Peter Lyon
January 6, 2025
Toyota’s cracker GR lineup keeps surging forth from strength to strength. Yesterday we brought you a story about the updated GR Yaris. Now its a Corolla. At the Sepang International Circuit, Japan’s No 1 carmaker debuted the facelifted Corolla GR Sport alongside the GR Yaris during the Gazoo Racing Festival’s Season Finale. It costs RM149,800 and is imported entirely from Thailand.
The new Corolla GR Sport gets tastier aesthetics
The exterior of the facelifted Corolla GR Sport has undergone minor but obvious changes with larger, end-to-end air vents added to the front bumper and a modified front grille. Unlike in the past, when the grille and headlamps were designed to resemble a single strip, it now resembles the basic Corolla.
While the 18-inch wheels have a similar look, the headlamps have been given a smoked effect. For an even more athletic appearance, the GR Sport is available with dual-tone paint and the rear boot spoiler and a revised rear diffuser have been added for good measure.
Inside, a combination of leather and suede has replaced the previous model’s fully leather seats and red stitching has also been added to the steering, dashboard, gear lever, and seats.
As before, the headrests, carpeting, and push-start button all feature engraved GR logos. The GR emblem on the steering and the red seatbelts are features of the facelifted Corolla GR Sport while a new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster designed specifically for the GR Sport and 1.8 G version sits adjacent to the driver.
Wireless chargers or USB-C ports can be used for charging phones and devices and a new user interface has been added to the 9-inch touchscreen.
New model gets 1.8-litre engine and revised suspension
The Corolla GR Sport has an anti-roll bar, GR dampers and GR springs, and its power steering system has been modified for sharper handling.
Its 1.8-litre engine producing 139 horsepower and 172 Nm of torque powers the front wheels through a CVT gearbox with ten virtual gears, as opposed to the previous seven.
Regarding safety, nothing has changed. The car employs seven airbags, a pre-collision system, lane departure alert, lane tracing assistance, dynamic radar cruise control, automatic high beam, rear cross-traffic alert, and a blind spot monitor.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
The GR lineup continues to grow and expand in new an exciting ways. Right now, you can choose from the GR Supra, GR 86, GR Corolla and the award-winning GR Yaris, not to mention offshoot versions like the Corolla GR Sport you see here. We can expect this lineup to further expand as we will no doubt see at the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon which opens this Friday.
