for daily duty which is a pro and a con – I don’t mean to say it’s not dailyable but you can tell it’s a little more focused on performance. 275 hp, 2.0T, DCT or 6 speed. Low to mid 5 seconds to 60 depending on trans (similar price, little less)
Mazda3 Turbo
This is what you might consider the muscle car of the bunch. It’s heavier, it drives heavier, and it’s got a tsunami of torque. 250hp and 320 lbft. 6 speed auto only which is a bummer. Also AWD which is nice but part of the weight issue. Just doesn’t feel quite as sharp as the others. (less price, but will need to option up)
Golf R
I have not driven the brand new Golf R, but on paper it’s a 2.0T, 315 hp, 310 lbft, 6 speed manual or 8 speed DSG, AWD w/ drift mode and 0-60 at 4.7. Sounds great so far right? Well that’s cuz it’s far more expensive than the others we’ve talked about
WRX STI
The WRX/STI twins are also packing rally heritage, AWD, and a turbo, but they have an extra cylinder and are also due for a new gen which is rumored to get 400 hp and 361 lbft in the STI. 6 speed manual or a CVT. so that means the normal WRX will compete closer to the GR Corolla around 325 hp and all the same fixins we just talked about (similar price)