Finally, the day has come – you can buy a cool Corolla. One of the world’s most popular cars, thanks to its practicality and reliability, has been given the GR treatment. This means crazy power from an even crazier three-cylinder and a much more sinister look than you would expect from a Corolla.
But what you don’t hear as much about is the GR Corolla’s interior. After all, the people that this car was made for are much more concerned about its power than its interior. Thankfully, Toyota has still turned their attention to the inside of this hopped-up Corolla and given it one that can match the vibe of the rest of the car – this vibe being one that conveys a lot of performance to be specific.
We’re here to tell you what makes the 2023 GR Corolla’s interior a great one. Who knows, maybe it will convince you of the car’s bona-fide performance ways.
The 2023 Toyota GR Has An Upscale Interior… For A Corolla
We aren’t going to come out and say that the interior on the GR Corolla rivals one that is found in something like a BMW M5 because the term “a nice interior” is still relative. But with that caveat, we’re still going to say that it still has a nice interior because it actually does. Obviously, it is nice in the world of compact cars. When the Corolla was redesigned for its latest generation, it already did a lot to improve the interior and the GR iteration only builds off that.
To start, the upper trims of this Corolla get an abundance of what Toyota calls “Ultrasuede” on the seats with some synthetic leather trim as well. We’d call this a win given that a normal Corolla and many other small sedans make do with rough and rather uninspiring cloth upholstery. It is nice to see that Toyota also went the extra mile and did an all-digital instrument cluster which does a great job at providing all the performance data that you could ever want. The interior is finished off with a leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter that are unique to the GR Corolla. Both excel at making the Corolla feel more upscale and performance oriented.
Apparently, Toyota is not much one for offering variety in the GR Corolla’s color palette, at least for the interior. For now, you can only get it in black. Despite the lack of options, we’re not complaining much because we think the color scheme does a lot for the GR Corolla. The all-black interior gives the Corolla more of a stealthy look that you normally wouldn't get. This interior color scheme looks even better when paired with the optional matte gray exterior color. But regardless of exterior color, the GR Corolla uses style well to show the emotional part of performance.
The 2023 Toyota GR Corolla's Interior Exudes Performance
An important aspect of any interior for any performance vehicles is for it to feel that it matches the actual performance of the vehicle. The regular interior of the Corolla does not quite cut it, so Toyota had to make some important distinctions to the GR version. One of the most noticeable ones is the addition of an actual parking brake rather than just an electric switch. This is of course an effort by Toyota to brag that they make a Corolla now that is capable of some sick drifts.
The interior of the 2023 GR Corolla shows that it means business when it comes to performance. This message is taken to the extreme with the hardcore “Morizo” edition of the GR Corolla that does away with the rear seats in the name of shedding some weight. The seats are replaced with a couple of stabilizing bars, giving the car more rigidity as well.
Toyota has not skimped out on the Easter eggs in the Corolla interior either. The most notable one is the stylized word “Morizo” etched into the shifter under the shift pattern. As mentioned before, Morizo is also used as the name for a limited-edition GR Corolla. For many, this word wouldn’t mean much because they don’t know what it means. But for any die-hard Toyota fan, they know that this is the pseudonym that the Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda uses when he races. He himself is a major car enthusiast and played a large part in the production of this Corolla. This small Easter egg in the interior of the GR Corolla gives some acknowledgement to him in how influential he has been in turning Toyota into more of an enthusiast car brand.
From the outside, the GR Corolla definitely shows that it knows its way around the track. What is even more impressive is that Toyota was able to translate this to the interior as well, only using the basic Corolla interior as the bones. It is like Akio Toyoda said “Corolla, but make it cool,” and Toyota knew exactly what to do. You’ll know this for yourself the minute that you sit in the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla.