A lot has changed since 2023 in the world of sporty small cars. The Volkswagen GTI and Golf R lost their manuals, Hyundai stuck a big wing and Pilot Sport Cup 2s on an Elantra N and decided to charge $50,000 for it, and Subaru is maybe probably kind of on the verge of bringing back the STI hatch. Yet even among these tides of change, one constant remains: the 2026 Toyota GR Corolla still rips.
What's new for 2026?
Nothing major. Toyota gave the GR Corolla a very subtle refresh last year and added an optional automatic transmission. This year, Toyota shuffled around some equipment and renamed some trim levels; this base Core tester now has the vented hood and part-leather, part-suede seats from the Circuit, along with more creature comforts like dual-zone climate and wireless charging for your phone.
Toyota dabbled with various limited-run models like the stripped-out Morizo and the “Blue Flame Edition” Circuit to keep things fresh, but as of this writing, Toyota doesn’t seem to have anything of that nature on the menu for 2026. That’s quite alright—I needed a refresher, anyway.
Three's company
The GR Corolla's focal point continues to be its powertrain. Rumour has it Toyota will likely adapt a turbo-four at some point, but for now, the feisty 'Rolla continues to buck convention with a 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine Toyota calls the G16E-GTS.
The G16E-GTS is a little-but-mighty marvel. It's shared with the GR Yaris, both the roadgoing and rally-spec versions, but the GR Corolla's version gets a handful of tweaks and upgrades, and Toyota found some more torque last year, putting out 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque.
All GR Corollas come with Toyota's more performance-focused GR-Four all-wheel-drive system. It lets you shuffle power front/rear in one of three ways—60/40, 50/50, and 30/70—as your shenanigans dictate. Automatic GR Corollas get launch control, but our tester with the six-speed manual misses out. Oh well, anyway...
Boost, baby
Among its peers, the GR Corolla still stands out by being the most fun. The Civic Type R has no right to handle the way it does, and the Golf R is a point-and-shoot rocket that's also the best daily driver of the bunch. But the GR Corolla remains the most fun-to-drive by a long shot.
There's still a delightfully old-school charm to the way it builds power; nobody's really home until about 3,500 rpm, then the boost whacks you and pins you to the seat, until you upshift just before the redline hits again. You really have to rev the snot out of it to keep the party going. Tearing up backroads or dropping down a gear (or two) to pass an 18-wheeler, the GR Corolla’s thwack of boost still puts a goofy smile on my face. It’s also a vocal little thing: the growly exhaust note sounds almost BMW-like when you wring it out, and the subtle wastegate flutter made me giggle way too much.
Around that same on-ramp, the GR Corolla's steering is sharp, responsive, and perhaps more communicative than you’d expect. The ride is definitely firm, but still compliant enough and a worthy trade-off given the extra chassis bracing, virtually non-existent body roll, and loads of mechanical grip, even on winter tires.
Is it still kind of meh inside?
Yeah, kind of. The non-spicy Corolla already shows its age, with a dated design, middling fit-and-finish, and so-so tech. It's livable at the $30,000 mark, but with the price now having crept past $50,000 to start, things like the middling fit-and-finish, the tight back seat and cargo hold, and you give up a bit of tech compared to its direct rivals and even some lesser Corollas. For instance, most plain-jane Corolla sedan and hatch trims come standard with an upsized 10.5-inch touchscreen infotainment, but the GR retains the older setup—a small-by-today's-standards eight-inch screen.
But much like the WRX STI of old, where the money clearly went into the powertrain and exterior style, the GR Corolla's interior works well, even for all its debatable plain-ness. As part of last year's update, dual-zone climate control and wireless phone charging is now standard — two things we complained about in the past — and the part-leather, part-Alcantara seats from the Circuit are now standard. They're grippy, well-bolstered, look way better than the previous cloth seats, and combined with the perfectly positioned pedals, steering wheel, and shifter, lend to a near-perfect driving position.
Final thoughts
Perhaps the most impressive feat about the 2026 Toyota GR Corolla is that, despite an (inevitable) price bump over the years, it's still probably the best buy among sporty small cars. You still have to make a few concessions, but at $50,045 as-tested for our Core tester—it's a hair under $54,000 with destination—that's still an unbeatable deal considering how big the smile on your face will be every single time behind the wheel.
