2023 Toyota GR Corolla Core Review - A Double-Edged Sword

Minor Correction: The Regular Corolla does not have the battery in the trunk like the GR, however it gets the spare tire there so the floor is at the same height!

Corrections/info on the video I felt the need to point out for every watcher since I've owned this car for a while now: 1. You'd have be to flooring it everywhere/shifting inefficiently in the revs for 22mpg average. Straight up. Over 5,000 miles of very 'spirited' daily driving in SPORT mode has netted me around 26mpg. Conservative driving will bring the average up to 30+mpg. There's also an ECO mode on the car for the select few looking to reduce throttle response and boost pressure. But like…don’t. 2. The 3cyl doesn't need to be revved out to avoid stalling. Also, there's actually an 'anti-stall' feature built right into the car; slowly letting the clutch out in 1st raises the revs electronically and gets you rolling without any gas applied by the driver. A very easy manual to operate. 3. The LSD performance pack does NOT include bigger brakes over non-LSD models, just painted red calipers. Because racecar? Idk. 4. You can in fact change the tachometer to a horizontal bar, either by activating sport mode, or by changing it in your settings. Sport mode also increases boost pressure in the system, as well as throttle response and steering resistance. 5. Both a MP/H and KM/H reading are on most, if not all US cars sold. I found that a strange talking point. Might be helpful for those roadtrips to Mexico or Canada, eh? 6. The 'avoid excessive acceleration' warning will keep you electronically under-boosted until engine temps are warm, like the good little safe Toyota it is. Once oil temps hit about 160f-170f, system restrictions go away and now you can officially send it. 7. Peak torque happens at 3000rpm-5500rpm. Mid range is king in this car. You don't need to ring it out all the time to redline to access fun. You can though. 8. While in cruise control, you can shift gears without deactivating the system. It's quite a clever feature that helps you avoid bogging in higher gears when speeds decrease. 9. The floor is raised in the rear hatch due to the AWD system. The battery was placed in the rear for weight distribution. A rear mounted battery does not generally raise the entire floor of a car. 10. The trunk space with seats down is 36.6 ft³. The trunk space of a GR86 is 6.26 ft³. That is a big difference in practicality. 11. Many owners have already bought their GR Corolla at MSRP, including myself. There's forums full of us. You have to be patient and willing to do research. Most people aren’t and don’t. Hearing ludicrous markup claims from the echo chamber of people not even planning or trying to purchase the car is getting old and helps no one. 12. Cross shopping a GR Corolla with a non-M, 2 series BMW is just not something people are doing. Even the xDrive one. Objectively it's not parallel to the Corolla at all: Automatic only. 50hp less. 10ft³ trunk space. 2 door/coupe.

1978 Corvette 8 cylinder engine had i think 130 horsepower. Today's 3 cylinder engine produces 300. Off the charts!!!!!

I’ll always love the combination of turbocharging, AWD, and manual transmissions. Just wish that we could’ve gotten the GR Yaris in America, because it’s smaller, lighter, and a 2-door, which is better.

Zack, good news:::: your videos are now on the daily Google news feed page in the past week in New Jersey. Keep up the good work

I'm glad to see it has a heated steering wheel and heated wipers or wiper de-icer because in the previous gen it was limited to Canada and not in the USA. It might be only on the GR and not the other trims sich as SE and LE which would empty buttons

You can change the tach to horizonal, and switch up the information on the right and left "pods". Just hold the "ok" button and it'll give you options. And to switch the tach, press and hold ok and then go to "meter settings" there you can make the changes where it can be horizontal at all times, round at all times, or switch to horizonal when you enter sport drive mode. I think the boost gauge is a throwback to some 80s factory gauges where it was in increments x10 or kpa or even BAR

This generation Corolla has less rear space than the previous generation.

My XSE hatch has the battery up front. From what I’ve heard the GR’s battery was moved to the trunk for weight distribution as minimal as it might be!

Thats a fully loaded Core model. Has the technology, cold weather, and the track packs. After watching this I'm kinda glad I didn't buy one of these things. Would have been great fun but with severe back issues this car would have made me suffer a plenty.

It's not designed as a commuter car it's a track car. It's something for the weekend.

Thank you. That was a great, HONEST review!!

That's their new infotainment system? You would think paying $40,000 would get you something that runs better than a 13-year old Kindle. That thing was dropping more frames that it was rendering.

If you could review the corolla apex that would be great comparison regarding the ride quality.

Did you have a chance to seat on the CE ones? Maybe the seat is more comfortable and also how is the brake dust on the gr corolla?

I’ve been daily driving mine for a year today and I’ve loved every mile

Honest review is much appreciated. Too many reviews are all promotional without real opinions.

I deliver lost luggage from the airport and right now I'm using a 05 manual xb but upgrading to this has been on my mind, how would cargo be with the rear seats folded?

You can change the circular tach to a horizontal tach

I just saw one of these yesterday, sweet ride.