Hot hatches

Toyota in Australia has laid out its vision for its GR performance brand, assuring the range will grow as it looks to tap "performance hybrids" as the power source that will propel it into the future.The seeds have already been sown with the bonkers GR GT, which pairs a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with a hybrid system for total system outputs of more than 478kW and 850Nm. Its top speed is in excess of 300km/h.The GR GT is expected to launch in 2027, but will also form the blueprint for Toyota's other GR models, with hybridisation coming to next-gen models."Efficiency hybrid is about matching existing performance, but has a significant improvement in fuel consumption. Performance hybrid is saying we take an existing ICE powertrain, and then the way to get a lot more power with effectively the same fuel efficiency is electrification on top. GR GT is an example," says Ray Munday, the Senior Manager Product Planning and Pricing at Toyota in Australia."A large, powerful ICE engine plus electrification is where we see looking forward."The concept of performance hybrids electrifying the future of GR ties neatly with reports out of Japan that the brand will launch a new hybrid engine in its Yaris GR and Corolla GR hatchbacks, with Best Car reporting the plan has been in place since 2024.At a 'multi-pathway workshop' that year, Toyota reportedly unveiled a petrol-electric engine that would redefine the brand's performance cars. The 2.0-litre turbo-hybrid set-up will reportedly produce 294kW and 500Nm, an uplift over the current GR Yaris’ 221kW and 400Nm."The GR side of the business is extremely exciting," says Toyota Australia VP of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations John Pappas. "Going forward into the future, GR is going to play a bigger role across the family of Toyota Motor Corporation. We haven't determined how that looks or feels, and what that's all going to mean for what products and all the rest of it going forward. But it is very exciting in terms of what the company's planning to do with GR."While he wouldn't be drawn on details, Mr Pappas confirmed that meant the lineup would grow beyond the GR Yaris and GR Corolla in Australia as the performance sub-brand takes on new importance."Going forward globally, we've obviously articulated the role of GR about performance and really learning from motor sport and performance testing. So we're very excited by that here. And we're working out how that's going to look for Australia."

The Honda Civic Type R is back in stock, but it won't stick around for long.This new batch of the Japanese sports car will be priced from $85,000 drive-away, which is $500 cheaper than the previous allocation. There will be less than 100 (expected to be 98) units available, with deliveries expected in December.The Civic Type R is one of the most sought after sports cars on the market.It tackles hot hatch rivals such as the Volkswagen Golf R ($71,990, before on-road costs).It has not been available for mass order in Australia since August 2025, when it sold out in less than an hour.This latest batch will not be fitted with the carbon fibre spoiler as standard, with it instead available as a pricey $4100 option, which effectively makes it more expensive than the previous version once the spoiler is accounted for.The Civic Type R has been subject to several price increases during its time in Australia.It is now in excess of $12,000 more expensive compared to when it first went on sale.It will continue to be powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, producing 235kW and 420Nm, paired with a six-speed manual transmission.  The brand was forced to axe the Civic Type R in Europe at the start of this year, due to tightening emissions standards. Honda is also facing emissions pressures Down Under, so it could have to make a similar move here at some point.The brand recently announced it will be investing heavily into hybrid models over the next few years.Honda has already added hybrid power to much of its range in Australia, including on its CR-V, HR-V and ZR-V SUVs.There are no plans for the Civic Type R to be given hybrid power at this stage.Bookings for the Civic Type R will open on Monday 6th of July at 12:00 pm at Honda dealers, and 3:00 pm online.Buyers will be required to place a $5000 to secure their order. 

Toyota has too many models? The company’s new global boss seems to think so, and he is sharpening his axe in his hunt to save money. Why is this happening? Which models doesn’t Toyota need?Toyota is the world’s biggest car manufacturer and has been for the past six years running. In 2025 Toyota sold 11.2 million vehicles across its three brands - Toyota, Lexus and Daihatsu.That global dominance is replicated in Australia where Toyota has been the biggest selling car brand for 23 consecutive years.So, you’d think it was doing everything right. And why on Earth would you change anything?Toyota’s Kenta Kon became the new global CEO of the company on June 17, and has hit the ground running as he looks for what could be done better, while he hasn’t mentioned any models by name he’s made it clear there will be cuts.In an interview with Automotive News, Kon said he was touring facilities looking for inefficiencies. It’s enough to send a chill down even the most hard working employee’s spine.“We’ve become increasingly able to identify things that don’t seem quite right, areas where operations have become somewhat inefficient, or where the amount of work that doesn’t directly add value has increased,” Kon told Automotive News.“We’re now at the stage where we can really start addressing them – making corrections and implementing improvements.“If you go to a development division, you see issues such as an increasing number of different specifications and variants being created, which in turn is driving up costs.”Carmakers, as many companies do, often go through a streamlining process where they prune back on activities deemed superfluous in a bid to save money.This cutting back is already happening. The fully electric Lexus LF ZC was axed before it even went into production, just before Kon succeeded Koji Sato as President and CEO. Before the promotion Kon was Toyota’s Chief Financial Officer.Mr Sato is a “self confessed” car guy - a mechanical engineer by trade and a performance car enthusiast. Mr Kon calls himself a “numbers guy”.According to Toyota’s Financial Year 2026 summary, the company sold 2.5 per cent more cars and sales revenue was up by 5.5 per cent, but the operating profit fell by 7.3 per cent.Add to this the billions lost from the bottom line caused by tariffs imposed by the United States, a massive loss in sales in China (a 31 per cent drop in May this year alone), a conflict in the Middle East putting pressure on fuel prices and the sudden huge popularity in Chinese electric vehicles, and even the biggest car girl or guy can see the need to cut back on spending.The axing of the LF ZC is interesting and it happened just as Kon was moving into his new office. This was to be an electric successor to the IS sedan, but perhaps being a sedan was the reason it was axed. SUVs being where the money is these days and all that.In a time when sales are being stolen from right under mainstream brand’s noses by affordable, high-tech and good looking vehicles made by Chinese manufacturers, surely EVs aren’t the models Toyota should be axing?But then Toyota’s EVs haven’t really taken the world by storm. One of the brand’s worst selling cars is the C-HR SUV and the electric version, which recently arrived has done nothing to help sales anywhere globally for Toyota.Toyota’s other electric SUVs, such as the bZ4X, haven’t been major hits either. Toyota’s focus doesn’t appear to be EVs for now. Instead, hybrids are bringing in the money for Toyota.The axing of the LF ZC was also only just one model, but it's a good indication of how Toyota is now in a phase of conservative growth and not willing to take risks.That's not to say the brand won’t make EVs, of course it will, but rather than sedans like the LF ZC they’ll be electric SUVs.Currently Toyota has 23 models in its Australian range. The worst performers are the Yaris, C-HR and GR86, all with less than 1000 sales so far this year.Which models will Toyota axe next? Most likely the C-HR first. This SUV, while great to drive, isn’t selling well here and around the world - even the fully electric version.What about the bZ4X? That’s actually selling well in Australia and globally even if it had a bumpy start with recalls and a battery that didn’t offer enough driving range in the first iteration. Toyota has sold 1526 of them this year. That’s more than the 1340 combined sales of closely priced Volkswagen ID. 4 and its ID. 5 coupe twins.But when you compare that to its Zeekr 7X rival, with 3664 sales for the same period, then you begin to see that EVs are currently really just a side hustle for mainstream brands that make nearly all their income from traditional models.Does it annoy Toyota that it’s not the go-to for EVs when it has been for ICE cars for decades? I’d say it does, a lot. Even if Toyota would tell you it doesn’t and say that it's all about having models for every body - the multipathway powertrain approach is the marketing phrase it uses.Toyota may even feel that it exerts such a colossal influence over people’s purchasing habits that customers will continue to buy what the brand’s range offers. The company may just think that “until we make and sell it, people won’t buy it”.Yes, it’ll lose a relatively tiny amount of sales to BYD, Zeekr and other Chinese rivals but it’ll stay its course and bring in electric versions of its successful models.In the meantime, for Toyota you can probably forget design studies like the LF ZC or wild reborn models such as the Celica or MR2. The Toyota 86 as we know it is also on borrowed time.Yep, if you thought Toyota was boring now… you ain’t seen nothing yet.

This car will change everything you thought about the humble Toyota Corolla.On the eve of the Corolla’s 60th birthday, the Japanese giant has confirmed the GRMN Corolla is headed Down Under.Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations John Pappas said the new GRMN Corolla is the best of both worlds.“This is truly our GR philosophy in action, and has produced an astonishing high-performance driver’s car that is as at home on the racetrack as it is on the road,” he said.It takes the already red-hot GR Corolla hot hatch, and turns the dial all the way up.Spawned from Japan’s Super Taikyu race series and tuned and tweaked at the Nurburgring race track in Germany — dubbed the Green Hell — the GRMN is the brand’s most driver-focused Corolla of all time.The GRMN has just two seats and a rocket of a 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine delivering 221kW and 408Nm.It has upgraded front and rear suspension and fatter Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber for improved performance on track.Toyota has optimised the all-wheel drive set-up for improved torque delivery and tweaked the power steering to give more feedback during high speed cornering.The Corolla GRMN is leaner than the standard manual GR Corolla, having lost 40kg. There is also a unique instrument panel for greater driver concentration and GRMN design touches throughout.Exterior updates include bonnet and fender ducts for increased ventilation, front side spoiler and large rear wing with five step adjustment for increased aerodynamics.It is only available in two colours: matt black or khaki.Toyota Australia said the Corolla GRMN will arrive in limited numbers from 2027.

Cupra has revealed it is secretly developing an all-wheel drive version of its Cupra Raval that bags a pioneering quad-motor all-electric powertrain, which will produce epic power that blows Tesla out of the water.Primed to be twinned with a white-hot Volkswagen ID. Polo R, the new Cupra Raval Racing will be the quickest and most powerful hot hatch of all time, with Volkswagen's Spanish performance brand leading its development.Cupra's global product boss Toni Gallego told CarsGuide his brand was pushing ahead to develop the four in-hub motor concept that made its debut on the VW ID. Cross, which is key to unlocking near supercar levels of performance.Expected to be capable of producing around 100kW, despite weighing around 39kg apiece, the state-of-the-art in-hub motors will see the Raval Racing come with at least 300kW.Combined with an uprated battery pack, the 4.1m-long Raval Racing should be able to rocket from 0-100km/h in less than 3.0 seconds – much quicker than the 3.8 seconds a BYD Seal Performance or Audi RS 3 takes, and even quicker than the 3.1 seconds a Tesla Model 3 Performance can achieve.As well quick in a straight line, according to the senior Cupra exec the in-hub units, which package their own power inverter, offers unbeatable torque vectoring and by being able to manage how much force is applied to each wheel on a millisecond-by-millisecond basis can neutralise any understeer or oversteer.Brake regeneration will also be class-leading with the Raval Racing able to claw back more energy than any of its rivals, boosting efficiency and real-world range.Traction will be unbeatable over all road surfaces and conditions, while packaging the motors within the wheels means the Raval's large 441-litre boot carries over unchanged.Aside from adding unsprung weight the biggest disadvantage of the new tech is cost, says Gallego."We requested four-wheel drive from the beginning, but it requires a huge investment."It's crazy. I cannot say the final figures, but the good thing is we can manage the production mix across our four plants to balance out the high development costs."The latter is a reference to both the Volkswagen ID. Polo R and potentially faster versions of the VW ID. Cross SUV sharing the same in-hub high-tech quad-motors. Later on, less powerful all-wheel drive VW Group models could also come with a detuned version of the same powertrain.Gallego was careful not to reveal an exact power figure for the mules already undergoing testing, nor did he provide a timeline for when the faster Raval Racing and ID. Polo R will arrive, but it's thought the pair of fast all-electric hot hatches should land in 2028."Some figures cannot be communicated right now. It is a concept and we are exploring how the performance works. It's a massive investment from the technical centre."According to Gallego, work has not finished on the core Raval as feedback from media and potential owners have requested some changes that will see both virtual gearshifts and a higher 190km/h top speed (up from 175km/h) rolled out via over-the-air updates once the Cupra small hatch is launched.

Toyota’s GR Yaris hot hatch is about to receive some performance enhancements in Australia.It will launch next month, with a spokesperson for Toyota Australia confirming there will be no price change for the new GR Yaris.The car will continue to start from $55,490 (before on-road costs).It will now have a smaller steering wheel diameter of 360mm, down from 365mm. This smaller steering wheel has been designed to offer a more comfortable grasp for the driver when cornering. Steering has been given a further tune courtesy of an expanded operating range for electric assistance. There will also now be steering wheel-mounted switches positioned separately, with illumination to aid visibility and use under race conditions. The range-topping GTS will ride on new high-performance Bridgestone Potenza Race tires as part of the upgrades. There have been some minor design tweaks for the car to give it a sharper look. Toyota Australia Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations John Pappas said these minor upgrades were designed to provide the marginal improvements needed for racing success. “When you’re racing, improvements are measured in tenths of seconds and these upgrades to the GR Yaris are designed to deliver the sort of performance enhancements that can make a difference,” Pappas said.The upgrades were inspired by Toyota’s recent success at the World Rally Championship. It will continue to be a rival to the Hyundai i20 N and the Volkswagen Polo GTI Down Under.All GR Yaris variants use a 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, producing 221kW and 400Nm. Toyota’s hot hatch could be about to undergo a serious change before the end of the decade.There have been rumours of a new hybrid set-up coming to GR Yaris in 2028 similar to recently-announced performance grades of the LandCruiser 300 4WD.The brand did not confirm whether such a variant was in the works, but its potential announcement could coincide with the arrival of the new all-electric Yaris coming in 2028.

Toyota is the king of hybrids, and it could be about to install petrol-electric grunt in its small but mighty hot hatch.

Toyota has taken the covers off the next version of its critically-acclaimed GR Yaris hot hatch, dubbed the Type 26.This GR Yaris upgrade will hit dealers imminently in Japan and carries with it a host of tweaks, which Toyota says come directly from the car being used in motorsport applications. CarsGuide understands this suite of upgrades will be phased into the current model later in 2026 for export markets like Australia.The 2026 versions of the car include a completely new steering wheel, which Toyota says was developed by professional race drivers. It replaces the standard steering wheel that is simply a tweaked version of the mainstream Yaris steering wheel.The upgraded version makes a special point of moving the buttons closer to the centre of the wheel to make them easier to use with less chance of accidentally pressing a in motorsport scenarios. It also separates the functions out into separate buttons and adds illumination for easier usability in a variety of scenarios. It also has an overall reduced diameter.The power steering has also been tweaked alongside changes to torsion bar rigidity for better response with high-grip tyres, under braking, and when engaging in high-load cornering. The torque detection range has also increased to add assistance when cornering.Higher grade versions of the car have also had specially-developed Bridgestone Potenza Race tyres added to the car as standard which are said to improve control, stability, and performance. Toyota said it has also made optimisation tweaks to both the front and rear shock absorbers to maximise tyre performance.In addition, seat heating and steering wheel heating can now be optionally chosen on cars when selecting the vertical parking brake interior.The Type 26 maintains the same three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine (224kW/400Nm) with either a six-speed manual transmission or the GR-specific eight-speed automatic transmission. It features both front and rear limited slip differentials to go with its all-wheel drive system and BBS-developed forged aluminium wheels.The current car costs from $55,490 for the GT manual with a six-speed manual, and reaches to $62,990 for the GTS Auto.The four-seater hot hatch received its last update as recently as 2025 in Australia, where it scored an aero package and overhauled interior layout also based on driver feedback, which further diverged it from the mainline Yaris hatch.Expect more information about when the GR Yaris updates will hit Australia later in the year.

The new Audi RS3 Competition Limited is one of the hottest hatchbacks of all time and it's just been locked in for a 2027 launch in Australia.Sadly, the fire-breathing RS3 is also primed to be one of the most expensive hot hatches ever, as Audi plans to make just 750 cars globally, with only a small batch of 18 Sportback hatches and eight sedans expected to land Down Under.All RS3 Competitions will bag a trick coilover suspension, extra air bending aids and get the option of a special Malachite Green paint that was originally offered on the legendary short-wheelbase Audi Sport quattro (1984-1985).Supposedly built to celebrate 50 years of road and rally Audis powered by five-cylinder engines, the real reason the new RS3 Competition has been rolled out is to farewell the turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder that will be killed off, along with the current RS3 itself, because they do not meet upcoming Euro 7 emissions.Helping the RS3 special stand out from lesser models, the Competition gains a pair of new canards at each corner of the front bumper that is combined with a new split front lip that is finished in a fetching matt carbon.The same lightweight composite is used for the mirror caps, side skirts and rear spoiler, plus more carbon dressing around the large rear diffuser.All the aero tweaks are said to work following more wind tunnel testing with lift reduced over the front axle.Further goodies include 19-inch ten-spoke gold matt rims and, for the real engineering geeks out there, a set of darkened matrix LED headlamps that have a welcome or farewell illumination sequence that matches the 1-2-4-5-3 five-cylinder firing order.Just three hues are available – the popular Daytona Grey already chosen by many RS3 buyers, plus a new Glacier White matt and the aforementioned exclusive Malachite Green finish.Inside, the swansong for the RS3 gains a cabin that embraces black, gold and ginger white colours. The RS bucket seats gain black bolsters and yellowy-gold inserts and ginger white belts. It all sounds awful, but it works.RS3 Competition Limited graphics for the puddle lamps and a serial number mounted neatly on the front of the gear shifter complete the upgrades.One final Easter egg for the run-out RS3 is the digital instrument cluster that bags exclusive white instrument dials that pay tribute to the original 1994 RS2, that also featured a powerful five-cylinder turbo, and was the world's fastest wagon when it launched.Under the bonnet, pesky emissions regs mean that the turbo-five-cylinder produces no more power, carrying over the same 294kW and 500Nm of torque as before – although few would gripe with a blistering 0-100km/h sprint of just 3.8 second dash and claimed 290km/h top speed.The big news is, for the first time, the RS3 gains a new coilover suspension that has been developed exclusively by Audi Sport for Audi's hyper hatch.Featuring twin-tube dampers, with remote reservoir up front, engineers have also fitted a stiffer rear sway bar to curb body roll.Boasting extensive tuning, the three-way adjustable dampers and further adjustment for the rebound and compression are unique to the hot hatch segment and more akin to expensive track-focused supercars.The result is a car that can be tailored to your individual driving style or track you're about to attack. Alternatively, Audi said you can also tweak the RS3 for maximum comfort, while lowering its ride by up to 10mm compared to the standard car.The catch? Like the RS5 and RS4 Competition special editions adjusting the suspension needs manual tools and requires wheel-off fettling if you're raising or lowering the ride height.Helping offset an inevitable towering price tag, the RS3 Competition Limited edition comes standard with sticky Pirelli PZero Trofeo R tyres, the RS sports exhaust, a set of lighter carbon ceramic brakes that, alone, cost $10,800 on the standard car.Factor in its trick suspension, high level of standard kit and relative rarity and, in Europe, it is no surprise that Audi charges a huge premium for its last-ever five-cylinder RS model.In Germany, the RS3 Competition Limited costs a whopping 30 per cent more than the high-grade version it's based on.With that in mind, when pricing is announced the Audi RS3 could cost more than $140,000, surpassing the 2019 Renault Megane RS Trophy-R ($108,000) and the more current $111,000 battery-powered Hyundai Ioniq 5 N as one of the most expensive hot hatches ever to be sold in Australia.

An updated version of the Cupra Born has just been released overseas, with the all-electric hatchback undergoing a serious revamp.The Cupra Born was pulled from sale in Australia last year, with demand for the small EV limited, starting from sub-$60K.It is unclear at this stage whether the Born will make a return to Australia, given its recent exit. Cupra's local division, has been contacted for comment, but late last year, the brand told CarsGuide it was considering a return to sales for the electric hatchback.“Cupra is monitoring the timings and business case for the Born range to return to the market," a Cupra Australia spokesperson said at the time.“We are currently focused on the dual medium SUV strategy of Terramar ICE and PHEV range, and Tavascan BEV range.”If it does come Down Under, the hatch will resume its rivalry against the Polestar 2 and Renault Megane E-Tech. The Polestar 2 starts from a little more than $60,000, while the Megane E-Tech sits in the mid-$50K bracket.The exterior design of the Born has received a facelift to the front and rear bumpers giving it a sharper overall look, with the new version also coming with a choice of 19 or 20-inch wheels.In the cabin, there have been some big changes, including the introduction of physical buttons, while the digital driver display has almost doubled in size up to 10.25-inches. There is a 12.9-inch central touchscreen, along with a touch-sensitive climate control bar as well as a head-up display. The car comes with two electric motor set-ups. The entry-variant has a rear-mounted motor, which produces 139kW. It has a 58kWh battery with 450km of driving range according to the WLTP testing cycle.Meanwhile, the mid-grade long-range version of the Born gets a 79kWh battery and a power bump to 170kW offering a driving range of nearly 600km.Finally, the top-of-the-range Born VZ, which is positioned as an electric hot hatch, has 240kW of power to pull from.DC charging for all variants hits a claimed maximum speed of 180kW and takes no more than 30 minutes to get from 10 - 80 per cent. Both 79kWh battery variants also introduce a one-pedal drive mode. This increases the strength of the regenerative braking process to virtually alleviate the necessity of using the brake pedal at low speeds.Cupra amassed 2830 sales in 2025, up 21 per cent year-on-year, although the brand is no doubt hoping the addition of the Terramar will see its volume jump in 2026.Signs are looking positive for the sporty Spanish marque, with sales in the first two months of the year trending in the right direction.