2025 Toyota GR Corolla AT First Drive Review: Choice Can’t Ruin This Hot Hatch

As unlikely as it may seem in an era when cars are by and large getting heavier, more expensive, and less engaging, enthusiasts are currently spoiled for choice when it comes to rowdy and relatively affordable performance cars. It was only two years ago that the Toyota GR Corolla joined the party to wide acclaim, but in a segment that includes the Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai Elantra N, and Volkswagen Golf R, Toyota doesn’t have the luxury of being able to rest on its laurels. 

With that in mind, the automaker has brought a host of updates to its all-wheel-drive hot hatch for 2025. While the new, optional eight-speed Direct Automatic Transmission is arguably the biggest news here, it’s clear that chief engineer Naoyuki Sakamoto and his team are intent on honing the GR Corolla into a serious contender with improvements that bolster both its track prowess as well as its everyday usability. 

Before unleashing us on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval road course, Sakamoto explained that the former comes as a direct result of learnings gleaned from the company’s motorsports development. The point was driven home by a collection of chewed-up components from the team’s endurance racing efforts which Toyota showcased alongside the new-and-improved versions of those parts that are now found on the refreshed production car. 

While the rorty three-cylinder’s increase in torque to a Morizo Edition-matching 295 lb-ft is certainly welcome, it’s the chassis tweaks that are more immediately evident on track. Here, the new progressive-rate rear springs, relocated rear trailing arms, and newly added rebound springs for both the front and rear suspensions result in a car that feels noticeably more planted and precise.

Although the 2025 GR Corolla sends power to all four corners, its dynamic behavior essentially combines the approachability of a front-wheel-drive car with the performance benefits that come with the ability to direct a substantial amount of torque to the rear. Improved body control allows you to trail brake into corners and use the throttle to correct the resulting oversteer with less concern about the car running wide as you make your way out of the corner. It’s a combination that makes the car feel simultaneously playful and predictable.

After driving both manual and automatic versions of the GRC on track, I’d still consider the six-speed manual to be the more engaging option. But the automatic is undoubtedly the quicker way to get around thanks in part to third, fourth, and fifth gear ratios that are even more aggressive than the six-speed’s, not to mention the fact that the automatic inherently allows you to allocate more of your attention to other aspects of the drive. 

In Sport mode, the eight-speed’s programming was reasonably well-behaved when I left it alone, dutifully selecting gears that kept the turbocharged mill in the meaty parts of the powerband the majority of the time. But even infrequent faux pas have a way of eroding confidence, and I ended up bumping the shifter over to manual mode and using the paddles for most of the lapping sessions after noticing that the transmission would occasionally upshift in the middle of longer corners only to downshift back to the previous gear once the turn allowed for wide-open throttle.

The paddles feel a bit low-rent when you’re using them, but the transmission responds without any discernable delay when you ask for a gear, and the resulting shifts are reasonably quick. 

The only situation where I found myself wondering if a dual-clutch ‘box would have been a better choice was when I tried out the new launch control feature. It’s decidedly underwhelming; the internal clutches let go slowly, resulting in off-the-line acceleration that doesn’t seem much quicker than simply standing on the throttle. Also, Toyota flatly refused to let me test the feature more than once, which seems to indicate that there may be some durability concerns as well.

Out on the road, though, the DAT shines where some dual clutches tend to struggle. There are no shudders or other indiscretions when setting off from a dead stop or switching from drive to reverse or vice-versa; the transmission just quietly does its thing in the background. And even in the Normal drive mode, the automatic is readily willing to drop down a gear or two when you dip into the throttle for some additional highway passing power. On the whole, it simply works well enough in normal driving situations that you just forget it’s there, ideal in this context. 

Toyota doesn’t expect many to experience it, though; the automaker anticipates that more than three-quarters of GR Corolla buyers will still opt for the manual. That comes as some comfort to a three-pedal diehard like myself, but after a stint in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way back to the hotel, it’s nice to know that the alternative isn’t a punishment, either.