Wanna ride shotgun with the GRM crew?
Welcome to this week’s test vehicle, a 2023 Toyota GR Corolla.
In case you forgot, the GR Corolla gets a turbocharged, 1.6-liter inline-three rated at 300 horsepower and 273 lb.-ft. of torque–all of which gets sent to all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission.
Before you ask, yes, we did take it …
Wanna see the Corolla GR in person? I know it’s not a roadster, but I’ll have it at tonight’s Orlando Roadsters meet: 
Aren't these made of Unobtainium?
Full Nitrocross lap footage from The Firm or you've wasted your week.
David S. Wallens said:Wanna see the Corolla GR in person? I know it’s not a roadster, but I’ll have it at tonight’s Orlando Roadsters meet:
Tom has a Sawzall...display the world's first GR Corolla Speedster!
John Welsh said:Aren't these made of Unobtainium?
Nope, sold my owned-from-new first year WRX when my GRC showed up in January. Performance was over-sold, but it's a great car for me in the snowy north. Could do without the online infotainment, (subscription navigation that needs AT&T?!) but on balance it's nice (for a new car).
snowrx said:John Welsh said:Aren't these made of Unobtainium?
Nope, sold my owned-from-new first year WRX when my GRC showed up in January. Performance was over-sold, but it's a great car for me in the snowy north. Could do without the online infotainment, (subscription navigation that needs AT&T?!) but on balance it's nice (for a new car).
Toyota does some weird sheet with their subscription based stuff. Like "Do you want remote start that's built into everything already? Yes? $8/month!"
Yep, had an unexpectedly great buying experience at the Toyota dealer, right up until it was time to wade through waivers, load apps, pair car/old phone/apps/Toyota online etc etc. Counting the days until the free period is over and I can take the car off-line.
Question--How real is the oil and center diff overheating issues?
I know Savagegeese did an eval, and they and some GR Corolla tuner said the center diff will overheat in ~15 mins, and the engine oil in about 18-20 mins. Have ya guys run into that?
It'd be funny to see laptimes with awd, and what it drops to when it goes fwd once the diff overheats..
The center diff is a tiny sealed unit, feeding an over driven rear diff, same as the Yaris, with no cooling provision, so yeah folks are tripping the heat limit with track use and the car abruptly goes to FWD.
Not an issue for me for a daily. There are some folks working on a liquid cooled housing, relocated sensors, heat shielding etc.
Andy Hollis said:David S. Wallens said:Wanna see the Corolla GR in person? I know it’s not a roadster, but I’ll have it at tonight’s Orlando Roadsters meet:
Tom has a Sawzall...display the world's first GR Corolla Speedster!
Hmm, Toyota corporate may frown upon that. Better to simply turn it into a kewl 1970's T-top and call it a day. The Suits prolly wouldn't even notice, amirite? 
See you all in about an hour–all depending on traffic, of course. :)
John Welsh said:Aren't these made of Unobtainium?
My dislike for these is equal to that of a Maverick. Auto manufacturers make something the masses want but wait, no not you, you can't get one. Just YouTubers and the media.
snowrx said:Yep, had an unexpectedly great buying experience at the Toyota dealer, right up until it was time to wade through waivers, load apps, pair car/old phone/apps/Toyota online etc etc. Counting the days until the free period is over and I can take the car off-line.
I had a pretty good experience as well. I was very straightforward with my salesman that I didn't want any of the connected services or to download their app. When it came time to sign the papers, he asked if I still felt that way, I said yes, and he sent me on my merry way. I drove the car straight home and called Toyota to suspend and decline all services and they took care of it quickly.
Scotty Con Queso said:John Welsh said:Aren't these made of Unobtainium?
My dislike for these is equal to that of a Maverick. Auto manufacturers make something the masses want but wait, no not you, you can't get one. Just YouTubers and the media.
I feel your angst here. On one hand I understand the need to create some hype and make sure your halo products don't get too diluted, but on the other hand if your goal is to make an accessible performance car it needs to be accessible.
Hopefully the lack of current availability is due more to an overabundance of caution and not a false famine, though. Maybe Toyota worried that the world wasn't ready for a $45,000 Corolla and didn't want to oversaturate the market right away. Hopefully any success gets translated into increased production and increased availability. Of course then you still have to navigate the dealer network and their litany of profiteering...
I want to know what the engine looks like without the cover.
In reply to snowrx :
I drive a Toyota product. Mrs NOHOME just bought a new Corolla. After going through the app-waterboarding at delivery, where they insist on you having a smartphone with a data plan, I wont be buying another Toyota product.
Need a pros and cons list for the current hot hatches/sedans. Sell me one.
Just got back from Miata night in Orlando, so an hour each way.
It’s more Evo than STi, more Speed3 than Golf R.
It’s stiff, it tramlines, it pogos a bit. It’s also quick, responsive and makes cool noises.
More to come in the morning as it’s after bedtime.
How big is the backseat? Can adults fit back there? Carseats for kiddos? It visually looks like a smaller car than a Civic or Mazda3, but is it actually smaller?
Same thing I commented on your Facebook post, can I go to a dealer and buy one without a 6 month waiting list? That and the stupid markups are the only things keeping me from buying one. I don't think I even need a test drive.
I see cars in stock here in Central Florida–not in Daytona but dealers in the Orlando area say they have them.
And, yeah, it looks a bit big among the Miatas.
(Sorry for the subpar photo–this part of the lot was wicked dark.)
Dinner on the way home.
CrashDummy said:How big is the backseat? Can adults fit back there? Carseats for kiddos? It visually looks like a smaller car than a Civic or Mazda3, but is it actually smaller?
I’ll let you know.
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