In case you haven’t heard, Toyota has introduced the most hardcore hatch of the year, and it costs $64,360, not including destination. The good news is that, according to the online configurator, there’s not much you can do to add to that price. The bad news is that it costs $14,000 more than a brand-new Golf R, so you can basically go out and buy the ultimate day-to-day hot hatch, and have enough money left over for a clean, used Nissan 370Z. The latter car is absolutely perfect for track days, because you can abuse it and feel no guilt whatsoever.
Yes, $64,000 is a lot of money for something wearing a Corolla badge, even though it’s much closer in nature to a rally car than a base-spec rental ‘Rolla. But that’s not my main issue with this car. To understand why I have a love and hate relationship with the ultimate GR Corolla, we need to dig a bit deeper into what it offers above and beyond the standard car, and what its name stands for.
The GRMN Corolla Is Not A Hot Hatch
2026 Toyota GRMN Corolla from the front three-quarter angleToyota
It looks like a hatch, but exterior design is not the only required element as far as the definition is concerned. It does have most of the boxes ticked, however. It’s based on an ordinary family car, it has a powerful engine, and the handling is sharp. But it misses the mark completely by not having rear seats. What good is a hot hatch if it can’t handle the daily grind, which includes dropping two kids at school. “Don’t worry kids, it’s only five miles. Just hang on tight to that strengthening beam.”
Honestly, if I had $64,000 to spend on something to use daily, my first port of call would probably be a BMW M2, which is only slightly more. Then I’d remember how much that amount of money can get you on the used market, which would inevitably lead to the purchase of the cleanest 997.2 911 Carrera S available on the market, of which there are many. And I know for a fact that two kids under the age of 13 fit easily into the rear seats of a 911 because I’ve done it several times.
2026 Toyota GRMN Corolla from the rear three-quarter angleToyota
There are several cool (nerdy) things you can point out to other car bores at a meet-up. First, we have the carbon fiber hood, which is left unpainted because who doesn’t love a bit of naked lightweight material? It also has a rear wing with five different positions. You can spend hours hammering it around a track to find out which setting shaves half-a-second off your best time. The wheels are also forged aluminum, wrapped in Pilot Sport 2 tires.
Hiding behind all of that, we have monotube shocks and matching springs with tuning unique to this car, power steering also tuned specifically for this model, and 7 more torques. Most of you will be disappointed to learn that the 300 horsepower remains the same, but as Porsche has proved several times over, having more power doesn’t necessarily make your car faster around the Nürburgring.
The Corvette ZR1X is just as fast around the Nürburgring as the 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, even though the latter car has less than half the power. Speaking of the famous German track, it gives me a nice little segue to my biggest gripe with the GRMN.
Why Don’t We Have A Nürburgring Lap Time?
2026 Honda Civic Type-R. Motion. On-track. Rear, three-quartersHonda
The “MN” in GRMN stands for Meisters of the Nürburgring. And yet, here we are with no confirmed lap time for a car that was designed around the only track that really matters to a global audience. The fastest hatch around the ‘Ring is a limited edition Golf GTI. You can’t buy the Edition 50 in the USA, so the fastest hatch available here is still the Civic Type R. It costs $47,395, which is $16,965 less than the GRMN. Personally, I’d need to see some evidence that the GRMN is faster around the fabled track if I’m going to drop an additional $17,000.
At Least It’s A Limited Edition…
2023 Toyota GR Corolla Morizo Edition Front 3/4 ViewToyota
That’s true, but I wonder if that matters. Toyota will build 730 examples of the GRMN, and those will be spread globally. We don’t know how many North America will get, but out of the 350 units of the GR Corolla Morizo Edition that were built, the USA received 200. Since the USA is the biggest market for the GR Corolla, that spread will likely remain the same.
Obviously, the Morizo has shot up in value since it went on sale in 2023. Actually, no. The world went mad when the Morizo went on sale, and we even saw dealers add a $20,000 markup to the price. A 400-mile Morizo recently sold for $51,000 on Cars & Bids. Another Morizo sold just a few days ago for $44,500. A 3,000-mile unit is currently for sale for $52,000, while one example with less than 1,000 miles on the clock can be yours for $58,800. Apart from the fact that a rarer Morizo is cheaper than the GRMN, that’s not a massive increase in value on a car flippers thought would be worth much more by now.
Still, There’s Something Cool About It
Wide interior shot of the 2026 Toyota GRMN Corolla showing the front seatsToyota
The GRMN is a silly car, and that’s why I love it. If a radical four-door hatch with a 300-hp turbocharged three-cylinder with no rear seats and a carbon fiber hood was pitched to Toyota’s board 20 years ago, they would have dropped dead on the spot. But Toyota is cool now. They sell more sports cars than BMW at the moment. And it’s building even more cool cars than ever before. The rumored Celica makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.
The GRMN doesn’t make sense, and maybe that’s the point. If you want a sensible car, buy a Corolla Cross. It’s a brilliant car in the sense that it moves forwards and backwards, and does a bunch of car stuff. And it only costs $25,235.
But you know as well as I do that cars are an emotional purchase. If I had to build the ultimate five-car garage, the GRMN would be in there as my hot hatch choice. At least my kids will develop strong biceps from hanging on tight to that beam.
