daniel chigunwe
Johannesburg – The hotly anticipated Toyota GR Corolla was finally revealed to the world last Friday, and it’s everything fans were expecting from the GR Yaris’s bigger brother.
But will the Toyota GR Corolla come to South Africa? Following its international reveal, Toyota SA released a statement saying that it was indeed hoping to introduce the model.
“Following the enthusiastic market response to the GR Yaris, Toyota South Africa Motors has requested the GR Corolla for local introduction, and is currently under consideration,” The carmaker said. “Further announcements will be made in due course.”
It is of course too early to speculate on pricing for the GR Corolla, yet it will no doubt command a premium over the GR Yaris, which costs between R640 600 and R755 600.
While it will inevitably seem fairly expensive, the Toyota GR Corolla is no ordinary hot hatch – like its smaller sibling, the performance model is infused with rally-bred technology.
As previously reported, the GR Corolla is powered by a 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine that produces 224kW at 6500rpm and 370Nm between 3000 and 5500rpm.
Power goes to all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission with rev-matching technology, and GR-Four all-wheel drive system which can vary the power distribution between the front and rear axles depending on which mode is selected.
Toyota says that no stone was left unturned in the process of developing the GR Corolla’s chassis and the vehicle was extensively tested at some of Japan’s leading circuits. —IOL
Bongani Ndlovu