AUTO FOR RED-HOT YARIS

Toyota has unveiled an upgraded version of its rally-bred GR Yaris hot hatch which is available for the first time with an auto. Previously available only with a manual, the eight-speed DirectShift automatic transmission is sure to broaden the appeal of the little hottie. TGR World Rally Team drivers put the new automatic transmission to the test on a range of road surfaces, including in the Japanese Rally Championship and Toyota GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge under the ethos of “breaking and fixing” to help make the new transmission as durable… Read more

TOYOTA ADDS PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS TO ITS MARKET-LEADING HILUX

Toyota scoured the globe to find something extra for its best-selling HiLux pick-up range. With inspiration coming from the Dakar, one of the toughest off-road endurance events in the world, plus input from the company’s Australian design team in Melbourne and extensive testing here, the result is the all-terrain performance GR Sport dual cab. Seen as a replacement for the range-topping Rugged X, Toyota landed on the GR HiLux racecar that was making its presence felt in one of the world’s toughest off-road endurance events, the Dakar Rally, for inspiration,… Read more

TOYOTA GR COROLLA MORIZO

Imagine paying $80,000 for a Corolla and finding it doesn’t have a back seat. That’s the big ask for Toyota’s leaner, meaner GR Corolla Morizo Edition, only 25 of which will be offered for sale here in Australia. Toyota says it has taken performance to a whole new level with the arrival of the strictly limited Morizo Edition, an even more focused version of the acclaimed GR Corolla. The removal of the rear seats represents just one of the many weight-saving measures applied, reducing the kerb weight of the car… Read more

TOYOTA GR SUPRA GTS AUTO

Toyota’s Supra is a rebodied BMW Z4 and built in Austria. It’s been a couple of years since we last drove the two-seater but age has not wearied the GR foundation member. Launched here in 2019, Supra received a shot in the arm back in December, 2020 with a 35kW boost in power and additional bracing under the bonnet to improve handling. Then, in November, 2021 wireless Apple CarPlay was added. In April last year Supra went to a full model update with the availability for the first time of… Read more

TOYOTA COROLLA GR

Before my review of the new Toyota Corolla GR, I would like to give you my own experiences of a Corolla. Way back when I bought one in 1971, I didn’t have any connection with the motoring business but chose it because it looked better than others in the class – which is as good a reason as any I reckon… I didn’t have a family then, but three children arrived over the following six years. All came home as tiny babies in the Corolla. As they grew up there… Read more

MAKE WAY FOR THE GR COROLLA

Toyota’s fire-breathing GR Corolla blasts into Australian showrooms next month priced from $62,300. Toyota Australia has secured 700 examples of the GR Corolla GTS for sale in the first year, to be joined in coming months by the limited-run Morizo Edition – of which just 25 will be available. The rally-bred GR (for Gazoo Racing) features a turbocharged petrol engine, all- wheel drive, wider front and rear track, completely overhauled suspension as well as a fresh design to set it apart. It’s the same high-output 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine found… Read more

TOYOTA HILUX GETS THE GR SPORT TREATMENT

Not satisfied with registering its seventh straight year as Australia’s top-selling vehicle, Toyota has unveiled the latest, and most powerful, version of its HiLux ute. The HiLux GR Sport is the latest Toyota to get the Gazoo Racing treatment, joining the LandCruiser 300, Yaris, Yaris Cross, CH-R, Supra and GR86. Available exclusively in dual cab format, the new HiLux GR Sport uses an upgraded version of the standard 2.8-litre turbocharged diesel, but with revised turbo-supercharging and fuel-injection increasing power from 150 to 165kW and torque from 500 to 550Nm making… Read more

NEW CHALLENGES FROM TOYOTA GR(-ED) 86

Success in the automotive industry can be a two-edged sword. On the one hand, limited market performance of a new model can create the need for a mid-cycle boost or two; on the other, immediate sales success leaves the product much as it started. The Toyota GR86 sports coupe is of the latter, being the third model, after the GR Supra and GR Yaris, to benefit directly from Toyota’s multi-championship-winning involvement in international motorsport with Toyota Gazoo Racing. It has some catching up to do. Evolving from the original 86,… Read more

YARIS CROSS GETS THE GR TREATMENT

Following on the heels of the C-HR, Toyota’s baby Yaris Cross SUV has been given a GR Sport makeover. Based on the Yaris Cross GXL 2WD hybrid, the GR Sport has received cosmetic and suspension changes, but alas no more power. It can be identified as a part of the GR family thanks to its newly designed black grille with the distinctive ‘G’ mesh pattern found on other GR sports cars. The same mesh pattern is applied to the rear bumper, with a sporty rear diffuser featuring four vertically oriented… Read more