To many people, driving means getting from one place to another. As an enthusiast, driving is a dream that brings freedom, accomplishment, and happiness. Enthusiasts love Japanese cars thanks to the shining pop culture in movies and games.
The Japanese market has something for everyone. Over the years, they have offered cleverly designed cars with cheerful and highly reliable engines. The Honda Civic Type R and the Toyota GR Corolla are some of the best Japanese offerings that are fun and practical daily driver cars.
10 Civic Type R: Sleek And Sophisticated Design
The new Type R gets beautifully integrated advanced aerodynamics. They help give it a sleeker, more sophisticated and muscular look. Thanks to the HRD Sakura Super GT team, the Civic Type R receives a more aerodynamic exterior, generating more downforce for high-speed stability.
The muscular body is 0.6 inches wider, 0.5 inches lower, and 0.8 inches longer. The Civic Type R also gets some 19-inch matte black alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. These wheels use a reverse rim design to offer more tire contact patches.
9 GR Corolla: Rally Ready Hot Hatch Style
The GR Corolla has a beautiful wide stance that helps project a robust, attack-ready style. It also gets a black GR-badged matrix grill with functional air ducts on both sides. An optional Circuit Grade offers the grill in gloss black and integrated LED fog lamps.
The GR Corolla gets wide front and rear fender flares, with the Circuit Edition offering a bulge on the hood and some gloss black air ducts. At the rear, the GR Corolla gets a lower bumper cover with functional air vents. The Circuit Edition receives a matte black rear spoiler and a rear lip spoiler on the Core Grade.
8 Civic Type R: Performance-Focused Cockpit
The Civic Type R offers a cockpit that can easily handle intense driving experiences. The cockpit helps enhance the exhilaration of driving with performance-focused features and details. They include the iconic Type R red seats, trim and carpet.
In addition, the Type R gets a serialized Type R plate on the dash and a redesigned aluminum shift knob. The driver gets to sit lower in the new, lighter sport seat. Drivers can enjoy better visibility thanks to the thinner pillars, a lower hood, and relocated side mirrors.
7 GR Corolla: Lightweight And Aerodynamic
Throughout the GR Corolla, Toyota has focused on saving weight. It helps maximize the performance potential without affecting safety and strength. The rigorous approach is evident in the constriction, especially with the extensive use of lightweight materials and metals.
For example, the Circuit Edition gets a forged carbon fiber roof. It's highly rigid and lightweight, helping lower the car's center of gravity. The door panels use aluminum and high-tensile steel in critical areas to ensure that the car's structure can absorb and dissipate impact forces.
6 Civic Type R: Smartly Integrated Technology
The Type R features smartly integrated tech to instantly allow the driver to get the necessary information. Additional tech includes a new 9-inch touchscreen display with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Drivers can enjoy the new +R driving mode with an exclusive meter design. It provides rev indicator lights, a graphic engine rpm display and a gear position indicator. The Type R also has a lower multi-information display that instantly showcases specific vehicle information.
5 GR Corolla: Race-Inspired Interior
The GR offers a race-ready driver's cockpit. It gets a full TFT meter developed with a 12.3-inch multi-information display. The cockpit incorporates the feedback of professional drivers featuring a GR meter that displays gear position, tachometer, turbo pressure and 4WD mode.
The GR Corolla also features a brightly lit display that offers easy viewing angles in any condition. Additional upgrades include a shortened shift lever allowing quick throws between gears. The GR Corolla has a naturally placed shift lever, allowing the driver to quickly and effectively shift up and down.
4 Civic Type R: Track Proven Performance
Besides offering a class-leading ride, the Civic Type R provides excellent handling and steering performance. It has undergone rigorous testing at racetracks in Europe, North America and Japan. These tests helped improve the chassis, making the Civic Type R more thrilling to drive than ever before.
The Type R gets a lightweight and rigid body that helps offer scalpel sharp responses and improves high-speed stability. Because of testing on the Nürburgring, the world's most challenging track, the Type R gets enhanced suspension and steering performance to offer an addictive driving feel.
3 GR Corolla: Rally-Inspired Engineering
With the Gazoo Racing department firmly rooted in motorsports, it makes sense that the GR Corolla got the rigors of rally racing. At the heart of the GR Corolla is the GR Four all-wheel drive system. This is the first Toyota sports all-wheel drive system in over two decades.
The system delivers exceptional levels of control and traction thanks to a design that optimizes drive power to each wheel while being lightweight and simple. The system can work in various conditions, including snow, rain or dirt. With a twist of a dial, drivers can adjust the system to fit a variety of road conditions and driving styles.
2 Civic Type R: Most Powerful Honda In America
Under the hood is a more powerful version of the award-winning K20C1 engine. The turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine gets a more efficient exhaust system, increased air intake flow rate, and a redesigned turbocharger.
The Type R also gets an improved 6-speed manual transmission with a rev-matching system. These improvements help the Civic Type R produce 315 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. They also ensure that the driver gets an intimate and rewarding experience.
1 GR Corolla: Three Cylinders
The GR Corolla borrows the turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine from the GR Yaris. The G16E-GTS offers more output at 300 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque. That's thanks to the 3-piece muffler that offers improved engine exhaust efficiency.
The design of the exhaust designs outside noise and exhaust pressure, which are critical to back pressure performance. In addition, the GR Corolla benefits from motorsport technologies to maximize performance. They include part-machined intake port, large diameter exhaust valves and multi-oil jet piston cooling.