First Drive: 2025 Toyota GR Corolla – Better in Ways You Might Not Notice

Toyota delivered a shock to the system when it rolled out the GR Corolla a few years back, Transforming its plain vanilla hatchback into a formidable track and street racer. Could it get even better? Headlight.News headed out to Sonoma Raceway to find out. Here’s our review of the 2026 Toyota GR Corolla.

The classic Toyota Corolla has long been one of the market’s best-selling nameplates. But let’s be honest, it’s been more of an appliance than a machine capable of inspiring real passion. Until a few years ago, that is, when the automaker rolled out the new GR Corolla.

This take on the Corolla hatchback package underwent a major upgrade at the hands of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division. The performance team widened the body a bit, and added a variety of structural braces. They swapped rubber, turning to track-ready tires, while making a handful of aero modifications, including front air ducts and a rear spoiler. And, of course, they worked wonders in the engine compartment, the GR package unleashed with a 1.6-liter turbo-three engine making a thoroughly impressive 300 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque.

Of course, when it comes to performance, the operative phrase is: “What have you done for me lately.” The good news is that the GR crew haven’t been resting on their laurels. Each year since launch there have been subtle modifications, some as seemingly insignificant as a change in bolt diameter. So, it’s likely no surprise that many of the updates for 2026 can readily be missed by a casual eye – even though they proved to deliver solid enhancements when I got to spend time testing out the 2026 Toyota GR Corolla at Northern California’s challenging Sonoma Raceway. Here’s my review.

What’s new for 2026

When it comes to enhancing performance, it’s often the little things that matter. For 2024, for example, Toyota engineers focused on enhancing the GR Corolla’s suspension, and improving airflow to the engine compartment. The following year saw new rebound springs and a shift torque distribution while in Track Mode.

It would be easy, as first glance, to miss some of the updates for the 2026 GR Corolla, starting with the addition of 45.6 more feet of structural adhesive to improve body rigidity, and tweaks to the rear suspension meant to better absorb bumps and dips in the road surface.

There are a handful of more obvious tweaks, however. The hatchback gets an additional air duct to further improve cooling, especially for the high-revving turbocharger. There are now just two grades, and all share the same hood. And models with the upgraded JBL sound system now feature Active Sound Control – which is meant to “enhance” the sound of the drivetrain, ostensibly to provide a driver a better “sense (of) the vehicle’s state” when pushing it to the limits.

Big Power from a Small Package

I didn’t forget about the GR’s powertrain. But the big changes came last year, output from that 1.6-liter drivetrain jumping from 273 to 295 pound-feet of torque, while Toyota also introduced an optional 8-speed automatic transmission for those not willing to drive (or, let’s be honest, able to drive) the original 6-speed manual.

The big update under the hood this year is that the added air duct helps keep the hard-working turbocharger cooler even under the most aggressive driving.

As it was at launch, power continues to be directed through Toyota’s sport-tuned GR-Four all-wheel-drive system. While it will send 60% of your torque to the front rubbed under normal driving conditions, that can shift to a 30/70 split when drifting and on track.

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Driving impressions

In a welcome, if unusual, move, Toyota offered me the opportunity to drive back-to-back in three versions of the GR Corolla, the original package launched in 2022, the 2025 update and the new 2026 model.

Sonoma Raceway was a particular good choice to experience the differences. It’s a tight and windy track with plenty of elevation changes that can highlight a well-executed product, or leave a driver focused on a vehicle’s weaknesses.

In the case of the 2026 GR Corolla, it lived up to my expectations and quickly showed off the way all the small improvements made since 2022 have paid off. Most obviously, the upgraded torque made it far easier to blast out of Sonoma’s many corners, especially when heading uphill.

The improvements to the suspension were equally obvious, the 2026 model much more composed – and forgiving when I drifted off the proper race line. While I didn’t have a chance to run a stopwatch, I found myself reaching the exit point on the track going at least 3-5 mph faster in the 2026 than the earlier packages. Equally, impressive, I found the suspension more compliant – read “comfortable” when driving on public roads.

Final thoughts

For 2026, Toyota will offer only the base GR Corolla, starting at $41,115 with a manual transmission. At the upper end, expect to pay $49,160 for the GR Corolla Premium Plus with the 8-speed automatic. Those numbers include $1,195 for handling.

Those are, of course, substantially higher figures than most Corolla buyers are used to seeing. But the GR is a Corolla pretty much in name only. It’s the sort of beast Toyota has needed. Of course, you might point to both the GR 86 and GR Supra at this point. But I had the chance to drive both of those, as well, at Sonoma and came away even more impressed by the GR Corolla. Among other things, it provides the low-end grunt that is painfully lacking in the 86, and it boasted surprisingly more precise handling and overall feel on track than the Supra. (The latter model anyway entering its last year of production.

If anything, my time behind the wheel of the 2026 Toyota GR Corolla left me hopeful that the Japanese automaker will eventually see fit to bring to the U.S. the ultimate version of the hatchback, the GRMN that is yet to be offered in the U.S. One can only hope.