It has been over three years since Toyota officially revealed the GR Corolla. Some gray market units have actually made their way in the country, but the five-door hot hatch is yet to be seen alongside its smaller sibling, the GR Yaris in the official Toyota Motor Philippines lineup.

Then in August 2024, Toyota launched the updated GR Corolla, and just like the “Evolved GR Yaris”, it's now available with an 8-speed automatic. The GR Corolla still makes 300 PS, but torque output has been increased from 370 Nm to 400 Nm. The hot hatch now also comes with front & rear Torsen limited-slip differentials for improved cornering and grip.

With the upgraded Toyota GR Corolla now available in Southeast Asia by way of Thailand, we're wondering if TMP will finally launch the hot hatch. Thankfully, it looks like there's good reason to expect the 300 PS GR Corolla to make its Philippine debut in the near future.

Recently, Toyota Motor Philippines received regulatory approval to introduce a new passenger vehicle powered by a 1,618cc gasoline engine. In addition, the new approvals listed two versions of the mystery vehicle – one has a reference weight of 1570 – 1585 kg, while the other one has a reference mass of 1590 – 1600 kg.

After crunching the numbers and doing some research, it looks like the mystery vehicle could finally be the GR Corolla. Like the GR Yaris, the GR Corolla is powered by the brand's 1.6L G16E-GTS, which has an exact displacement of 1618cc. More importantly, the GR Corolla is available with either a 6-speed manual or the new 8-speed automatic gearbox dubbed the Direct Automatic Transmission (DAT). This could be the reason why there are two versions of the mystery vehicle that was recently approved.

For now, Toyota Motor Philippines has yet to officially announce anything about the GR Corolla. But since there have been clamors to bring the GR Corolla into the country, perhaps TMP has already put the plans in motion. Add the fact that there is now an 8-speed automatic version available, perhaps they waited for the refreshed version to be launched in Thailand before bringing it to the Philippines.

There's a sizeable price gap between the GR Yaris and the GR Supra in the full-fledged GR lineup in the country, and that void could be filled by the new GR Corolla. With the GR Yaris 8AT priced at PHP 3,570,000 and the GR Supra starting at PHP 5,552,000, then we won't be surprised if TMP fills the gap with the GR Corolla at around PHP 4 million.