Toyota GR Corolla for 2022?

Following a previous GR patent filing for its Corolla, the most recent rumours suggest that Toyota will unleash a GR Corolla hatchback in 2022.

Best Car Web reckons this is what the Corolla GRMN will look like.

The latest rumour regarding the forthcoming GR Corolla suggests that we could see the potent hot hatch come to market toward the end of 2022. The Forbes report also makes mention that Toyota plans to introduce a hydrogen-powered Corolla and Prius in 2023.

Previously, Best Car Web Japan reported that the all-new Toyota Corolla GRMN will be featuring the 1.6-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder motor as well as the all-wheel drivetrain. The source notes it will be revealed in September 2021 along with a Corolla GRMN Touring version.*

The patent was filed in Australia as GR Corolla and it’s likely that the rival for the Volkswagen Golf GTI, Hyundai i30N and Renault Megane RS280 will be produced next year.

The big question which everyone is asking, is what engine will it have? Given Toyota’s efficiency and thriftiness, we’re expecting to see a shared engine. Toyota’s new TNGA platform is already shared by many products like the Corolla, RAV4 and Yaris, and we’ve praised it for its refinement and handling characteristics. Even in base-spec, the manual gearbox and 1.2-litre turbo Corolla hatch is generally good to pilot, so there’s certainly potential.

The Toyota GR Yaris is basically a road-legal rally car with its all-wheel drive, manual gearbox and 200 kW 1.6-litre turbo engine

The most likely engine to power the hot GR Corolla is none other than the turbocharged 1.6-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine found in the GR Yaris. It packs 200 kW and 370 Nm, with power going to all 4 wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox. Whether the GR Corolla adopts the same all-wheel-drive strategy or switch to a front-wheel-drive strategy is yet to be seen, but it’s going to take some cleverness to channel all that shove through the front wheels. Torque steer, anyone?

Toyota has committed to launching a GR performance version of nearly all of its products and we’re expecting to see the GR Corolla joined by a GR Hilux, which we think will be powered by a new diesel V6 motor. We already have had some experience of what Toyota can do when it comes to the performance stuff when we drove the 1.8 supercharged Yaris GRMN a while back and were blown away. More recently though, we experienced the potent GR Yaris at its local launch. There’s already a Toyota Corolla GR Sport on sale in European markets, but with a CVT and hybrid powertrain, it’s hardly what you call a hot hatch. It does look the part, however.

We will certainly keep you updated as we hear more about the forthcoming Toyota GR Corolla.

Toyota Corolla GR Sport with a hybrid and CVT powertrain looks the part, but it’s not hot enough.