Toyota GR Corolla hot hatch heading to the UK: here’s what to expect

We might be waving goodbye to the Honda Civic Type R and Ford Focus ST this year, but Toyota looks set to raise the spirits of hot-hatch enthusiasts in the UK because it’s about to bring the GR Corolla to our showrooms. 

We can expect to see the rally-bred GR Corolla launched here within the next 18 months, which isn’t much of a surprise after Toyota announced it would build the hot hatch at its plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire to help address lengthy global waiting lists. 

“We have a philosophy that you build where you sell, so to build in Europe and not sell in Europe would be counter to that,” Toyota’s European COO Matt Harrison told Auto Express. “The gap between supply and demand is now, so it’s about how quickly we can get it. We need to act fast.” 

The Burnaston site was chosen because, as well as its factory capacity, the UK has motorsport expertise that aligns with the specialist nature of the low-volume performance hatchback. “The GR Corolla is bespoke, it doesn’t go through the normal processes”, Harrison told us. 

While the current-generation Corolla has been built at Burnaston in standard guise since its launch in 2019, the GR Corolla’s significant performance-related changes will require adjustments to the tooling on the Derbyshire plant’s production line. 

Key changes over the regular Corolla include a three-cylinder 1.6-litre turbocharged engine with 296bhp and 370Nm of torque, a four-wheel drive and torque-vectoring system - all of which is shared in some respect with the GR Yaris. In some markets this year, Toyota is also bringing out tweaks to the GR Corolla with revised steering and suspension components to go with a choice of six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmissions. 

The GR Corolla arrived in other markets two years after the GR Yaris, in 2022. When we drove the car in the US during its launch, we found the Volkswagen Golf R rival to be a real joy on country roads thanks to its chassis tuning and the amount of feedback from the steering combined with the clever torque distribution system. 

The GR Yaris gained a bespoke three-door bodyshell to give aerodynamic benefits to the World Rally Championship car - which responded by winning the WRC title in 2022 and 2023. The GR Corolla retains the same five-door body as the standard car, but gains a heft of exterior tweaks, including 18-inch alloy wheels, beefed-up wheelarches, unique front and rear bumpers, a rear roof spoiler and a triple-exit central exhaust - something that might alleviate the broken hearts of Civic Type R fans. 

Pricing hasn’t been announced just yet, although we’re certain the GR Corolla will be more expensive than the GR Yaris, which most recently started at £46,045. Hopefully Toyota’s new hot hatch won’t eclipse the mega-rare, one-of-10 Civic Type R Ultimate Editions, which are priced at £57,905.

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