Toyota’s GR Corolla – BABY DRIVER

Toyota’s GR Corolla

BABY DRIVER

In the realm of film credits, actor Ansel Elgort, playing the title character in 2017’s crime action pic Baby Driver, is about as far removed from a traditional Hollywood heartthrob as a LA-based actor can be removed. ‘Baby’ pilots the getaway car in a heist that presumably will be his last. Action – propelled by the high speed driving of Elgort’s character – ensues, and while that action is amazing, it ain’t all pretty. And that descriptive sums up our test subject, Toyota’s GR Corolla: It’s amazing, but not all that pretty.

The formula for a hot hatch is well established, beginning with John Cooper’s people taking a Austin-produced Mini (technically, not a hatch but a 2-box coupe) and heating it up with significantly more power to propel it, along with suspension and braking upgrades to control it. That was 60+ years ago. The recipe gained momentum with the debut of Volkswagen’s GTI, and was further enhanced by Subaru’s WRX and WRX STI; the STI was chosen by the producers of Baby Driver as Baby’s launch vehicle. The sequel is reportedly under development, and given that Subaru has at least temporarily retired the STI variant, a GR Corolla would be (should be?) its logical replacement. 

Built upon the ubiquitous Corolla hatch, Toyota’s team did what John Cooper did at the beginning of the ‘60s. Out comes the ‘cooking’ Corolla’s  uninspired four, in goes a turbocharged triple. Displacing 1600cc, those three cylinders deliver a raucous 300 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, and deliver it (get this!) to all four wheels via either a 6-speed manual or newly introduced 8-speed automatic. That auto is the real news this year, and I can write about it – but I haven’t driven it. Sitting in my driveway is the 6-speed manual  – and given that I still have full use of both feet, it’s fine.

From the git-go you know you’re not looking at your dad’s Corolla. Starting with the GR’s front fascia and its overload – at least visually – of intake and exhaust vents and a hood allowing for the escape of hot air via twin vents, our eye wanders back to the rear fenders, swollen to allow for the widened track and correspondingly widened rubber. These are real child-bearing hips, presumably capable of birthing the smaller Yaris. The mods are aggressive, and constitute a Superhatch relative to the GTI’s Clark Kent.

You’ll also want to take a quick look at the topside of our Premium Plus, ‘graced’ with a Carbon Fiber roof that I-swear-to-god looks unwashed. (It ain’t, but you coulda’ fooled me.) I’ll guess it comes with a weight savings, and dropping a few pounds is never a bad thing, but not sure I’d pull this particular cosmetic trigger. 

Inside, synthetic leather and an Alcantara-like insert cover the seats. Their aggressive shape keeps you and your front seat passenger in place, while the inserts keep any fuzz and dander in place! A 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster can be mildly distracting, while the 8-inches of multimedia proves mildly intuitive. The GR Corolla offers four drive settings – Eco, Normal, Sport and Custom – and I continue to wonder why an Eco mode is relevant when packing 300 turbocharged horses. If you want ‘Eco’ buy your dad’s Corolla!

Of course, the base Corolla won’t give you the GR’s 0-60 (per Car and Driver) of under 5 seconds, or a top end of 143. But then, it will also deliver substantially better efficiency; the GR delivers an estimated EPA of 21 City/28 Highway/24 Combined. Using premium fuel.

And to its credit, the Corolla-based GR provides you with a large dose of that donor Corolla’s functionality. Rear seat room is comfortable for two adults or – more likely – two child seats. And those seats fold flat, growing the 18 cubic feet of cargo space behind them into 35 cubic feet of space. This is essentially a subcompact crossover capable of running to Target – or, given its performance and handling boost, running on a track. 

This duality underscores the GR Corolla’s appeal, and makes the cost of between $40K and an as-tested $48K easier to justify. It’s a competitive segment, with VW’s GTI and Golf R, Honda’s Civic Type R and Acura’s Type S all looking for that same $40-$50K from your loan company. 

While hard not to enjoy the GR Corolla in any of its available trims, like the Car and Driver team I’d probably go for the base GR Corolla’s Core – and bank that $5K premium for Premium Plus. You could spend it at your local Shell station in less than a couple of years for, you guessed it, premium.

Maybe Baby gets a credit card…