Toyota Motor Philippines has expanded its GR family with the introduction of the GR Corolla. This is essentially a larger C-segment five-door sibling of the GR Yaris. For this comparison, we’ll be pitting TMP’s latest GR entry against the only other Japanese C-segment hot hatch in the local market, the FL5 Honda Civic Type R—which, sadly, is down to its last few units as of late 2025.
The GR Corolla measures 4,408mm long, 1,851mm wide, and 1,479mm tall, making it 185mm shorter, 39mm narrower, and 72mm taller than the Civic Type R. The Toyota rides on a 2,640mm wheelbase, which is 95mm shorter between the axles than the Honda. Based on these figures, you can see how the GR Corolla has a more traditional hatchback profile compared to the longer, more fastback-like Type R rival.
Despite being a taller car, the Toyota’s 120mm ground clearance is 3mm less than the Honda’s. The GR Corolla rolls on 25.4-inch-diameter 235/40 R18 tires; this is 0.1 inch taller than the Type R’s 265/30 R19 rubber.
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Here’s a bonus comparison: The GR Corolla is 413mm longer, 46mm wider, and 24mm taller than the GR Yaris. The bigger Toyota hot hatch rides on an 80mm longer wheelbase than its smaller sibling. The GR Corolla’s 225/40 R18 tires are 0.3 inches taller than the GR Yaris’ narrower 225/40 R18 rollers.
A quick overview of the two main featured hot hatches in our comparo: The GR Corolla, as the name suggests is the GR-ified version of the Corolla hatchback. It essentially uses the same turbocharged all-wheel drive powertrain recipe as the smaller GR Yaris but with a healthier 296hp and 400Nm of torque from its boosted 1.6-liter 3-cylinder G16E-GTS engine. It can be had with either a six-speed manual transmission or an eight-speed automatic tranny.
Today’s FL5 Civic Type R has a rich lineage that can be traced back to the legendary B16-powered EK9 generation of the late 90s. Like before, the latest iteration of the Civic Type R was developed to be the ultimate front-drive track machine. Under its hood is a 2.0-liter turbocharged mill that pumps out 315hp and 420Nm of torque. The only transmission option in this Honda hot hatch is a six-speed manual.
When it comes to being practical, both the GR Corolla and Civic Type R have rear doors, but only the Toyota can seat up to five. Honda’s hot hatch is a four-seater. Eliminating one passenger is a form of lightweighting, I guess? The GR Corolla is an all-wheel-drive hot hatch with rally-bred DNA, while the Civic Type R is the front-drive track star.
As of this writing, the GR Corolla starts at P3,811,000 for the manual variant and P3,955,000 for the automatic variant, while the Civic Type R starts at P3,870,000. For those curious, the smaller GR Yaris starts at P3,391,000 for the manual variant, and P3,550,000 for the automatic variant.
What do you think of the new GR Corolla? Is it a worthy 5-door alternative to the Civic Type R? Let us know in the comments.
