IMOTO: TOYOTA COROLLA CROSS GR-S
AT THE BEGINNING of last year, Toyota South Africa Motors launched the upgraded Corolla Cross since it has been around for years as it went on sale in 2021.
From the time it started selling, this car, which was built at the Toyota factory in Prospecton, Durban, sells uthaputhaphu.
In fact, it is the best selling SUV in South Africa as 22 191 were sold last year.
When it was updated last year, the GR-S continued to sell as usual.
That changed this week at the Toyota Gazoo Racing headquarters at Zwartkops Raceway, Gauteng, with the launch of the updated Corolla Cross GR-S.
It was the right place to host the event since GR-S represents Gazoo Racing Sport.
This car is Toyota’s best-selling GR-S.
However, in the Corolla Cross the changes did not happen to the engine as it continued to be there before.
They are different, there is a petrol and a hybrid that combines petrol and electricity.
The petrol engine is 1.8 liter with 103kW power and 172Nm torque. The gearbox is a CVT automatic.
For those looking to save money the hybrid has a combined power of 90kW and torque of 142kW. For 100km they say it consumes 4.3 liters which is a good thing at this time when we are faced with the increase in the price of petrol.
I’m driving it in Pretoria this week and it starts quietly until it starts to rumble when you pick up speed.
Where the Corolla Cross has been changed is the way it looks, other changes are already present in the standard.
It replaced the LED lights in the front and installed the indicators that light up.
The black grille has also been changed, as has the skid plate at the bottom.
On the sides, 18-inch rims and a lower skirt have been changed.
The skull is still black as before, not matching the color of the body. The colors you choose from are white, silver and red.
Inside the red color is added to the belts and makes it look sporty. They match the red channels on the black leather steering wheel with the GR logo.
Another thing that makes it “sporty” are the pedals at the bottom.
They also changed the center console towards the gear which is also done in the standard Corolla Cross.
It comes with a lot more like a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system where you connect a mobile phone via Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and it also shows the outside with cameras. It has a 12.4 inch digital instrument cluster, a foot under the boot to open, leather seats and more.
In terms of safety, it has seven airbags, it tells you when you leave the lane and so on.
Every day, new SUVs are launched in South Africa, so Toyota had to improve them so they don’t lag behind.
If you compare it with Haval Jolion, Omoda C5, Jetour Dashing, Chery Tiggo 7 Pro rolls itself forward in terms of sales.
It’s the same thing with the Corolla Cross GR-S which holds 50% of the market compared to the VW T-Cross R-Line and Haval Jolion S.
Price:
Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 GR-S – R527 000
Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 HEV GR-S – R569 700
They come with a service plan of six services or 90,000km and a warranty of three years or 100,000km. The hybrid has a battery warranty of eight years or 160,000km.