Driven: 2023 Toyota GR Corolla Is All About Compromise

It’s not, for starters, the much more rally-related GR Yaris. This is as close as Toyota could get here in America for reasons too lengthy to broach here. It’s also compromised because even though $35,900 MSRP is more than reasonable money for an entry-level performance car these days, you’ll probably end up around $40K for the GR Corolla you should have.

It’ll probably still have single-zone climate control, a headliner that feels more at home in a Yugo, and a buzzing resonance in the exhaust you’ll only experience while trying to maneuver a parking lot in first gear. But guess what? None of that shit matters. The GR Corolla is easily one of the best performance cars I’ve ever driven, and if I were $39,870 richer as of this very moment, I’d be on the phone with the nearest dealer.

Design Evaluation

Let’s not kid ourselves- the GR Corolla is not a pretty car. It looks like a standard Corolla started doing synthol injections instead of committing to a solid diet and a regular gym routine. Only, this Gazoo did- it’s just the performative bodywork tricks you with those oil-filled bumpers and fenders.

This sounds like a critique, but it isn’t. Everything about the GR’olla is dialed up to “$^#@ it, why not,” and the bodywork relays that perfectly. The bumper is laughably aggressive for such a small car, and things only get more ridiculous as you go down the body. The little GR badges on the sides are just hot-boy enough to make you giggle, as are the fender vents and tiny little fog lights (which must immediately be replaced with the largest Hellas on the market).

But the rear overfenders take the cake, as they are perhaps the most literal definition of “overfender” I’ve ever encountered. Near as I can tell, they are simply bolted onto the Corolla’s existing rear doors to make the larger bumper (and thus tires) fit. It’s hilarious, especially when you open the rear door to expose the plastic rivets holding the whole thing together.

In fact, that “just make it work” vibe is carried into a lot of places in the Corolla’s design. Everything on this car looks like it was put there to accommodate the car’s homologation underpinnings. For that alone, it wins out against the Honda Civic Type R- its biggest competitor.

Interior Assessment

Here is where the idea of compromise begins to make itself evident. Though you certainly don’t feel you’re compromising as you walk up to this stubby, wide, angry-looking little car. Climb in, and you’ll first notice what’s familiar, especially if you’ve been inside a Corolla in the last 15 years.

The climate controls and screen are right out of the standard ‘Rolla, as are many of the switches and dials. Look out the windscreen, and you can’t tell you’re in the fast one. Look up and giggle at the cheap headliner, too. You’ll giggle a little more as Gazoo Racing's handiwork makes itself more apparent. The shifter feels familiar- it may be right out of the GR86. This isn’t a bad thing. The pedals have that dull metallic sound to them thanks to their now metal faces. The seats hug you as you twist your body to look around the interior, and the wheel feels slim, delicate, and very performance-oriented.

But from the back of those GR-embossed seats (which are very comfortable despite lacking lumbar adjustment), this is just a Toyota hatchback. I like that. This interior is a Jackson Pollock painting of GR-branded goodies interspersed across a base-trim Corolla background. So, everything works. The hatch opens and closes, adults, even those past 6 feet, fit everywhere, and your groceries will fit in the trunk. Toyota says you can even squeeze four spare wheels back here for track days. I believe them. You’ll certainly notice all those standard Corolla bits as you look around, but eventually, the big button that reads /GR/ START STOP on it will need to be pushed. After that, you’ll forget all about everything you’ve just read.

Driving Take

It sounds like a tractor. A really, really loud one. A spicy tractor with some childhood trauma it needs to work out. Slot the GR Corolla into gear, and it feels like all you’re there to do is help that three-cylinder work out its issues. The clutch uptake is abrupt, as is the booming of the exhaust behind you. At 2,000 RPM in first, a boom fills the cabin, so much so it would occasionally shake the seatback.

The three-cylinder feels almost upset you’ve short-shifted it to second. By now, you’re bouncing along. The suspension is harsh, but the car feels confident. The impacts from this replace the auditory impact of the exhaust. I could swear this car gets quieter as you speed up- if only for a moment. Piling on some pace, it’s best to fiddle with this car’s best feature- the driver-controlled differential. All the great homologation rally rides have ‘em, and this one is no different. Power is sent either 60:40 (front to rear), 50:50, or 30:70.

The best way to describe these is to explain how they change the car’s behavior through a corner. Imagine a flat 90-degree right-hander. Rally aficionados might call this an R3 in pacenote shorthand. 60:40 ensures some slight understeer- classic hot hatch driving akin to a current VW GTI, whereby you get on the gas early to let the diff pull you out. 50:50 is all-out grip, and the GR stays incredibly neutral over most anything in this preset. 70:30 is the most fun, with the car allowing a playful amount of slip on the exit of our hypothetical corner. In this regard, there’s no need for compromise.

At least, in most ways. On the way into this pretend corner in your differential preset of choice, you’ll have to heel-toe downshift. While the shifter is near-perfect, Toyota still makes this somewhat of a yoga exercise. With smaller size 10 feet, I have to just about dislocate my hip to blip the throttle properly. But head into said corner, and you’ll once again forget any faults presented.

The GR Corolla stands up on its toes. You’ll feel very Michele Mouton in this instant, and the car’s chassis communicates that the best thing to do is start picking the throttle back up, sending the weight to the rear, and applying steering angle as needed. This is the point at which the GR Corolla feels most alive. North of 3,000 RPM, you’re right in the three-cylinder’s torque curve. The exhaust gets loud again, moving from that off-kilter taka-taka to a deep airy nash. If you’re even higher in the rev range, you’ll be treated to the dove-like coo of the wastegate fluttering while you modulate the throttle. No other production car I’ve driven delivers that experience.

Bang the car off the rev limiter, which arrives very quickly thanks to 300 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, and the pops, snaps, and bangs of that rowdy exhaust echo in through my open window. I wish I could let this car live there, full lock on some Finnish dirt stage, exhaust popping, and wastegates fluttering. It’s the closest many of us will ever get to being a Michele, a Walter, or one of two Sebastians. At the end of the day, this car did the one thing all great performance cars do: it made you want to do it all again, but faster this time.

Test Drive Roundup

But to get this experience, you’ve got to compromise the rest of the time. How willing you are to do that influences whether you buy this or a Golf R. If you can’t handle the shaky ride, booming exhaust, or 2003 economy car materials, then get the Golf. There’s no need to feel bad- the Golf and the GR are for different people, and it’s ok to not want a car with a loud exhaust and a stiff ride anymore.

The Toyota does not ride well in the city. It tosses you around over imperfections in the pavement. The exhaust, as I’ve mentioned, is disruptive at more tame speeds. The fuel economy, while a passable 23 MPG across my time with the car, is still less than stellar.

For a few folks, myself included, that doesn’t matter. Cars like these are like any addiction- every time you need just a little bit more of that something to get you going. The GR Corolla is always a little bit more of that something; a dragon for you to chase endlessly. If the crap ride, noise, and lack of interior design bug you, then you’ll never get to enjoy the riotous powertrain, fluttering wastegate, and WRC fantasies. Compromise, as it turns out, is necessary in this relationship.

Pros

• Homologation relations at their best
• Turbo go “choo”
• A stick shift, AWD hot hatch in the Year of our Lord 2023
• Stunning driving dynamics for comparatively little cash
• Getting to play Walter Rohl

Cons

• Ride is tough to stomach for daily driving
• Fuel economy, I guess??
• ????
• ????
• Look, nothing’s perfect