Toyota Corolla Cross muscles up! New GR Sport variant looks like a baby LandCruiser 300 Series - if you squint...

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The Toyota Corolla Cross GR Sport has debuted in Thailand.
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
3 Dec 2021
2 min read

A new-look Toyota Corolla Cross has broken cover in Thailand, with the tougher-looking GR Sport variant looking a bit, if you squint, like a mini LC300.

Like the Hyundai Kona N Line, the new Corolla Cross variant focuses on looks more than performance upgrades, and as such is still some way off a full-blown GR variant. 

Because while the GR Sport model looks sportier, it isn't any more powerful, with the beefed-up trim being offered in hybrid-guise only. In Thailand, that means a 1.8-litre petrol-hybrid powertrain, though in Australia, we're expecting a bigger 2.0-litre petrol-hybrid combo that should produce a pretty substantial 146kW.

The changes do go more than skin deep, though, with the GR Cross variant sporting new suspension and steering tunes designed for more grip and better handling, as well as a new lower strut bar for more body stiffness.

Outside, look for the GR Sport bodykit that brings with is a new blacked-out grille, and silver skid-plate (which appears to be for decorative purposes only) beneath. 

There are new silver-trimmed side skirts, angrier air intakes, and you also get LED lights and 18-inch alloys

Inside,expect a sportier interior treatment wfestooned with GR logos and leather sport seats.

The Corolla Cross is expected to launch in Australia in the second half of 2022.

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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