- Toyota will keep the GR Corolla’s Circuit Edition trim around for another model year.
- Originally, the 2024 lineup was limited to just the base Core and the sprung Morizo editions.
- It is unclear whether the circuit will continue in 2025.
Originally, the Toyota GR Corolla’s mid-level Circuit Edition was only supposed to exist for the hatchback’s first model year. But now buyers will continue to choose between three possible trims for at least one more trip around the sun.
Toyota has announced that it will bring back the GR Corolla Circuit Edition for the 2024 model year. Only 1,500 examples of this trim were made available in 2023, and according to a brief press release, Toyota says that customer demand has shifted the company’s strategy. “When Toyota GR fans speak, we listen, and our plans are to increase GR Corolla volume and continue to offer the Circuit Edition as part of the GR Corolla lineup in 2024,” said a Toyota- spokesperson said in a release.
Every corner of the GR Corolla range is an absolute hoot, but the Circuit Edition really hit the sweet spot for us. That adds up to about $7,000 over the base model, but it’s also $7,000 cheaper than the hardcore Morizo edition. The Circuit variant lacks the stiffer gearbox and added torque of the Morizo, but it still carries plenty of driver-focused goodies, such as a pair of Torsen limited-slip differentials, a carbon-fibre roof and heated sports seats wrapped in suede and leather . No matter the trim, the GR Corolla’s 1.3-liter inline-three produces a hefty 300 horsepower.
Thanks to a series of changes under the skin, the GR Corolla feels better than a simple sum of parts. During our tests, we raved about its chassis balance, which reminded us of ’90s BMWs. Whether it’s slow or fast, there’s always plenty of fun to be had in this hot hatch.
However, it is unclear what changes Toyota has planned for 2024. In the release, it mentions that the 2024 Circuit Edition will “carry over some of the standard features of the 2023 model,” but declined to be specific at this time, saying only that we’ll get more information later this year. Also, don’t take the Circuit Edition’s existence as a permanent guarantee; Toyota said that 2025 model year production is “still under consideration”.
Senior Editor
Cars are Andrew Krok’s jam, along with boysenberry. After graduating with a degree in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009, Andrew cut his teeth writing freelance magazine features, and now has a decade of full-time review experience under his belt. A Chicagoan by birth, he has been a Detroit resident since 2015. Maybe one day he’ll do something about that half-finished engineering degree.
