The popular Toyota Corolla Cross, the current South African Car of the Year and frequently topping the passenger-vehicle sales charts, is now the latest model from Toyota to don a GR sports jacket.
Brought to market in the final quarter of last year, the locally built Toyota Corolla Cross GR-S expands the Gazoo Racing (aka GR) offering with the GR-Sport moniker – the second tier in the GR product hierarchy – which offers cosmetic and dynamic handling enhancements.
The GR product hierarchy comprises four levels; the first layer is GR Parts (currently under investigation for SA) which allows customers to inject their standard model variant with GR flavour, followed by the GR-Sport moniker (Hilux and Land Cruiser 300).
The third tier is occupied by fully-fledged GR performance models (GR86, GR Yaris, GR Supra), while the fourth and final layer is GRMN – which represents the highest level of performance tuning.
UNIQUE FRONT FAÇADE
The biggest, and most visible difference between the new Corolla Cross GR-S and the rest of the range is its revised, more prominent and attractive front grille, finished in gloss black, extending towards the headlamp assembly.
The lower apron too is finished in gloss black along with the signature “GR Mesh”. Further differentiating the GR-S from the standard Corolla Cross models are vertical air ducts which incorporate compact fog lamp units. A strong horizontal crossbar and large Toyota insignia complete the bold façade.
The sporty theme is rounded off by black exterior mirrors, a black roof and black roof rails, a black roof spoiler, black tailgate trim and a blacked-out bumper diffuser at the rear. The package is completed by a GR badge affixed to the rear, and three exterior colours are offered: Arizona Red Bi-Tone, Chromium Silver Bi-Tone and Glacier White Bi-Tone (intriguingly, no black derivative is available).
However, the interior features stylish black leather trim (replete with GR embossing on the front headrests) with red contrast stitching and perforation. A red accent stripe complements these details on the instrument panel, piano black surface detailing and a 3-spoke steering wheel with red stitching and piano black inserts.
REVISED SUSPENSION
Motivated by the same 1.8-litre 2ZR-FE petrol engine (103 kW and 172 Nm of torque) coupled with a CVT transmission with seven pre-programmed “steps” to simulate a close-ratio transmission in manual shifting mode, the performance of the GR-S is comparable to the other petrol derivatives in the range.
However, with new shock absorbers and revised settings for its coil springs, coupled with 18” tyres on unique black alloy wheels, the GR Sport has a slightly sportier ride quality, as we found on the short test route in and around Cape Town.
The slightly harder settings do not detract too much from ride comfort, though, and with a recalibrated power steering module (EPS), it reacts quicker on steering inputs and provides more steering feedback in the corners. It does not, however, change the Corolla Cross into a sporty hatch.
With Xr grade specification as a base, the standard features on the GR Sport are substantial, including keyless entry, power-adjustable and retractable exterior mirrors, one-touch power windows, LED lighting units, Cruise Control, a TFT Multi-Information Display, dual-zone climate control, reverse camera, Park Distance Control, rain-sensing wipers and LED interior illumination. It also comes equipped with Toyota Safety Sense (TSS), which offers a full suite of active safety aids, such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Trace Assist and Pre-Collision System (PCS). Given that the X-Over styling pack for a “normal” Corolla Cross is now available for an extra R23,600, the GR-S – the new flagship model in the Corolla Cross petrol range – offers good value for money with its recommended retail price of R453,200.
This includes a six-services/90,000 km service plan (intervals set at 15,000 km) and a three-year/100,000 km warranty, as well as Toyota Connect, including a complimentary 15 Gb in-car Wi-Fi allocation, vehicle telematics, and enhanced user features via the MyToyota app.
LAST WORD
With the trend towards sportier derivatives for SUVs and crossovers, the GR Sport is a timeous addition to the well-liked range, and if you want to stand out among all the other Corolla Cross models in the parking lot, the GR-S is the answer.
Report by FERDI DE VOS | Images © TOYOTA SOUTH AFRICA
