It’s taken Toyota 57 years, 12 generations and 50 million cars to finally build a Corolla this good.
And it’s been worth every second of the wait.
The archetypal Japanese small car, launched in 1966 and a best-seller just about everywhere (even outselling the fabled VW Beetle) has one last trick up its sleeve.
Introducing the Toyota Corolla GR Four. It's a car designed for the muddy, snowy, rally tracks of Europe and tweaked to become a fully legal road rocket in Australia.
It has little in common with most other Toyotas, not least any of those 50 million cars that have proudly worn the Corolla badge - a little car that epitomised sensible, safe and reliable driving.
This car is none of those things.
It’s fast, furious and altogether fabulous, and probably the most un-Corolla car ever.
It challenges the narrative of Toyota drivers as people who wear grey cardigans and completely stop at Give Way signs.
Toyota, it might have been noticed, has gone all sexy and sporty in its old age.
First came a flashy Camry, then a reborn Supra, an all-guns-blazing rally version of the baby Yaris, and finally, this.
The GR Four is about as out of character as Celine Dion singing AC-DC. Or John Howard in leather pants.
It’s a Toyota Corolla like, well, no Corolla to come before.
The 12th generation (yes, 12) and most recent, most attractive Corolla, with its sleek lines, its modern interior and its engaging style, is barely recognisable as the parent of the GR Four.
This one also gets a macho-looking aero kit, adorned with all manner of spoilers, splitters and diffusers.The end result is a car once known for its ordinariness, and its almost total lack of personality has somehow manifested into one of the feel-good cars of recent years.
The Corolla and its equally surprising, smaller sibling, the Yaris GR, owe their very existence to Toyota’s renewed involvement in the World Rally Championship.
The Yaris made the rallying world sit up and take notice with its ground-breaking, three-cylinder, turbocharged and engine and advanced all-wheel-drive system. A success on the track and in the showroom.
Building on that tradition is this equally dazzling Corolla, using basically the same three-cylinder engine (although tweaked to deliver a staggering 221kW and 370Nm), driving through the same high-performance, all-wheel-drive system as the Yaris.
The road-going Corolla certainly looks the part with aggressive (but not over-the-top) styling, and the looks to promise much. And it delivers.
It’s by far the most expensive Corolla in history, with a price tag of $62,300, roughly double the price of conventional Corolla models. Toyota will add a “Morizo Edition” of the GR Four, pushing the price to 75 grand. Just 25 of these more powerful, two-door versions will be coming Down Under in 2023.
The GR Four name may cause some debate. The GR part stands for Gazoo Racing - the Japanese-based skunkworks that’s now rolling out a steady diet of new, very desirable Toyotas. The Four? Well, because of the all-wheel drive - not the engine.
More about that shortly.
The test machine was the most dazzling shade of cherry red (called feverish), set off with shiny black alloys and more little aerodynamic bits which served the dual purpose of making the car look fast, and making it go fast. A Torsen limited slip differential on both front and rear axles, makes it very useful around corners.
And go, it does.
It will shock nearly all senses at once: a wonderfully raspy bark from the three exhaust outlets (one for each cylinder, to reduce back pressure); glimpses of passing scenery; the gravitational shift when cornering at speed, with all four chunky low-profile tyres scrabbling to keep this little rocket pointing in the right direction.
That three-cylinder powerplant is not exactly a common format, although found in machines like the new BMW 1-Series and Mini Cooper models.
But it makes a lot of sense. With just three cylinders, and while producing the same obscene levels of power and torque as its rival four potters, engine weight has effectively reduced by 25 per cent. In a world where fractions of kilograms matter, that’s a big deal.
The pure numbers don’t quite quite reflect the impression this car makes. Its 221kW is a lot to prise out of a rather modestly-sized, 1.6-litre, three-cylinder powerplant.
Toyota are too modest, or too polite, to reveal its official 0-100km/h time. But considering the less powerful Yaris measured 5.1 seconds, the Corolla is unquestionably quicker, perhaps by another half a second.
Rivals, either rally-bred or not, include the Volkswagen Golf R, Renault Megane, Subaru WRX-STi, Honda Civic Type and Ford Focus ST.
While they’re all brilliant, that unusual engine, and the sound it makes, sets the little Toyota apart. Not to mention the number of people who have one of these in their garage.
Inside it’s plush and comfortable with an array of technology and style including eight-inch touch screen and 12.3-inch multi information (dashboard) display.
The grippy Alcantara seats are outstanding, as are the chunky steering wheel and snug driving position. What’s more, the seats are heated, a rare luxury in a car like this.
There really is very little to compare this Corolla to, other than its fire-breathing little brother.
The GR Four is a sexy, rumbling, grumbling wild child that nobody saw coming, and it's got potential to shake the Aussie market in a manner that couldn't have been imagined over the past five decades.
TOYOTA COROLLA GR FOUR
* HOW BIG: Precisely the same size as a standard Corolla, with a slightly wider front track.
* HOW FAST: Without an official sprint figure, it’s estimated the Corolla will reach the speed limit in well under 5 seconds, making it a leader in its class.
* HOW THIRSTY: Official consumption is 8.6L/100km. Not so impressive, but OK for its acceleration.
* HOW MUCH: The initial intake of 700 cars will cost $62,300 plus on road costs. A “hard core” version will crack the $75,000 mark.
