GR Corolla news

[Dpro]

I have to second a lot of the thoughts here. I get into the 40k range I am look at Z’s and Caymen’s maybe a Lotus. I love would love the Corolla GR but when the price gets up there it would have to be an absolute barn stormer to sway me towards it.

I think Toyota would be shooting themselves in the foot on sales of it by pricing it up there. Unless its totally part of their intention to push people towards looking at the 4 cylinder Supra.

The hot hatch market these days in the U.S. is a really tough sell. The question would be can the Corolla GR sway the Suburu faithfull to jump ship? For me to want the GR it would have to be AWD and as fun to drive as the FiST as I see it more as a FiST replacement but not at 40k

I am not quite sure Toyota can screw together all of that. I mean this is Toyota we are talking about. Ya while they have made some sports cars they are not exactly known for screwing together fun cars. The AE86 was fun once it was setup, Stock it was a rather standard Corolla. The MR2 was fun but also diabolical. The Supra was well fast but big and heavy too. The new 86 is basically a Suburu the new Supra is basically a BMW .

So here we have the Corolla GR is it really going to be the amazing nimble awd car the Yaris is ? Ah no its a modern day Corolla which to me quite likely spells boring which is really what Toyota is famous for nice, boring , reliable daily drivers that the masses can depend on.
edit…. I should say I should not be that harsh on the Corolla my friend has one they are not bad. For non speed demons.

Ya this is super critical but its also an observation of Toyota vs its counterparts in the Japanese car business. I was talking to a buddy who works at Manhattan Beach Toyota a few weeks back about the GR86 because its getting great reviews. He was like Dave just buy the new Z. He sells Toyota’s including Supra’s and he is telling me to buy the Z. That says a lot about how he views Toyota even working for them.
Take it for Whats its worth but I think a lot of people are pinning high expectations on the GR Corolla and will probably wind up disappointed.

 

[Rexracer]

Yeah if the Z comes in at the 35k price originally speculated its going to be hard to beat. But now I am seeing 40+ on it, which isnt bad, but wouldn't be the bargain basement 400hp buy it was looking like.

The bare bones Camaro V8 (non-SS) for 35k is still the cheapest (I think) way over 400hp, to bad you cant see out of them.

 

[M-Sport fan]

The M240 is an FS car (E90 M3 dominated), so not a great competitor.

Are the naturally aspirated V-8, 5th and 6th gen Camaros still in FS as well?

 

[Rexracer]

Are the naturally aspirated V-8, 5th and 6th gen Camaros still in FS as well?

Yes they are, the “pony car” class. There is a proposal to move the 1LE and Performance pack mustangs into the class as well. Right now it’s dominated by the 08-14 M3s

 

[akiraproject24]

View: https://youtu.be/QRgMX2c9pD8



Interesting how he digs out Easter eggs in the photo that hint at power train, hp, and all wheel drive

 

[M-Sport fan]

AWD might make it worthy of that $40K+ price point, but not simply FWD , for me at least.

I still do not like that upper front fascia/headlight 'styling' (the rest of it is actually pretty HOT!), but it's performance could overcome that, and my thoughts of being a traitor for buying a Toyota, at all.

 

[ronmcdon]

yeah I wouldnt be happy with fwd either.

now if it were the yaris gr, definitely would go get one even at $45 or so. really there is no reason for the snub for the us market.

 

[akiraproject24]

AWD might make it worthy of that $40K+ price point, but not simply FWD , for me at least.

I still do not like that upper front fascia/headlight 'styling' (the rest of it is actually pretty HOT!), but it's performance could overcome that, and my thoughts of being a traitor for buying a Toyota, at all.

I agree 40k is rather rich for my wallet. It's probably a car that could last a long time though. Not sure about this motor but some of the Toyotas have dual fueling direct and port which obviously keeps the valves cleaner, longer. Curious if this one gets that treatment.

 

[Dpro]

Ya AWD would interest me FWD forget it. Also could care less about a manual Supra I am buying the next Z.

 

[Magnetic]

View: https://youtu.be/TT8LqdSqsBk


More GR Corolla news

The FiST is paid off, SIGN ME UP! Unless the dealer markup is is like the RS (which I almost bought but glad I didn't)

I really wish Toyota would force dealers to sell these cars at MSRP so other enthusiast could buy them. I for one am not willing to pay 10K over MSRP. I'd rather buy another car at that point. Well I digress.

 

[Magnetic]

More performance cars coming to the US is always something to be excited for especially in the twilight of ICE cars.

As far as I'm concerned every new performance car that lands here is a big fuck you to Ford for cancelling the ST and RS. I don't know how long I'll have the FiST because I do love it but Ford never gets a car purchase from me again.

I'm with you on the FU to Ford! (As much of a Ford guy as I am) The damn consumers are to blame just as much though. So F everyone else that didn't buy subcompacts over the last several years. LoL And all the mid-size SUV owners out there too!

 

[Magnetic]

I'm with you on that. It's important to look at what you want the car for. the fiesta is cheaper to buy, run and easy on consumables. did my first autoX earlier this month and was surprised how capable it was even though I was botching things up and didn't seems to be going all that fast.

As we get older it's harder to drive with a stiff suspension and I think something like the fiesta may make more sense if it's not a daily. Really thankful that day has not come for me.

If one can afford it, the GT4 is not a bad upgrade at all for the Fiesta ST. Both are nimble and more forgiving, fun to drive on the street and track. Plus the resale cannot be beat. Would be hard to have that as your only car, but if you can afford a GT4 unlikely you can't afford getting beater for daily driving. Have been obsessing about trading in and ordering custom brewster green GT4 in past 2 years.

I agree with you but unfortunately I don't fit in the 718's. I went to the Porsche dealer in Gilbert AZ to buy one and it was too small :-( Wanted to keep the FiST as a daily and the 718 as a weekend car. I did fit in the C8 corvette but there weren't any available. :-(

 

[Magnetic]

Ya AWD would interest me FWD forget it. Also could care less about a manual Supra I am buying the next Z.

I'm also considering the 400Z as well. A little intimidated about the RWD but I think once I know the car I should be good.

 

[HardBoiledEgg]

STILL NOT A YARIS, NO CARE

 

[Mikey456]

It looks like size-wise a competitor to the no longer being sold Ford RS. Curious how it compares. I bet the suspension will be better and the motor will sound interesting.

 

[contemplative_shrimp]

I'm with you on the FU to Ford! (As much of a Ford guy as I am) The damn consumers are to blame just as much though. So F everyone else that didn't buy subcompacts over the last several years. LoL And all the mid-size SUV owners out there too!

Even if they brought the ST back, I would be very hesitant to go with Ford again. Easily the worst dealership experience before, during and after purchase (and that's saying something considering how bad dealers of all makes are). Only 1 of all the dealers in the Los Angeles area didn't try to outright scam me.

 

[Dpro]

Even if they brought the ST back, I would be very hesitant to go with Ford again. Easily the worst dealership experience before, during and after purchase (and that's saying something considering how bad dealers of all makes are). Only 1 of all the dealers in the Los Angeles area didn't try to outright scam me.

I Basically played them off each other and wound up with one here that was very square with me. Valencia Autonation Ford. The Fleet manager there was great. Basically quoted me at invoice and then when I put together all my discounts wound up way below invoice for my car and it was a Special Order.
Basically most car dealers suck and you just have to know how to handle them. Its a learning process but welcome to buying cars if you want a deal. Otherwise you have no hassle and pay through the nose with the likes of Carvana

 

[dhminer]

Even if they brought the ST back, I would be very hesitant to go with Ford again. Easily the worst dealership experience before, during and after purchase (and that's saying something considering how bad dealers of all makes are). Only 1 of all the dealers in the Los Angeles area didn't try to outright scam me.

Mazda was by far the most consistently good dealership experience I've had at 3 separate locations. Infiniti was good, but not great. Only way I buy another Ford is if it's a GT350. That being said - Clinton Ford in Rock Hill, SC is likely the best overall dealership experience I've had but that's entirely because the ownership group will accept nothing less from their team and has nothing to do with Ford itself.

 

[contemplative_shrimp]

Basically most car dealers suck and you just have to know how to handle them. Its a learning process but welcome to buying cars if you want a deal. Otherwise you have no hassle and pay through the nose with the likes of Carvana

I've dealt with car dealers many times now but these were the worst. Did the play-them-against-each-other dance and it didn't work probably cause I bought the car when it was discontinued with only a few available (late 2019); I think the limited stock dried up soon after my purchase. One tried to bait and switch the ST-Line, one tried to scam me in the finance room (cash purchase but the form was set up for a loan), etc... Previous car purchases I've had 1 or 2 things happen to me, but for this Ford car every dealer tried to pull something on me except for the one that sold the car at a higher price but with no idiocy. Playing the whole car dealer game doesn't work when they don't honor what they said when you go in person.

I'll stop with the off topic now, sorry!

 

[GreenenvyFiST]

Yep, Ford dealers are absolute trash. When I first got my car, I heard a scraping noise when turning. I took it in under warranty and they determined it was rocks in the heat shield and charged me 175 dollars because no parts were replaced. Absolute crooks imo.