2023 Toyota GR Corolla Morizo Is a True Pocket Rocket

From the December 2023 issue of Car and Driver.

The Toyota GR Corolla’s assertive styling and trick all-wheel-drive system draw inspiration from rally cars, and the track-focused Morizo Edition, named for the pseudonym Akio Toyoda assumes when racing cars, commits to the motorsports bit. The rear jettisons some nonessentials: The seats, window motors, door speakers, and wiper all go (weirdly, the rear-seat floor mats stay). Weight-saving measures make the Morizo 84 pounds lighter than the Circuit trim.

The turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder has 300 horsepower, as in other GR Corollas. The Morizo ekes out an extra 22 pound-feet of torque for a total of 295. The torque peak starts a bit higher in the rev range, at 3250 rpm (compared with 3000 rpm), and isn’t quite as broad, finishing at 4600 rpm (not 5500). In that rev range, the Morizo feels punchy and alert. While the smaller plateau might seem like a loss, you can feel an additional power surge as you run close to the 7000-rpm redline.

Light and nimble through corners, the Morizo is fitted with grippier and wider Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires that replace Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber. The stickier tires lead to 1.02 g’s on the skidpad, way up from the Circuit’s 0.94.

It also benefits from a close-ratio version of the six-speed manual and shorter overall gearing. The extra oomph, shorter gearing, and stickier rubber net the Morizo a half-second advantage in the ever-important sprint to 60 mph, which it dispatches in 4.4 seconds. The sprint to 100 mph is 0.8 second better, at 11.3. However, the extra boost (1.1 psi more) to make the midrange power comes with a bit more lag, as evidenced by the 30-to-50-mph top-gear acceleration growing by 0.7 second. Although, if you’re going wide-open throttle in top gear at 30 mph, you’re GRing wrong.

Like the Circuit, the Morizo’s standard front and rear Torsen limited-slip differentials deftly maximize traction, and the gearbox’s notchy shifter is a joy to work. The brake ducts are also revised, and the Morizo stops from 70 mph in 152 feet, 15 feet shorter than the Circuit, though most of the credit should go to the Cup 2 tires.

To increase structural rigidity, the Morizo has additional bracing where the rear seat would usually reside. The suspension is retuned but remains on the hard side of firm. While this is welcome on the racetrack, the loud and teeth-clattering ride on Michigan’s pockmarked roads makes longer drives exhausting.

It might cost $51,420, but when you sit behind the wheel and take in the interior, you can’t escape the fact that the Morizo has its basis in a $23K economy car. But the 200 lucky owners of a Morizo probably won’t notice the cheapness as they tear around a track. The GR Corolla Morizo is a hatchback, but its handling, steering feel, and power put it in the same class as two-seat sports cars, and that’s a good enough reason not to have a back seat.

Source: Reviews - aranddriver.com