2025 Toyota GR Corolla

The 2025 Toyota GR Corolla is one of the best cars I have driven in the past few years. Not only because it’s fast, but also because it’s practical and easy to live with on a day-to-day basis. After all, it is a hopped-up Corolla Hatchback underneath all its aggressive sheet metal, which is a blessing and a curse.

It’s a blessing because the GR Corolla offers four doors and enough space for four adults, and some of their stuff. But it’s a curse because Toyota didn’t put enough stuff in the car to really set it apart from its lesser stablemates. Regardless, the obvious highlight of the GR Corolla is its powertrain, but I’ll get to that later.

Exterior Design

The GR Corolla takes the automotive stage with a bold and aggressive demeanor. It has a wide stance, sculpted lines, and functional aerodynamics, which give it a bold look that screams performance. The front grille provides function and form with its honeycomb mesh design, which enhances the cars look and optimizes the airflow to the engine.

The car’s flared wheel arches give the car an imposing look and its 18-inch wheels and sticky performance tires fill the fenders nicely, further accentuating the car’s sporty look. My tester for the week was painted Heavy Metal Gray, which looked perfect with its black contrasting wheels.

Performance and Powertrain

The real story on the 2025 Toyota GR Corolla is its engine. Under its hood is a turbocharged 1.6-liter, three-cylinder engine that churns out 300 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque. The engine might be mini, only having three cylinders, but it sure is mighty. Also, it can be mated to a six-speed manual transmission, which is what I was able to test, or an eight-speed automatic. The power gets sent through the transmission and out to all four wheels via the car’s all-wheel-drive system.

That system can be tailored to the driver’s needs with the twist of the knob on the center console. In “normal” mode, the power has a 60/40 front-to-rear split for everyday driving, in “gravel” mode, the power gets split an even 50/50, and in “track” mode, it goes up to a 30/70 split. I tried all three different modes, but didn’t notice a huge difference since I mainly drove the car on normal roads as opposed to flogging it on a racetrack. 

On the road, the GR Corolla gets off the line quickly, as expected. The engine has plenty of thrust as it pulls through the rev range and up to the redline. When it’s time to shift, the digital gauge cluster alerts the driver with a few LED lights. The manual transmission shifts smoothly and clicks into the gears in a satisfying way, and the clutch effort is easy, but not too easy. There is some resistance when pushing in the pedal, but not enough to make your left leg tired when driving in traffic.

Parking the GR Corolla is easy, since it’s so small and the visibility out of all four corners from the driver’s seat is good. The suspension is stiff, which is great for tight corners, but some may find it a little too stiff for everyday driving. The transmission also rev-matches the downshifts automatically, but I had to push the “imt” button every time to make it work, which was annoying. As for fuel economy, I averaged 23.3 mpg during the week I had the car, which is a little less than the EPA’s combined estimate of 24 mpg.

Interior

Sit inside the GR Corolla and you’ll be surrounded by a lot of plastic and leather. There is leather on the dash, the steering wheel, and the upper door panels, but plastic everywhere else. It is a Corolla, after all. But that’s not to take away from the minor upgrades that Toyota included in the GR Corolla. For example, the seats are covered in Alcantara and leather, which give them a nice look and feel, and the emergency brake and shifter boot are leather as well.

The front seats are also very supportive and provide enough bolstering for occupants of varying widths, but they aren’t too tight. They are definitely wide enough to accommodate American-sized people. There are also GR logos found around the cabin to give the car a sportier look and the aluminum pedals only add to that.

The rear seat area is accommodating for two adults, but the middle seat occupant should be someone shorter, as my head nearly touched the ceiling and I’m not that tall. As for cargo space, the GR Corolla’s trunk measures 17.8 cubic feet, which is large enough for a couple carry-on suitcases, but it’s hindered by a strut tower brace that stiffens up the chassis. That brace also gets in the way of longer items when the rear seatbacks are folded down.

Technology

The Toyota GR Corolla has all the technology most drivers need. This includes a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment screen that sits in the middle of the dashboard, which is easy to reach and navigate. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also present, as is a JBL sound system with eight speakers. I’m a huge fan of anything JBL, so you can bet that it sounds great. The car also has heated front seat and a heated steering, which is uncommon in a street worthy racecar like this, but welcome nonetheless.

Safety

The 2025 Toyota GR Corolla comes equipped with many safety features via the brand’s Safety Sense 3.0, which includes a suite of driver-assist features. Some of those features include a pre-collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and automatic high beams. There are also 10 airbags and traction control for added safety.

Summary

Ultimately, the 2025 Toyota GR Corolla is one of the best driver’s cars in the market. Its agility and strong turbocharged engine make it a hoot and holler to drive, and its compact dimensions and stiff suspension make it fun to drive on tight, winding roads. However, it can also do double duty as an everyday commuter if needed, but its suspension could make the experience a little less comfortable.

Compared to competitors like the Honda Civic Type R and Hyundai Elantra N, I would say that the GR Corolla definitely holds a candle to them and could be a more cost-effective alternative considering its lower price point. Speaking of price, my top-tier Premium Plus tester for the week was priced at $48,323, which is on par with its competitors and worth every penny, in my opinion.