---
title: 'I Bought A GR Corolla - The Hottest Hot Hatch!'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=aO7GqR-8jA4'
video_id: 'aO7GqR-8jA4'
date: 2026-07-28
duration_sec: 1441
---

# I Bought A GR Corolla - The Hottest Hot Hatch!

> Source: [I Bought A GR Corolla - The Hottest Hot Hatch!](https://youtube.com/watch?v=aO7GqR-8jA4)

## Summary

Jason from Engineering Explained reviews his newly purchased 2024 Toyota GR Corolla Circuit Edition, focusing on its unique all-wheel drive system, engine technology, and design. He performs a live demonstration of the 7% faster rear axle gearing and explains why he chose this car over competitors like the Golf R and Civic Type R.

### Key Points

- **AWD Experiment Setup** [00:47] — The GR Corolla's rear axle is geared 7% faster than the front, so when lifted, the rear wheels spin faster. The center clutch slips to allow same-speed rotation on the ground, enabling up to 70% torque to the rear.
- **Tape Test Confirmation** [02:14] — After disabling traction control, the rear tire gained one full rotation after 159 front rotations, confirming the 7% speed differential with minimal clutch slip.
- **Torque Split Explanation** [04:07] — The standard torque split is 60/40 front/rear. By engaging the center clutch more, the rear axle acts as a brake and can pull up to 70% of torque to the rear.
- **Engine Characteristics** [08:46] — The 1.618L three-cylinder produces 300 hp at 6500 RPM and 273 lb-ft at 3000 RPM with 25.2 psi of boost. Despite being small and turbocharged, it has surprising low-end torque.
- **D4S Injection Benefits** [10:20] — Combined direct and port injection keeps intake valves clean, avoiding carbon buildup common in direct-injection engines. Toyota D4S engines have shown clean valves at 120,000 miles.
- **Transmission and Gearing** [11:10] — Six-speed manual with auto rev-match. Gearing is short: 60 mph hits in second gear, contributing to fun but causing 0-60 variance (4.9 sec vs 5.4 sec depending on launch technique).
- **Circuit Edition Exclusives** [13:35] — Flame blue paint, forged BBS wheels, carbon fiber roof, unique blue stitching, and rear spoiler. It weighs 8 lbs less than the Premium trim and costs $5,000 more.
- **2024 vs 2025 Model Year** [17:18] — The 2024 offers a lockable 30/70 torque split, while the 2025 replaces it with an adaptive track mode. The 2024 also has a unique front fascia design and the blue color.
- **Competitor Comparison** [19:45] — The Golf R is more refined and adult-oriented, while the GR Corolla is playful and dramatic. The Civic Type R offers similar fun but is front-wheel drive. AWD was a deciding factor for winter driving.
- **Purchase Details** [22:52] — Jason paid MSRP of $47,177 before taxes for this Circuit Edition. He plans no immediate modifications but has added PPF, tint, and new tires.

### Conclusion

The 2024 Toyota GR Corolla Circuit Edition is a special, passionate engineering project that combines a unique AWD system, a potent small engine, and a playful character. For enthusiasts seeking a manual, AWD hot hatch, it's a standout choice.

## Transcript

hello everyone and welcome I am stoked because this is my new 2024 Toyota gr Corolla circuit Edition now perhaps you're wondering why not get the updated 2025 version or why not get a Civic Type R what's so appealing about the gr
Corolla will you ever drive it over 85 mph we are going to get into all of this and much more as from an engineering perspective this is a really unique and incredibly cool car and I'm stoked to finally have a manual transmission back
in my garage now perhaps you're wondering Jason why do you have the car lifted up well the gr Corolla has a very unique all-wheel drive system so we're going to perform a fascinating little experiment to demonstrate how it works
you see most cars that are all-wheel drive if you were to lift them up and turn the car on the front wheels would rotate at exactly the same speed as the rear wheels assuming all-wheel drive is engaged that makes sense right because
if these wheels were spinning faster than these wheels and the car was on the ground well they'd be fighting against each other but the gr Corolla is not like most vehicles in fact the rear axle is geared such that it spins 7% faster
than the front axle so that is to say if the front tire were to be spinning at 1,000 RPM the rear tire would be spinning at 17 RPM but wait I just said that that would cause the tires to fight against each other and that's true so
what's the solution well coming from your transmission you have a drive shaft going back to the rear differential and before that rear differential there is a clutch pack and this clutch pack slips so in reality when both tires are on the
ground they will be rotating at the same speed now because the rear wheels want to spin faster than the front wheels due to gearing the more you squeeze this Center clutch pack the more the rear axle saps away Torque from the front
axle it effectively acts like a break the rear axle tries to slow down the front axle and in doing so pulls that torque to the back as much as torque to the back as much as 70% now that is extremely cool and of
course I believe Toyota when they tell me that it has a 7% faster rotating rear me that it has a 7% faster rotating rear axle but you know seeing is believing so I stuck a piece of tape on the top of each tire in theory if the front tire
rotates the 1,000 times the rear tire should rotate 1,7 times 17 / 1,00 should rotate 1,7 times 17 / 1,00 17 or a gear that rotates 7% faster so I
hopped in the car put it in rear torque bias mode so that it locks the center clutch as much as possible slowly let out the clutch and the wheels literally didn't even budge and the engine stalled what okay so traction control control
and stability control systems don't like it when wheels are up in the air so I fully disabled traction and stability control let the clutch out and away we go now I won't make you sit here and count the rotations like I did but you
can see after 20 wheel rotations of the front tire the rear tire is slightly ahead after 40 rotations it's about a quarter turn ahead and if we speed this quarter turn ahead and if we speed this up after 159 rotations of the front tire
up after 159 rotations of the front tire the rear tire had 60 rotations one complete additional rotation how cool is that okay so 160 divided 159 equal
1.63 not quite 1.07 but very close and honestly I because if you have any slip in that Center clutch the speed differential is
going to be less than 7% you could also have some slight variations in wheel speed from the left wheel to the right wheel though limited slip differentials help minimize this but okay close enough and it proves Toyota is doing exactly
what they said they are doing again I wasn't doubting them it's just cool to see it in person so just to recap when the wheels are on the ground obviously speed assuming you're driving in a straight line a center clutch has 7%
slip so while the rear axle wants to rotate faster than the front a center clutch slips to prevent that that from happening all right how about an example say you apply zero pressure to that clutch pack that's sending the torque to
the rear well in that case all of your torque would simply go to the front tires though this basically never happens with the gr Corolla the standard torque split is 60/40 where you engage that Center clutch a bit and again the
rear axle acts like a brake and it drinks the milkshake of the front axle stealing that torque for its own use the the more you engage that Center clutch the more torque the rear axle steals maxing out at a 3070 split so 70% of the
torque to the rear tires wait a minute did somebody just say tires okay a huge thanks to today's sponsor Continental they've hooked up my new ride with the extreme contact sp2s these are an ultra high performance summer tire that are
excellent in both wet and dry conditions if you look at any third party test you'll find these things have crazy grip really good stopping distances and surprisingly for a high performance summer Tire they actually have good
tread life now if you don't need the highest performance or you want a tire that you can run year round they also have the extreme contact dws06 plus this is a high performance All Season that still has really good wet and dry grip
but it can even handle light snow I actually debated between these two tires and if this was a real rear wheel drive car I might have gone with the dws06 plus having a little less grip can make a rear wheel drive vehicle a bit more
lively in this case because of its really good all-wheel drive system it already has so much grip so sliding in dry conditions isn't realistic going with the ECS O2 simply means maximizing performance and when snow starts to fall
I'm going to throw it on some Viking contact sens oh boy look at all these tires you should see my basement it is truly a beautiful site to see I've been running the extreme Conta sport o2s on my model 3 Performance as well as my gr
Corolla it's a super grippy very responsive super fun Tire you can find a link to it in the video description okay I've gotten distracted let's get back to the gr Corolla now I don't want to say that I have a type but this is the third
time that I've bought a hatchback that is all-wheel drive that has a manual transmission that is built in Japan that is blue so maybe I have a type but I'm
for completely different reasons than I bought my STI or the cross Trek you see when I bought the STI I didn't have access to press cars I hadn't driven all of the options so I bought something that I thought sounded good on paper and
in my opinion while the STI is super fun if you're driving on dirt or snow I'm not a huge fan of how it drives on roads it just doesn't feel that special on pavement the cross Trek was a practical purchase it just so happens to have a
ton of similarities but it wasn't purchased as a toy like the STI was now because of my history with the STI I didn't actually expect to like the gr Corolla on paper it sounded exactly like the things that I have learned after
driving hundreds and hundreds of cares that I don't like first it has a tiny that I don't like first it has a tiny engine just 1.6 L and only three engine just 1.6 L and only three cylinders how disappointing second it's
cylinders how disappointing second it's heavily boosted over 25 psi of boost I don't like turbocharged engines I just don't the turbo lag the lack of bottom-end torque it's just not for me so what an absolute shock that when I
drove the gr Corolla for the first time I I fell in love this really is something special something that shouldn't exist that fin eventually makes very little sense but it's a project built out of passion the car the
Enthusiast engineers at Toyota wanted to make and more importantly did so let's incredible machine starting with the engine on paper as I mentioned this
engine is everything I hate in an engine it's tiny and heavily boosted and yet somehow it works despite the size it's making 300 horsepower at 6500 RPM and
thanks to advancements in modern turbos hits a peak torque of 273 lb feet at just 3,000 RPM now I mentioned it's tiny at 1.6 L but it's a big or should I say
honest 1.6 L 1.618 L to be precise plenty of times manufacturers will state hey it's a 5.0 L V8 and turns out it's actually only
4.95 L you know like how dudes are always saying they're SI ft tall and it's like look man even with boots on it's not happening oh sorry there's no shame in being 5'9 anyways it's a big three-cylinder and another cool thing
about three cylinders unlike four cylinders is that they have naturally balanced primary and secondary forces so they're actually very smooth despite not having as many cylinders firing that's me coping with the fact that it only has
three cylinders and the Turbo is cranking out so much boost 25 .2 PSI it's difficult to overstate just how potent these three Pistons are we're
talking absolutely chart topping cylinder pressures for a production car the torque produced per liter is more than double what you'd see in a typical car these days what it lacks in size it makes up for in spice definitely not
relatable another cool thing about this engine is that it uses Toyota's d4s fuel injection system so you have direct injection but you also have port injection now every time I chat with a Powertrain engineer about direct
injection systems they tell me two things first direct injection does in fact cause carbon deposits to build up on the intake valves but second that they don't care because they don't see negative consequences from it personally
I like the Peace of Mind knowing that it has port injection because it means that it keeps the intake valves clean I had significant deposits on my direct injection Miata with just over 30,000 mil on it at the same point I've seen a
Toyota d4s engines valves with 120,000 M on them and the intake valves have almost no deposits while it is not the main purpose of d4s it clearly is an
effective method of keeping the valves clean moving on to the transmission the clean moving on to the transmission the only option for the 2024 gr Corolla is a six-speed manual and it's a good one really solid feeling shifter and a lot
of stiffness so it doesn't rattle about it's an easy vehicle to Drive easy to can push a button and it will automatically rev match your downshifts my only complaint is that it does have some rev hang it's not the worst
Defender out there there are certainly worse examples but there are better examples too as for the gearing I love it you have to shift the gearing is not that dissimilar from something like a Miata except you have way more power
short gearing simply put is more fun not you have to to shift more and that's part of the joy in manuals what's interesting is this thing basically tops out exactly at 60 M hour in second gear
so you'll see a lot of variance in the 0 to 60 times depending on the testing methodology for example Caron driver claims 60 in 4.9 seconds likely in second gear while Motor Trend says 0 to 60 takes 5.4 seconds while hitting 60 in
third gear which is a better way of launching the car since you don't slam into the 7 200 RPM rev limiter to make the 60 time happen but 60 is just an arbitrary number so who cares if the gearing messes it up to me I love the
gearing strategy here it's much more aggressive than a lot of modern manuals from the transmission we move on to the all-wheel drive system which as we've discussed is truly special it's actually the first new all-wheel drive system
Toyota has created for a sports car in over 20 years unlike plenty of modern on demand style all-wheel drive systems that are front-wheel drive biased and only send power to the rear when needed in almost all scenarios and certainly
any normal scenario this is sending power to both the front and the rear tires and it can vary the torque distribution between a 60/40 split a distribution between a 60/40 split a 50/50 split and a rear bias 3070 split
all at the control of the driver to select exactly what they'd like also worth mentioning there is a Torsen limited slip differential in both the front and the rear so if if any tire has available traction this all-wheel drive
power to it all right so we've already covered the all-wheel drive system so let's move on to the exterior and also why I chose to go with the circuit Edition rather than one of the less expensive trims as far as features
exclusive to the Circuit edition first off it's the only trim you can get this exterior color flame blue that alone makes it worth it to me I absolutely love this blue color as well as the cont in black accents the circuit Edition
also gets forged BBS wheels while the lower trims only get cast Wheels other exterior changes include a hood bulge with gloss black air vents a forged carbon fiber roof paired with a matte black shark fin antenna and a large
high-mounted rear spoiler on the inside you get unique blue interior stitching a unique shift knob and a circuit Edition badge as the 24 model year is limited to just 1,600 circuit Edition now is all of that worth a
now is all of that worth a $5,000 premium over the gr Corolla um premium from a performance standpoint absolutely not but personally I'm a big fan of the aesthetic changes thanks in part to the carbon fiber roof it weighs
part to the carbon fiber roof it weighs a whole 8 lbs less than the premium though the weight isn't too far off from a Civic Type R now speaking of the interesting language in the owner's manual so this carbon has a matte finish
clear coat and the owner's manual has a diagram with the roof that says if the painted surfaces of the vehicle are dirty wash the vehicle immediately It also says in regards to the mat roof that rainwater can settle in and should
that rainwater can settle in and should be cleaned off immediately rainwater okay probably overblown but regardless no sweat as the good folks over at expel as well as Elite window tint in Oregon have covered my entire vehicle in expel
ultimate 10 plus film and for the roof it's covered in expel stealth so you can maintain that matte appearance of course contaminants could also settle into a matte film but overall you can worry about it far less and it's easier to
clean worst case it's also way easier to just replace a film than it is a damaged carbon fiber roof so a huge thanks to the folks at expel and Elite window tint looking to get your car protected in the Portland area they also put a 30% tint
on the side windows with expels prime XR plus film and the whole exterior is finished with a ceramic coating to keep things glassy smooth and glossy and just from a personal taste perspective I'm not a huge fan of badges or stickers so
Elite took off the black stickers on the rocker panels as well as the gr and Corolla badges I'm well aware of what vehicle I'm driving I'm not too concerned if those those driving around me aren't now on the subject of
superficial aesthetic decorations Toyota doesn't shy away from putting fake aerodynamic features on their cars fortunately most of what you see on the gr corolla's exterior is in fact functional the hood vents actually help
remove heat from the engine bay as do the side vents on the front fenders which are also ported to the engine bay okay that said the side intakes that are usually used to create an air curtain around the front tires are actually
blocked so these are simply a functionless design choice though that said there actually is a vent that comes out right here in front of the front tires coming from the engine bay but overall compared to something like say
the car that's name rhymes with Supra this is a very functional exterior all right so what's the advantage of the 24 model year versus the 23 there aren't too many changes there's a few chassis tweaks but it's generally quite similar
the circuit Edition gets new four fored BBS wheels and probably the most meaningful change up front you now have parking sensors which is a nice addition but why not wait and get the refreshed 25 model year now to be honest I bought
mine before they'd announced the 25 but even still personally I'm happy that I got the 24 for three main reasons first they dropped this beautiful blue color for the 25 the only model year it's currently available on is the 24 that
choice I don't know if I mentioned it but I love this blue color second they redesigned the front fascia on the 24 you have a continuous bodyc colored you have a continuous bodyc colored front lip now on the 25 they extend this
black front grill all the way down so it eliminates that bodyc colored front lip personally I prefer this look and finally the third reason is they change the all-wheel drive settings on the 25 you can't lock the drivetrain into a 30
you can't lock the drivetrain into a 30 70 split that's only possible on the 23 and 24 model years that's pretty wild because you can't lock it into the highest rear bias setting on the new model year instead the new track mode
automatically adjusts depending on what you're doing between a 60/40 and a 3070 split to me it's a huge bummer they Dro that setting and it's a huge Plus for the 24 though it's not to say they did it without reason on that note there are
very real advantages to the 25 model year on the subject of torque split the new track mode can vary the torque distribution based on conditions Toyota says that the previous track mode which was locked at 50/50 could have slight
under steer coming out of corners and this new track mode can shift to 370 to support Corner exit so track mode is supposedly better but I still wish they offered a 370 lockout another Advantage with the 25 model year is the redesigned
front fascia which has additional Cooling support which means managing temperatures better and it has a small torque bump up from 273 to 295 lb feet though Peak power Remains the Same so of course I'd love the torque bump but I'm
happy with the car that I've got because of the color because of the front fascia and because you can lock it into that 3070 rear bias torque split now why did I pick the gr Corolla over the competitors well first off there are
very few remaining vehicles in this category if you want an all-wheel drive manual transmission hot hatch it's literally just this and the Volkswagen Golf R and to be honest the Volkswagen Golf R was never in the running for me
to explain why I think Volkswagen's press release summarizes it perfectly they State the Golf R is quote a top tier performance car while avoiding flamboyant styling that does not offer engineering benefit very simply the Golf
R is a car for adults and the gr Corolla is a car for children and I am a child with gray hair but a child on the inside nonetheless the Golf R is an exceptional vehicle it does everything in a Buttery smooth Manner and it's visually
understated I respect that strategy and it's awesome for a daily it's part of why I love my model 3 Performance it's completely understated visually but performs incredibly but I'm buying a toy not a daily and I want my toy to look
like a toy and drive like a toy and I mean that in the most complimentary manner possible to me this feels more special to drive than a Golf R even if the Golf R were to outperform it on a track the Golf R is super refined again
not a bad thing just different the gr Corolla just has more drama and more playfulness in my opinion and I love its fun-loving and flashy exterior I did genuinely consider the Honda Civic type bar which I think matches the ethos of
the gr and has the drama and engine to go along with it genuinely I have a difficult time determining which car is more fun to drive I'd rank the type R and gr Corolla equal the type R does seem more practical as it's more
spacious inside with more cargo room though it does only seat four to the gr's 5 the typ bar weighs a little less and because it's sending so much power to just the front wheels it does have a bit more drama under acceleration all
good things the gr does have some winning points however they're running 18-in wheels and tires which are using beefier sidewalls which I respect Honda actually downsized their wheels from 20 in to 19 in on the new Type R which is
the right direction I think the gr strikes the right balance the B sidewalls will be more comfortable and less likely to get flats the Corolla also has a proper handbrake which will disconnect the rear wheels from the
drivetrain and let you get silly while the Civic Type R has an electronic parking brake Boo and finally the GR Corolla has all-wheel drive that was my biggest reason for going with it I may have ended up in an Integra Type S my
first car was an Integra and I love the new type S but I spend too much time winter so I really wanted all-wheel drive and it doesn't hurt that this has such a cool all-wheel drive system oh and one last thing when I bought my Ford
Maverick recently somehow in the comments a lot of people were assuming that Ford just sent me the car for free that car companies just send me free cars so let me be perfectly clear I bought that Ford Maverick with my own
money just like I bought this with my own money just like I bought every car I've ever owned well I'd happily accept a gr Corolla for free I paid MSRP for this car with the options selected it turned out to be $
turned out to be $ 47,1 77 before taxes as for future plans for it I'm pretty open to anything though I'm also happy with where it's at with ppf tint stickers and decals deleted and some fresh new tires I don't
really have any current plans to track it and I definitely won't take it above it and I definitely won't take it above 85 mph definitely not that would be like to get my driving impressions of the gr Corolla or if you want an even
all-wheel drive system works with diagrams and visuals I'll have links to questions or comments feel free to leave them below thanks thanks for watching