When Toyota first introduced the GR Corolla for the 2023 model year, the car enthusiast world got a rare injection of old school excitement. I hadn’t had the privilege of driving one until this event, so I was, much like many of you, stuck watching videos and reading our very own glowing reviews of Toyota’s turbocharged all-wheel-drive maniac. Seeing how much love the GR Corolla got from friends and colleagues made me green with envy, but last week I had my first chance to hop behind the chunky wheel of the exalted GR Corolla, and I’m happy to announce that it lives up to the hype.
Toyota has gifted the GR Corolla with incremental performance enhancements a few times over its short three-year sales run, and that continues for the 2026 model year with a standard bulging hood that has functional air vents, a more rigid body structure thanks to 45.6 additional feet of structural adhesive over last year’s car, and a new air intake to improve long-stint performance.
Logan K. Carter/ Jalopnik
There’s also a new trim structure, so there are only two trim levels that can be had with either the six-speed manual transmission or the eight-speed automatic: GR Corolla, and GR Corolla Premium Plus. Prices have increased a bit for 2026, with a base GR Corolla manual starting at $41,115 (including $1,195 for destination) and the GR Corolla Premium Plus starting at $46,890. Opting for the automatic adds $2,000 to either trim, and 2026 GR Corollas are expected to arrive at dealerships this fall.
Full disclosure: Toyota flew me up to Sonoma, put me up in a hotel, and fed me lots of scrumptious food and drinks for a few days. Oh, and Toyota let me drive three different model years of GR Corolla and two different years of Supra and GR86 on the titillating turns of Sonoma Raceway. I also got to sample the new Corolla Cross, for some reason.
The 2025 GR Corolla received the biggest changes, 2026 gets stiffer
The GR Corolla received several suspension tweaks for the 2025 model year, which made it drive noticeably sharper than the 2023 and 2024 GR Corolla. Toyota had us do a lap in a 2023 GR Corolla, then hop out and do a lap in a 2025 GR Corolla, then hop out and do a lap in the new 2026 GR Corolla so we got the best possible chance to feel how the changes impact the driving dynamics, a comparison few other people will likely experience.
Jumping out of the 2023 GR Corolla and immediately into the 2025 car (well, technically it was a 2024 car with 2025 model year suspension upgrades) resulted in the most palpable difference to my senses. The 2023 car felt softer and had a less eager-feeling front end and turn-in characteristics, though it was still a lot of fun to sling around the track. My colleague Brad had the honor of attending the launch of the 2025 GR Corolla at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and he did a fantastic job of explaining the intricacies of the car’s suspension updates for 2025.
Logan K. Carter/ Jalopnik
Jumping from the 2025 GR Corolla and into the 2026 model, I noticed a much less significant delta, but the 2026 car felt even sharper and more direct. Stiffer is better, just ask your partner. That increased structural rigidity results in the enhanced responses of the 2026 car, making the nose feel more receptive to steering wheel inputs, and overall it’s supremely agile on the race track.
Safe, yet playful
The GR Corolla is a very friendly car to just hop in and sling around a track, even if it’s a track that you aren’t familiar with, as was the case with me and Sonoma. After driving the Supra around the course, the GR Corolla felt much less serious, and in my opinion, much more fun. The GR Corolla’s turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine produces a goldilocks-pleasing 300 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, which combined with its trick all-wheel-drive system’s variable torque split and dual Torsen limited-slip differentials makes the driving experience secure and approachable, but still playful and grin-inducing — and yes, plenty quick. Its four-piston front and two-piston rear brakes clamp down hard and halt the 3,300-ish pound hatchback with shocking efficacy, even forcing me to reevaluate the braking zones when compared to the Supra and GR86. The thing stops on a dime.
I’m not the typical “manual or nothing” car guy; I respect a good automatic, and my fear of commitment paired with rampant anxiety actually led me to buy an automatic daily driver. That said, I would 100% choose the six-speed manual transmission in the GR Corolla. It is a delight to stir, it handles quick shifts in stride, and it’s friendly in low-speed maneuvers, too. I also took an eight-speed automatic GR Corolla around the track, and definitely missed the involvement of shifting my own gears, which is not something I always feel.
The GR Corolla is a very special and hilarious car
Toyota brought the GR Corolla’s chief engineer, Naoyuki Sakamoto, to Sonoma to share the intricacies of the design and engineering that went into making the car. Sakamoto-san prefaced my first opportunity to drive his masterpiece by saying that one of the primary goals of Toyota’s GR division is to make drivers smile. Many automakers talk about driving enjoyment and how fun their cars are to drive, but the GR Corolla, as well as the other GR models, puts more effort into making the driver smile than the vast majority of cars on sale today. I fear that I’m not breaking any news when I say this, but the 2026 GR Corolla is a hoot-and-a-half to drive — way more than just a hoot. It’s an absolute peach.
I also had the distinct privilege of riding passenger alongside Toyota-sponsored Formula Drift racer Ryan Tuerck as he slung a factory stock 2026 GR Corolla along a mostly gravel track in the hills surrounding Sonoma Raceway at a pace that almost made me need a pacemaker. Seeing the gravel prowess of a stock GR Corolla made me love it even more, and I even got the chance to learn how to perform the iconic Scandinavian flick rally driving move. Slinging the GR Corolla around some cones on a wide open gravel patch felt sacrilegious as I heard rocks pelting the underbody of the car, but the GR Corolla didn’t miss a beat. It felt just as happy to be drifting on gravel as it did clinging to the off-camber corners of Sonoma Raceway. If I had the money and was in the market for a new car, you would find me signing on the dotted line at my local Toyota dealer.
