Toyota Upgrades Hot GR Corolla for 2025

CHARLOTTE, NC – Just days after handing Toyota a 2024 Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems trophy for the GR Corolla’s turbocharged 1.6L 3-cyl., we launch the 2025 version onto a twisting track here that takes in a few high-speed stretches on the banked corners of the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Suffice to say, it’s a rip-roaring joy to run the latest GR Corolla around the two-minute course, letting the latest technology handle the hard work. For the new model, that includes a paddle-shifted Gazoo Racing 8-speed Direct Automatic Transmission and a 22-lb.-ft. (30-Nm) boost in torque to 295 lb.-ft. (400 Nm). The torque increase comes as a result of an increase in boost pressure.

The GR’s suspension also gets retuned to give the hot hatchback improved handling and reduce squat under acceleration. To limit inner wheel lift in hard cornering, engineers added front and rear rebound springs.

Optional cooling components help manage engine temperatures, and the automatic transmission comes with a dedicated radiator.

Output – a whopping 100 hp per cylinder and 185 hp/L – and many other aspects of the GR Corolla remain the same, and that’s good. That 300 hp at 6,500 rpm, and a slick-shifting 6-speed manual, easily lifted the 2024 GR Corolla onto our 2024 winners’ list.

Now, GR engineers add the DAT gearbox, which boosts its availability to those who’d rather not meddle with a third pedal, without losing any of its track-focused capabilities. The DAT is “optimized for sporty driving,” Toyota says, with software that senses accelerator and brake pressure to anticipate when to shift and to provide quick downshifts. Jumping up to eight ratios enables the system to maximize power and torque from the small-displacement engine.

GR Corolla 8-speed DAT.

1.6L turbo 3-cyl. gets torque boost.

The DAT also enables engineers to incorporate launch control into the GR, allowing quick off-the-line acceleration – “intended for track driving,” Toyota cautions.

We love a good manual gearbox, but after a few laps in the automatic-equipped GR, we’re sold. We stop intervening with the paddle shifters and find the transmission handles the shifting well, allowing us to focus on steering and vehicle balance, and run the course seemingly faster. The GR-FOUR all-wheel drive, in track mode, varies power distribution from 60:40 front bias to 30:70 rear bias, depending on driver and vehicle inputs. In our test laps, the system clearly limits understeer while encouraging some fun tail-out cornering.

Naoyuki Sakamoto, chief engineer for the GR, is on site, so it’s instructive to learn from the master. We strap in riding shotgun as Sakamoto cues his GoPro and launches onto the circuit, making my earlier hard-charging tours seem relatively mild by comparison.

It’s interesting to note that Sakamoto doesn’t bother with the paddle shifters, acknowledging that the car is more intuitive and capable of choosing the right ratios and shift points than he would be. On his lap, he’s running at much higher speeds, diving far deeper into braking zones before aggressively clamping the binders, and powering through corners without upsetting the chassis balance or wagging the GR’s tail.

Once we’re back in the pits, there’s one obvious question: “Can you do better?”
“Yes, of course,” Sakamoto replies with a grin, as we’re waved back onto the track for another go-round. And yes, lap two is much quicker, much more aggressive, but still under smooth control.

The 2025 GR Corolla is on sale now in three trims: Core, Premium and a new Premium Plus level. Prices range from $38,860 for the Core trim with a manual gearbox to $47,515 for Premium Plus with an automatic. Prices do not include $1,135 for dealer prep and handling.