By Otsile Kadiege

The high-performance hatchback segment in South Africa is getting hotter with the Toyota’s newcomer – the GR Corolla. Toyota South Africa’s website confirmed the potent Corolla hatch’s pricing in Mzansi.

Pricing

GR Corolla 1.6T Core – R816,500

GR Corolla 1.6T Circuit – R876,100

Performance

 Powering the latest addition to the GR family is a familiar G16E-GTS turbo-charged, direct/port injected three-cylinder engine making 224 kW and 370 Nm. It’s paired to 6-speed intelligent manual transmission (iMT) with rev-matching engineered to accommodate high torque levels.

Power is fed to the automaker’s sophisticated GR-Four AWD system which gives drivers a choice of 60-40, 50-50 or 30-70 power distribution to the front and rear wheels. Customers who opt for the GR Corolla Circuit Edition will benefit from a front and rear Torsen Limited-Slip Differentials (LSD).

The potent hatchback will be built on Toyota’s GA-C platform, with enhanced frame reinforcements developed specifically for GR Corolla at GR Factory at Toyota Motomachi plant.

GR Corolla exterior

One thing we like about GR models is their wide stance and broad design as well as various other styling features giving it that boy racer look. Such is the case with the new GR Corolla hatchback which also benefits from the above thanks to its black GR badged functional matrix grill that’s flanked by functional air ducts on both sides, the front grille on the Circuit grade comes in gloss-black and features integrated LED fog lamps. Auto on/off LED headlamps and LED DRLs are standard on both grades (more on that later).

The Circuit edition features a bulge hood with functional gloss-black air ducts. The carbon fiber roof on the Circuit edition is matched with a matte-black roof mounted shark fin antenna. The Core grade features an aluminum hood with a color-keyed roof and matching shark-fin antenna.

Both grades come standard with gloss-black 15-spoke cast 18-inch (235/40R18) alloy wheels wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres. At the rear, both grades feature a lower bumper cover with functional air vents, for an extra touch these vents are gloss-black on the Circuit edition. The tapering of the roof and rear pillars are complimented by a high mounted matte-black rear spoiler on the Circuit and a gloss-black rear-lip spoiler on the Core grade.

GR Corolla interior

As mentioned above, the interior of GR Corolla matches that of its exterior design. It features Brin Naub suede and synthetic leather-trimmed sport seats with red stitching, red mesh inserts and GR badged headrests; 6-way adjustable driver’s seat; 4-way adjustable front passenger seat are standard on the Circuit Edition. It’s also fitted with a three-spoke multifunction GR leather-trimmed steering wheel and equipped with a 12.3-inch TFT digital instrument cluster with GR specific graphics as well as an 8-inch touchscreen featuring Toyota’s Audio Multimedia infotainment system with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The Circuit Edition comes with Premium Audio with Dynamic Navigation with eight JBL speakers with amplifier.

Safety

All GR Corolla grades come standard with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 (TSS 3.0), which includes enhancements made possible by system sensors with improved detection capability. This suite includes Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection, Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist, Lane Tracing Assist, Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC), Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist, Hill Start Assist Control (HAC), Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) to name a few.