Hot hatches

An updated version of an iconic hot hatch could be in the works.

To some surprise, Honda Australia has confirmed the city-sized electric sports hatch revealed yesterday at the Tokyo Motor Show will come to Australia.

Subaru has unveiled two STI-badged performance concept cars at the Japan Mobility Show.

Toyota’s local arm has confirmed it is bringing to Australia the updated GR Corolla announced just weeks ago for Japan.

Cupra is a performance brand, and the Leon VZx is its hero hot hatch.

Toyota Australia has released an ‘Aero Performance Package’ option for the flagship GTS grade of its rally-inspired GR Yaris hot hatch. Scheduled to arrive towards the end of this year, the new treatment includes a large duct and grille on the hood to enhance engine cooling, a manually adjustable rear spoiler, a lip spoiler on the nose, fender ducts located between the front wheels and doors as well as ducts on each side of the rear bumper and a new floor undercover to smooth airflow under the car.  According to Toyota, design of the new elements has been directly influenced by the brand’s current involvement in the Japanese Rally Championship and Super Taikyu endurance racing, with input from professional driver Kazuya Oshima (who also competes in Super Formula and Super GT categories in Japan). Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations Sean Hanley said the new Aero Performance Package showed how learnings in motorsport fed into the development of Toyota sports cars. “We’ve always said that Toyota Gazoo Racing expertise is used to make ever-better production cars and the GR Yaris GTS Aero Performance Package is clear evidence of just that. “These upgrades make the dynamic GR Yaris even more potent, helping to increase grip, braking and overall performance, while also adding some serious visual flair,” he said. The GR Yaris is powered by a 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine sending 221kW/400Nm to all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox or eight-speed automatic transmission and Toyota’s ‘GR-Four’ AWD system. Claimed combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) fuel economy is 8.2L/100km for the manual and 9.1L/100km for the auto. The 50-litre fuel tank should be filled with 98 RON premium fuel. Leather and suede accented heated sports front seats Eight-speaker JBL audio (with digital radio) Climate control air conditioning Leather-trimmed heated steering wheel LED headlights, DRLs & tail-lights 12.3-inch digital instrument display 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen Satellite navigation Alloy pedal covers 18-inch BBS forged alloy wheels Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres (225/40) High-performance suspension Front and rear Torsen LSD Glacier White Liquid Mercury Tarmac Black Feverish Red While the Toyota Yaris has a maximum five-star ANCAP rating from assessment in 2020, the GR Yaris (which launched in Australia in 2021) is unrated. But standard active and passive safety is comprehensive. Active cruise control Lane Departure Alert Pre-Collision Safety System Road Sign Assist Lane Trace Assist Auto high beam Blind Spot Monitor & Safe Exit Assist Reversing camera (with guidelines) Front & rear parking sensors Rear cross-traffic alert Six airbags The Yaris GR is covered by Toyota Australia’s five-year/unlimited km warranty. If your car is serviced on schedule at an authorised Toyota dealer, powertrain cover is extended to seven years. Emergency assistance is included for seven years. Service interval is six months/10,000km with each service costing $310 over the first five years. The GR Yaris is 3995mm long, 1805mm wide and 1455mm tall with a 2560mm wheelbase.

Last month Honda Australia reopened orders for the supply-limited Civic Type R hot hatch and the entire allocation was exhausted within an hour.

Toyota has revealed an update for the GR Corolla in its home nation, bringing a sharper-driving and better-sounding car, the brand said. On top of that, Toyota said it has addressed “the supply system for the Japanese-market model” so that the updated 2026 Toyota GR Corolla will be more readily available than previous model years. The “partially improved” GR Corolla has been bestowed with more structural adhesive, an increase of 13.9 metres of application compared to the 18.8 before, totalling 32.7 metres of adhesive in the hot hatch. Toyota said this will “enhance body rigidity while minimising weight increase” to account for more intense track driving. Toyota said it has found overseas circuits generate “more intense vertical and lateral G-forces than circuits in Japan”. To stabilise the G16E-GTS engine’s temperature and outputs, a “high-engine-speed-activated cool air duct” has been added as part of the secondary intake, which draws in air “directly from the front grille” from outside where the air is cooler than in the engine bay. The cooler air will help keep the turbocharged 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine more regularly able to achieve its maximum 221kW and 400Nm. Finally, Toyota said it’s improved the JBL sound system to deliver what it calls an “emotional motorsports-evoking sound experience even during city driving”. A subwoofer now brings total speakers from eight up to nine, meaning GR Corollas with the JBL sound system come with Active Sound Control, which uses synthesised “sporty sounds” that match the car’s acceleration and engine speed. It also mimics the anti-lag exhaust ‘burble’. As of now, the update is only confirmed for Japan, though as with many changes to the brand’s GR models, it’s likely to hit other markets next time an update is due. Toyota Australia launched an update for the GR Corolla and GR Yaris earlier in 2025. Toyota is also expected to reveal a hotter version of the Corolla to sit above it, potentially as a more limited-edition version under its GRMN badge - a model which had been leaked earlier this week from a dealer event in North America.

An upgraded, sharper Toyota Corolla hot hatch Toyota has been developing all year has been leaked at a dealer event in the US.

Hyundai Australia has raised the price of its highest-profile hot hatch and sedan models as a direct result of the federal government's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) regime and “European factory sourcing”.