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2023 GR Corolla Is the Ultimate Cheat Car, a Future Legend, and Collectible

Toyota might be the last hope for car enthusiasts when it comes to pure driving experience. In the last few years, they’ve awoken the slumbering legends of the late 80s and early 90s, the Supra and the AE86 Trueno, and as a bonus, put the rallying spirit of the Celica into the tiny GR Yaris. It didn’t stop there. For 2023, the Japanese giant dropped another bombshell in the form of the GR Corolla – a reserved hot hatch with the bite of piranha.
2023 GR Corolla 11 photos
Photo: YouTube Screenshot/TheStraightPipes
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Jakub and Yuri of TheStriaghtPipes YouTube channel got the chance to do a candid review of this fiery hot hatch and take it out for a spin.

The GR Corolla might be the talk of the town, but it owes much of its glory to its older sibling, the GR Yaris. It’s been a formidable force in the rallying scene, and the record speaks for itself.

That doesn’t mean that the 2023 GR Corolla plans to ride on its kin’s glory. It means business, stepping boldly into a territory dominated by the Honda Civic Type R, VW Golf R, Hyundai Veloster, and the Ford Focus RS.

Its bulging exterior, flared vents on the hood, side vents, triple exhaust, and GR badging are subtle indicators that this is a no-nonsense build. It’s a rally-inspired hot hatch developed to excite. That could also mean finding an empty parking lot to blow some smoke and shred its tires.

True to Akio Toyoda’s foresight, what lies under the hood is a cocktail of performance hardware that’ll light up the grumpiest driving enthusiasts.

Watching the Yaris just dummy like 911s and stuff on the Nürburgring was the best marketing. Then driving this in real life, you are like, oh! I can see why.” Yuri said, describing the GR Corolla’s driving experience.

This snazzy new hot hatch from Toyota packs a turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-three engine good for 300 hp (304 ps) and 273 lb-ft (370 Nm) of torque. All this power is channeled to the four wheels via a short-throw six-speed manual transmission (only option).

According to Toyota, the GR Corolla’s base Core Grade and Circuit edition variants will sprint from 0-60 mph (97 kph) in 4.99 seconds.

The suspension is really good. This doesn’t have adaptive suspension, there are no drive mods for adaptive suspension, but this is one car that I feel like it really doesn’t need it. I think they nailed the damping.” Jakub confessed.

The GR Corolla Core starts at $36,995, while the Circuit variant begins at $43,995.

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About the author: Humphrey Bwayo
Humphrey Bwayo profile photo

Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life.
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