A fleet of Toyota Corolla GRs awaits attendees at Bridgestone’s Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Roman and Tommy got the call to check it out. The highlight: A chance to throttle an ultra-rare 2023 Morizo Edition GR on Bridgestone’s epic snow track. The Morizo model is arguably the hottest Toyota AWD hatchback ever made.
Corolla GR by the Numbers
The recipe behind the GR is kinda simple to explain. Take a Corolla hatchback (starting at $36,500), throw in a 1.6-liter 3-cylinder engine, and tune it to 300 hp with 270+ lb-ft. torque, give it a 6-speed manual transmission, all-wheel-drive, and a sport-tuned suspension with beefier brakes. For the Morizo edition (sold out worldwide), Toyota boosted the torque to 295, further tweaked the suspension, and, oh yeah, took out the rear seat to save weight.
On the Circuit Edition (starting at $45,100) performance variant of the Corolla GR, Toyota adds the GR4 all-wheel-drive system and a Torsen limited-slip differential on the front drivetrain and various performance bits. The 6-speed manual comes with automatic rev-matching on downshifts, nice! The result is one of the most fun-per-dollar values around.
And Custom Torque Settings, Too!
One of the cool features of the Corolla GR is the ability to adjust the power splits between the front and rear tires. You can go with a 60/40 front/rear bias, a 50/50 spilt, or a 30/70 front/rear bias. On the snow, Tommy felt way more comfortable leaving the Corolla in the 60/40 setting. It allowed him to easily hold his line while the rear came around. On a dry track, that 30/70 split would likely be way more fun and easier to control, especially on such a short and small car.
The snow track really let Tommy put Toyota’s GR4 all-wheel-drive system to the test and made a believer out of him. We don’t often hear Toyota connected to a badass all-wheel-drive system, but the big T knows what they’re doing with the Corolla GR.
That’s not to say everything’s perfect. As Tommy points out, he’s driven the GR on a racetrack and now on the snow, and he still finds the manual gearbox throws lacking. Compared to the silky, short feel of the Honda Civic Type R’s manual, Toyota’s gearbox doesn’t induce a high-performance vibe.
Ice Driving 101
We’d be remiss if we didn’t explain that Bridgestone put this opportunity together to show off their tires. Each Corolla GR was outfitted with Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 snow tires, which the company claims offer more traction on ice than studded snow tires. Both Roman and Tommy came away impressed. The tires’ grip allowed them to drive these Toyotas all out and get a feel for what the GRs can do.
The pair also left the Winter Driving School with some key takeaways for winter driving. First, you go where you look. Kinda like skiing: if you look at the tree, you’ll hit the tree. Driving on ice and snow is roughly the same idea, so keep your eyes on where you want to go, not where the car is going at that exact moment. Second, you must separate braking, turning, and acceleration into three steps. If you try to turn while braking or accelerating, you raise the risk of losing control considerably.
Check out the video below for Tommy and Roman’s ice-driving skills and see if you think you could do better.
