The extremely popular Corolla Cross is the latest Toyota model to get some Gazoo Racing treatment, and it's built right here in South Africa.

Sales numbers for the popular compact crossover had dwindled to only more than a hundred units sold per month since the automaker had to shut its doors five months ago.

The Toyota factory plant in Prospecton had undergone clean-up operations due to the devastating floods earlier this year in April.

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However, the automaker has reopened its doors, and they're back in business, and back to selling high volumes of the vehicle that won the 2022 South African Car of the Year title. August saw the Corolla Cross move 1 129 models off the showroom floor to find new homes.

The locally built crossover was launched at the end of 2021 and became an instant success story - with almost 12 000 cars already sold in SA. 

GALLERY | Here's a closer look at the new SA-built Toyota Corolla Cross GR-Sport

With the news of the plant reopening, Toyota also announced a new addition to the Corolla Cross range, a GR-Sport model. This model falls at the bottom of the GR product hierarchy as upgrades only include aesthetics and a suspension package, while everything else remains the same.

Toyota said, as part of the continued expansion of the Gazoo Racing (aka GR) brand, the Corolla Cross was the latest model to be adorned with the GR badge. And more models will make their way to South Africa too. We're holding thumbs South Africa will get the green light for the GR Corolla.

The GR product hierarchy comprises four levels; represented as a pyramid, the first layer is GR Parts (currently under investigation for SA) which allows customers to inject their normal model variant with GR flavour, followed by the GR-Sport moniker, which offers cosmetic and dynamic handling enhancements (other examples are the Hilux and Land Cruiser 300 also available in the local market).

The third tier is occupied by fully-fledged GR performance models (GR86, GR Yaris, GR Supra), while the fourth and final layer is GRMN - which represents the highest level of performance tuning.

So, what's new on the Corolla Cross GR-Sport? 

This model gets a bespoke exterior package with a new front grille, finished in gloss black, and extends towards the headlights. The lower apron also gets gloss black treatment along with the signature GR Mesh. There are also vertical air ducts which incorporate compact fog lights, while a horizontal crossbar and large insignia complete the bold front of the car. 

There are also black exterior mirrors to match the black roof and black roof rails to complement the bi-tone design. The rear gets a black roof spoiler, black tailgate trim and blacked-out rear bumper diffuser to echo the GR theme with a GR badge on the rear.  

The GR-Sport model only comes in three body colours which match the brand shades: Arizona Red, Chromium Silver and Glacier White.

The interior has black leather trim (with GR embossing on the front headrests) and red contrast stitching and perforation. A red accent stripe runs through the instrument panel and has piano black surface detailing. The chunky three-spoke steering wheel with red stitching and piano black inserts finishes off the interior additions.

Under the bonnet, things remain the same with the existing 1.8-litre 2ZR-FE petrol engine, coupled to a CVT transmission with seven pre-programmed steps to simulate a close-ratio transmission in manual shifting mode.

Power figures stay the same with 103kW and 172Nm. Toyota claims a fuel reading of 6.8 litres/100km on the combined cycle under perfect conditions. 

But it's the suspension that gets some tweaks, and you can definitely feel the difference when driving compared to the standard models.

The new shock absorbers and revised coil springs amplify the car's performance without compromising ride comfort. And if anything, it gives it a more solid feel on the road.

Toyota said this was supplemented by a recalibrated power steering module (EPS) - to deliver more responsive handling, steering wheel feedback and cornering prowess.

The alloys also remain unchanged but get black treatment and are wrapped in 225/50/R18 tyres.

Where does it fit in?

The GR-Sport model slides in between the Xr base model and the Xr Hybrid model with a price tag of R453 200.

Since it's the same trim level, the GR-Sport gets all the same substantial specifications and features. These include keyless entry, power-adjustable and auto-retractable exterior mirrors, all-round one-touch power windows, LED lighting units, Cruise Control, TFT Multi-Information Display (MID), dual-zone climate control, reverse camera, Park Distance Control (PDC), rain-sensing wipers and LED interior Illumination are all on-board. There's also a touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone connectivity and multiple USB inputs.

Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) is included and offers a full suite of active safety aids, including Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM), Lane Trace Assist (LTA) and Pre-Collision System (PCS).

These are joined by the obligatory Anti-brake Locking System (ABS), Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Hill Assist Control (HAC) and Brake Assist systems, as well as passive safety aids such as ISOFIX and a full airbag array.

All Corolla Cross models come with six-year services or a 90 000km service plan (intervals set at 15 000km) and a three-year or 100 000km warranty. Service and warranty plan extensions can also be purchased nationwide from any of Toyota's 220 dealerships.

All Toyota models come equipped with Toyota Connect, including a complimentary 15Gb in-car Wi-Fi allocation, vehicle telematics and enhanced user features via the MyToyota app.  

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