Toyota GR Corolla sedan on the cards – report

Toyota could be working on a four-door, sedan-bodied version of the GR Corolla hot hatch, according to a report out of Japan.

Above: How a Toyota GR Corolla sedan could look.

A four-door sedan version of the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla hot hatch could be on the way, a new – but so far unsubstantiated – report out of Japan claims.

Japanese website Goo-Net claims a GR Corolla sedan will be revealed as soon as mid-2023, powered by the same 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder ‘G16E-GTS’ engine as the hatch, developing 224kW (or 220kW in Australia), with all-wheel drive.

Few other details are provided by the publication, however it’s implied the sedan (imagined above by X-Tomi Design) would be pitched more at the North American market, where the body style is still “popular”.

However, Toyota is yet to confirm such a model for production – and despite the Corolla hatch and sedan sharing a platform, nameplate and key parts, introducing a GR Corolla sedan is not as straightforward as some might expect.

Despite similar styling, two versions of the latest Corolla sedan are sold globally: a smaller model designed exclusively for Japan to maximise “ease of use”, and a larger model sold in Australia, the US and most of the rest of the world (compared below).

The Japanese Corolla sedan shares its 2640mm wheelbase with the Corolla hatch – compared to the global model’s 2700mm – which could theoretically allow the GR models to share much of their exhaust systems, cutting development costs.

However, the Japanese Corolla sedan is 45mm narrower than the standard Corolla hatch, compared to the global sedan that’s only 10mm narrower.

Goo-Net speculates there is a “high possibility” the rumoured GR Corolla sedan would be based on the ‘wide-body’ North American model – a more likely option if the vehicle is to be sold in its key market, the US, given the costs likely required to homologate a brand-new body style.

The similar track widths – distances across the front and rear axles – of the Corolla hatch and global Corolla sedan could also allow many of the GR Corolla hatchback’s suspension parts and front-end styling to carry over to a possible GR Corolla sedan.

If launched, a Toyota GR Corolla sedan would effectively fill the gap left by the departing Subaru WRX STI, given both are four-door compact sedans with circa-220kW turbo engines, all-wheel drive, six-speed manual gearboxes and World Rally Championship roots.

The GR Corolla sedan would also square off against the new-generation, standard Subaru WRX, plus front-drive rivals such as the Hyundai i30 Sedan N and – given its five-door body style blends the line between hatchback and sedan – the next Honda Civic Type R.

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