It may be commonplace for carmakers to offer partially updated vehicles midway through its lifecycle, but it’s more uncommon to offer these upgrades to existing owners. When it comes to Toyota and its quest for ever-better cars, however, that’s exactly what they’re doing. Case in point is the 2026 GR Corolla.
While rumors continue to persist about the GR Corolla’s impending Philippine arrival (the refreshed 2025 model is, after all, a confirmed global model), Toyota and its go-fast Gazoo Racing division has announced that it’s further giving its five-door hot hatch further upgrades for 2026.
Before discussing those updates, it’s worth saying already that Toyota’s offering an “upgrade” program for existing GR Corolla owners that see the turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-3’s torque rise from 370 Nm to 400 Nm. This 30 Nm rise puts it at par with that of the “evolved” GR Corolla already on sale.
In addition, the GR-Four will also get some tweaks too. The torque distribution, which is currently defaulted at 30-70 (30 percent front, 70 percent rear) will be changed to an even 50-50 split even when engaging Track mode. From here, the driver can variably adjust the split—ranging from 60-40 to 30-70 to suit their driving style and skill.
Moving onto the physical and spec changes for 2026, the new GR Corolla stands to get even more structural adhesives—13.9 meters more than the current GR Corolla (32.7 meters total) enhancing the body rigidity even more.
The addition of a secondary air intake duct, which is activated at high-speed, will also help reduce engine temperatures at continuous full-throttle driving scenarios.
Finally, the JBL premium sound system sees its speaker count go up from eight to nine thanks to a new luggage compartment subwoofer.
Aside from improving the sound quality of Huntrix’ Golden, the speakers also pump in enhanced engine sounds via the Active Noise Control (ANC) system. ASC offers three sound patterns tailored to the driving mode, simulating even burbling sounds. Of course, drivers can opt to turn the entire system off which happens to be the factory setting.
Why did Toyota decide to put that fake engine sound? What are they thinking?
ReplyDeletebetter than fake test results
ReplyDeleteBut with a performance car like the GR Corolla, I believe customers are expecting not just better but the best; and fake engine noise doesn't make sense to purists.
DeletePurists can whine all they like. If every company is acting like fake noise is the future then there's probably a lot of market data to support that. Lots of long-time car journalists have commented that, if done right, it's good enough.
DeleteNo matter what, fake is fake. The electrification era is a boring era.
DeleteWhatever grandpa. Don't snore too loudly if you fall asleep being so bored.
DeleteCan someone explain the hype on this car? It seems overpriced for what it is.
ReplyDelete