Toyota’s 2026 GR Corolla Just Gets Better

You know what’s great news? Just after writing about the GR Corolla possibly being on our endangered list of Japanese cars we love, we got a surprise from Toyota about the 2026 car’s arrival and updates that will make a great hot hatch even more exciting! Want better news? It’s going up in price. But barely. By a mere $760. We think Toyota got there by doing a couple of smart tricks that we’re likely to see on more performance cars. And to be honest, these changes are welcome if you’re a fan of cars that should be all about go, and less about show. Here’s the rundown of what’s new on the awesome GR Corolla and what, blessedly, hasn’t changed.

Amee Reehal | TopSpeed

9/10

Model

GR Corolla

Trim Tested

Premium Plus

Engine

1.6-Liter Inline-3

Transmission

6-Speed Manual

What Hasn’t Changed

Amee Reehal | TopSpeed

Luckily, Toyota has retained all the goodness of this car. You’ll get the same, insane, high-revving, bulldog-like, 1.6-liter in-line turbocharged three-cylinder powerplant. And you can have yours mated to either a rev-matching manual six-speed gearbox, or an eight-speed automatic with paddle shifters. Whether you go three-pedal or just two, Toyota will reward drivers with plenty of punch and capability. FYI, while track-mavens may want more braking punch, Toyota has retained the same size stoppers, and we’ve found them powerful enough for the average street driver.

2026 Toyota GR Corolla Technical Specifications

What Has Changed

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Consider the GR Corolla Toyota’s most accessible sandbox. Yes, Toyota races in a lot of series, but Gazoo Racing is their racing division, and the GR Corolla is the lab rat they want to tinker with incessantly. So, in racing this car in track guise, engineers have noticed that the car could be stiffer. This, despite what we’d call pretty aggressive characteristics already.

Mind you, a stiffer chassis nearly always enables softer suspension, because stiffening enables compliance; push on a noodle and you don’t get much response. Push on a piece of steel and you get resistance. More resistence leads to quicker feedback you can fine tune. To that end, Toyota added 45.6 feet of structural adhesive (basically, glue), to specific parts of the front and rear underbody. The result, they say?

The GR Corolla boasts improved body rigidity and rear grip for better suspension movement and direct feeling, helping to ensure consistent steering and stable cornering.—Toyota North America

Almost No Downside

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Eyeball the specs below and almost nothing changes from 2025 to 2026, save a slight weight increase of 20 pounds of pork on the base car. The heaviest GR Corolla is still the loaded, automatic Premium Plus model, and if you’re looking for an excuse to save a few bucks, that one now gains 57 pounds vs. last year’s car.

As for why all of them get at least a bit heavier, structural adhesive isn’t without a weight cost. (Also see the next entry regarding cooling.) We doubt the added 20-pound heft will be felt anywhere other than in tauter cornering performance and more adept, sharper steering.

The Other “Cool” Change

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There’s one other technical addition to these cars for 2026: additional cooling. Toyota’s Gazoo Racing Team noticed that during long, all-out endurance racing, the car’s power output could suffer. The problem, unsurprisingly, is that the tiny engine and a tight engine bay make for a hot oven. The solution? Toyota added a new secondary mechanically actuated air intake. Basically, they’re ensuring that more airflow is reaching the turbocharger. While they cannot ensure that air is cool, maximizing volume should reduce lag when the engine’s at full boil.

And by the way, if you spring for the Premium Plus grade, Toyota also adds a sub-radiator, which will provide additional cooling for the engine itself.

What It Costs

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One way to hold the line on pricing is to cut a grade. Toyota’s done just that, and you can see from this chart that the middle, Premium grade is toast going forward. On the prices below, for both the Base and Premium Plus models, the default is the six-speed manual. If you want the trick, eight-speed paddle-shift automatic, add $2,000 to the sticker.

2025 GR Corolla Pricing Vs. 2026 GR Corolla Pricing

One Upgrade For Premium Plus Buyers—And One We’d Veto

The Premium Plus grade now gets a nine-speaker sound system with a subwoofer in the hatch. Toyota says this system delivers crisper audio. But they’re also adding simulated engine noises if you buy the JBL Premium Sound System. Toyota says this, “…emits sporty sounds through the speakers that correspond to changes in acceleration, deceleration, and driving force based on accelerator and shift lever operation.”

Call us O.G., but the thing about the GR Corolla is that it already gives drivers plenty of aural feedback based on what you do with the gas, gearbox, and steering. Depending on how rowdy you want to get, the tires will squeal, and you might, too, and laugh uproariously. No artificial sweeteners required.

TopSpeed’s Take

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You can ding Toyota, slightly, for the sound system addition. You don’t need it. This car is purely raucous already. But there’s a solution: Buy the base-grade car, stick with the manual gearbox, and sneak out of the dealership for a bit more than 40 grand, after destination charges. Need a hotter sound system? Go to the aftermarket. Because the GR Corolla isn’t just the Gazoo Racing Team’s sandbox, it’s any buyer’s too. It’s ready-made for tuners, for tinkerers, and for passionate hooners. Which, thank goodness, can continue for American buyers into 2026.