Toyota Corolla Cross receives GR treatment

Toyota’s popular Corolla Cross has been given the GR treatment. Since being launched late in 2021 the Corolla Cross has been a runaway success, frequently topping the South African passenger vehicle sales charts and also being crowned the South African Car of the Year.

As part of the continued expansion of the Gazoo Racing brand, the Corolla Cross will now also be adorned with the GR badge.

The Gazoo Racing brand comprises various levels of equipment. The first level is the parts offering, which allows customers to add some GR flavour to normal models. The GR Sport moniker offers cosmetic and dynamic handling enhancements and until now was only currently on Hilux and Land Cruiser models.

The next level is reserved for fully-fledged GR performance models such as the GR86, GR Yaris, and GR Supra. Top of the range Gazoo Racing models carry the GRMN moniker, which represents the highest level of performance tuning.

Corolla Cross GR-Sport (GR-S)

The GR treatment of the Corolla Cross includes a bespoke exterior package, three bi-tone colour options with black-roof treatment, black 18-inch alloy wheels, GR badging and unique GR-themed interior accents.

The suspension has been given the GR touch too, with revised suspension componentry and tuning as well as a recalibrated power steering module to offer more responsive handling, steering wheel feedback and cornering ability.

Under the bonnet is the same 1.8-litre naturally aspirated engine that does duty in the regular Corolla Cross models, it offers 103kW at 6000rpm and 173Nm at 4400rpm, while using only 6,8 litres of fuel per 100km on the combined cycle. A CVT transmission with seven pre-programmed steps simulates a close ratio transmission when driven in manual shifting model.

Safety features include Isofix child seat anchor points, driver, front passenger and side airbags, vehicle stability control as well as ABS, EBD and Hill Assist Control.

All Toyota models are equipped with Toyota Connect, which includes a complimentary 15Gb in car Wi-Fi allocation, vehicle telematics and enhanced user features on the MyToyota app.

Model range and pricing

The specification of the Corolla Cross GR-S is closely aligned with that of the Xr grade model. This means that the GR-S is fitted with advanced technology such as Toyota Safety Sense, which includes adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, lane trace assist and a pre-collision system.

All Toyota Corolla Cross models are sold as standard with a six-services/90 000km service plan and a three-year/100 000km warranty.

Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 GR-S R453 200