Text by Tom Appel
2025 Toyota GR Corolla Premium Plus
Specs
Class: Sporty/Performance Car
Country of Manufacture: Japan
Color: Supersonic Red
Seating Capacity: 5
Miles driven: 101
Real-world fuel economy: 23.3 mpg
| CG Report Card | |
|---|---|
| Room and Comfort | B |
| Power and Performance | A |
| Fit and Finish | B- |
| Fuel Economy | B |
| Value | B |
| Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus other vehicles in the same class. Value grade is for specific trim level evaluated, and may not reflect Consumer Guide's impressions of the entire model lineup. | |
| Big & Tall Comfort | |
| Big Guy | B |
| Tall Guy | B |
| Big & Tall comfort ratings are for front seats only. "Big" rating based on male tester weighing approximately 350 pounds, "Tall" rating based on 6'6"-tall male tester. | |
| Drivetrain | |
| Engine Specs | 300-horsepower, 1.6-liter |
| Engine Type | Turbocharged 3-cylinder |
| Transmission | 8-speed automatic |
| Drive Wheels | AWD |
Driving mix: 65% city, 35% highway
EPA-estimated fuel economy: 19/27/22 (city, highway, combined)
Fuel type: Premium gas
Base price: $45,515 (not including $1135 destination charge)
Options on test vehicle: Special paint ($475) automatic transmission ($2000)
Price as tested: $49,125
Pros and Cons
The great: Absolute joy to drive
The good: Reasonably roomy and practical
The not so good: Firm ride, lots and lots of noise
Review
Every one of us has a crazy cousin, or maybe a crazy in-law. The guy who never seems to keep a regular job, but has ziplined down the sides of mountains, been arrested for streaking, and frequents that club downtown that regularly makes the evening news.
Corolla on Steroids
Not to anthropomorphize a popular car, but the Toyota Corolla has such a cousin: GR Corolla. The GR (Gazoo Racing—a Toyota motorsports sub-brand) is the fearless, hyper-caffeinated, thrill machine that—like your crazy cousin—helps keep things interesting.
Based on the mild-mannered Corolla hatchback—a compelling first-car choice for youngsters starting to make their way in the world—the GR tosses refined practicality to the wind, and instead embraces performance with the sort of madcap insanity that can only be displayed by someone quite dedicate to a life outside of the margins.
Prices and Trim Levels
Offered for 2025 in Core ($39,995), Premium ($42,575), and new Premium Plus ($46,650), trim levels, the GR Corolla is expensive compared to the standard Corolla. But, the standard Corolla buyer is not the GR’s audience.
Competition
While direct competition for the GR is elusive, Volkswagen’s Golf R comes close, as do some Mini models in sporty JCW trim. The Subaru WRX is also in the ballpark. But though close in cost, and maybe specs, none of those cars offers of the sort of raw, hot-breathed, visceral experience the GR does.
Performance Upgrades
And though born of humble lineage, the GR boasts unique assembly treatment, featuring additional chassis welds and the use of industrial adhesives to create a more rigid structure.
Other GR upgrades included performance brakes, serious suspension tuning, and plenty of exterior and interior trim bit. Sports seats are included, too.
Engines
All GR Corollas are powered by an improbable turbocharged 1.6-liter 3-cylinder engine rated at 300 horsepower—and a substantial 295 pound-feet of torque. All GRs also feature standard AWD, and come with either a 6-speed manual or 8-speed automatic transmission.
GR-Four AWD Models
The AWD system allows drivers to choose between three torque-output ratios. Options include a 60-percent/40-percent front/rear setting for routine driving, a 50/50 bias for track use, and a 30/70 choice for drifting.
Consumer Guide recently spent a week behind the wheel of a 2025 Toyota GR Corolla Premium Plus Automatic in Supersonic Red. All told, our test car came to $49,125.
Room and Comfort
Funny thing about the GR, it looks smaller than a standard-issue Corolla hatchback, though it is the same size. That means that there’s plenty up adult front-row space, and a reasonable amount of room in the second row. So, for all of its delightfully absurd performance potential, the GR is actually rather practical.
Cabin Appointments
The cabin itself is nothing special, and compared to the aforementioned Golf R, it looks and feels a little low rent. That said, everything is well screwed together, and tidy as well, but almost every other $50,000 car we can think of feels more upscale.
Connectivity
Fortunately, the Corolla’s control and infotainment setup is basic Toyota stuff, which means it’s easy to use and glitch free. That said, listening to music and/or podcasts in the GR Corolla is complicated somewhat by the cars prodigious noise output. More on that in a moment…
Power and Performance
On the road the GR Corolla is every bit as wild as it looks. Even saddled with the available automatic transmission, the car pulls away briskly from a stop, and midrange power is both prodigious and easily accessed. And with that power comes noise, from under the hood and from the exhaust pipes. While this author generally frowns on excessively tuned exhaust blare, the crazy cacophony of sounds that the GR produces are entirely in keeping with the car’s peaky, edgy nature.
Ride and Handling
Likewise, the GR’s handling is about as raw and honesty as any sporty vehicle can hope to be. The steering is incredibly direct and precise, and helps the car feel more like its rotating than actually cornering. Zipping around town is more fun than it should be, and there’s way more grip than any driver can safely explore on a highway cloverleaf. The brakes, too, are up to the task, and feel immensely strong, and supply excellent feedback through the pedal.
And while the ride can be best described as choppy, it falls short of being truly harsh. And, things settle down nicely on the highway. That said, the noise never quite goes way—know this before you plan to take your new GR on long highway drives.
Did we mention the noise? OK, moving on…
Fuel Economy
Despite everything, including a very spirited evaluation drive, our test car returned better than 23 mpg over about 100 miles. Try that in a Mustang GT.
Cargo Space
And, because the GR is, at its heart, a Corolla, the car still boasts a thoroughly practical cargo area located under a completely practical rear hatch.
Value
What’s surprising is not how much crazy hardware has been incorporated into the GR Corolla; it’s how well all the stuff works together. While only a dedicated street racer would commit to driving a GR Corolla on a daily basis, we envy the folks who choose to do so. The car is an absolute joy to drive, and will likely serve lucky owners as a form of daily visceral therapy.
If you can afford a GR Corolla, and know what you’re getting into, we say go for it. Life is short and your commute should be fun. So, maybe you can’t be the crazy cousin in your family, you can still own his car.
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2025 Toyota GR Corolla Premium Plus Pictures
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