Why the Toyota GR Corolla is the wildest hatch on sale

The GR Corolla Morizo is an unhinged and unapologetic attempt to send Toyota to the top of the hot hatch kingdom.

You wouldn’t ordinarily find a Toyota Corolla on a race track. But this is no ordinary Corolla.

Toyota calls it the GR Corolla Morizo Edition, an odd name that pays tribute to the racing alter ego of Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda, who entered endurance races under a pseudonym to avoid undue attention.

The Toyota GR Corolla Morizo is a wild machine.

It’s a fitting name for a performance car that delivers more than meets the eye.

At first glance, the Morizo Edition is a muscular hot hatch with purposeful BBS alloy wheels matched by a carbon fibre roof.

Closer inspection reveals those wheels are fitted with the same sort of high-performance Michelin tyres found on European supercars.

Few cars are as laser-focused as Toyota’s latest hot hatch.

The back seats have been removed in the name of weight-saving, making room for structural braces in the rear.

New sports seats up front are designed to accept over-the-shoulder racing harnesses, and suede-like trim covers the steering wheel, gear knob and handbrake in a space that has fewer creature comforts than before.

The Morizo Edition has a suede-like steering wheel and gearknob.

The 8-inch infotainment screen retains Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but makes do with two simple speakers.

Similarly, dual-zone climate control, steering wheel heating and wireless phone charging have been chucked in the bin, joining rear window motors, parking sensors and the back window wiper on a long list of equipment removed in the name of weight reduction.

The back seat has been replaced by a rack for storing spare wheels for track day outings.

Toyota reckons the changes strip about 30 kilos from the car’s mass.

They’re offset by additional chassis bracing and extra structural adhesive applied before the car is painted.

A revised gearbox has closer ratios than the standard car, along with beefed-up internals that should make it more reliable when pushed to the limit.

A manual handbrake and four-wheel-drive system help deliver sideways action.

It has the same all-wheel-drive system with front and rear limited-slip differentials as the Corolla GR GTS and Yaris Rallye, but benefits from a retuned version of Toyota’s 1.6-litre turbo engine.

@davemotoring

Toyota’s two-seat GR Corolla Morizo is a track dat weapon! #cars#trackday#driving#racing#gazooracing#grcorolla#toyota

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Extra turbo boost lifts peak outputs to 221kW and 400Nm – 21kW more than the Yaris, and 30Nm more than the Corolla – that help it return faster lap times than the junior models.

As is tradition for track-ready performance cars, you pay more to get less equipment in the Morizo.

It’s hard to find photos of a Morizo Edition without opposite lock on track.

Priced from $77,800 plus on-road costs (about $85,000 drive-away), the two-seater costs roughly twice as much as the original GR Yaris hatchbacks that have much in common with the latest machine.

The Morizo asks customers to pay $15,500 more than a regular Corolla GTS.

But it should return better resale value than the five-seater, as there will only be 25 examples of the Morizo in Australia.

The Morizo Edition has ‘GR Four’ painted on its intercooler.

Our test drive of the Morizo took place on track, which makes sense as the car’s two-seat layout renders it near-useless on the afternoon school run.

This car defies logic.

The GR Corolla exists as a more practical version of the lighter, two-door GR Yaris hot hatch, but the Morizo’s changes make it harder to live with.

The Corolla’s ergonomics fall short of dedicated sports cars.

As a two-seater, the Corolla is harmed by hatchback roots that return a high-set driving position that can’t match dedicated sports cars.

But it makes sense when you set sensibility aside and concentrate on fast driving.

Closer gear ratios, lighter weight and a more punchy motor help return more urgent acceleration, helped by a gear shift that feels more precise than the regular model.

Forged BBS alloys have sticky Michelin track tyres.

The four-wheel-drive system makes the most of premium rubber to help the car claw away from corners with uncanny traction, encouraging you to commit to the throttle hard and early.

Lighter weight and firmer shocks return more immediate reaction to driver inputs, lending an impression that the Morizo has faster reflexes than the regular model.

It feels tauter than the Corolla GTS, with better control of its body movement during hard driving.

Morizo customers can have their cars finished in matte grey paint.

Grippy tyres give the front end more bite than before, enough to shake the tail loose on corner entry before you floor the throttle and ride out slides like a pro.

It’s anything but ordinary to drive.

VERDICT

Optimised on track but compromised in daily life, the Corolla Morizo challenges the definition of modern hot hatchbacks.

4 stars

TOYOTA GR COROLLA MORIZO EDITION

PRICE: About $85,000 drive-away

ENGINE: 1.6-litre 3-cyl turbo, 221kW and 400Nm

WARRANTY/SERVICE: 5-yr/u’ltd km, $1800 for 3 yrs

SAFETY: 7 airbags, auto emergency braking, active cruise control, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring

THIRST: 8.6L/100km

BOOT: 229 litres

SPARE: Repair kit

Originally published as Why the Toyota GR Corolla is the wildest hatch on sale