With each passing month, the elusive Toyota GR Corolla gets closer and closer to the Philippines. After making its debut in the US market earlier this year, this updated hot hatchback has now made its way to Thailand.
The GR Corolla took the stage at the 2024 Thailand International Motor Expo to the delight and excitement of rally racers across the nation. But the question remains, will the Toyota GR Corolla be coming to the Philippines?
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Back in August, the Toyota GR Corolla debuted in the United States with an interesting set of transmission options. The traditional six-speed manual is offered alongside a curious eight-speed automatic configuration. Toyota called it the ‘Gazoo Racing Direct Automatic Transmission,’ and aside from being a mouthful, it supposedly promises manual-like, if not faster performance.
And that’s what’s coming into the Thai market. The manual GR Corolla will not be sold in Thailand—just the automatic will be available. This may decrease the chances of the manual GR Corolla entering the Philippine market, too, but it’s a bit difficult to predict what Toyota Motor Philippines would bring in. The Toyota GR Yaris and the GR86 are both available in manual, while the GR Supra is solely in stock with an automatic transmission. The GR86 does provide some variety with an automatic option as well, so perhaps the GR Corolla could follow suit.
Between the manual and the automatic, the numbers stay the same with the hatchback producing 300hp and 400Nm of torque from a 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine. And that’s a lot of car in a decently sized form factor.
In terms of pricing, buyers in Thailand will be paying THB4,199,000 (P7.15 million) for their facelifted Toyota GR Corolla. That is an incredibly steep price compared to the GR models available in the Philippines. Both the Toyota GR86 and the GR Yaris come in at under P3 million, and the Toyota GR Supra starts at P5,456,000.
Toyota will likely adjust the pricing if ever the Japanese carmaker decides to bring the GR Corolla to the Philippines. Considering the local lineup of GR-spec’d machines, how much would you pay for a Toyota GR Corolla?
