If you’ve followed our Car Club over the last few weeks you may have noticed that I’m a proud ‘Hot Hatch’ owner. While I won’t profess to know the ins-and-outs of a car, I still feel adequately qualified to discuss this exciting topic.

Firstly, for those of you not as familiar as myself, what is a ‘Hot Hatch’? Well rather than provide some long-winded explanation of power and torque requirements, I thought I’d list some of the more well-known examples to help you get better acquainted with these “pocket rockets”.

So, when you think ‘Hot Hatch’, think; Volkswagen Golf GTI/R, Ford Focus ST/RS, Honda Civic Type R, Renault Megane RS, Hyundai i30 N/Veloster and even the Subaru WRX & STI. Have I missed one? Send me an Instagram DM.

It’s a market long dominated by Subaru and Volkswagen but with the decline of the WRX and the announcement by Ford that their SA model Focus would not boast an RS variant, the shifting landscape has presented an opportunity for a new entrant to the market.

That entrant is Toyota. Teased on the Toyota USA website and later confirmed by the brand, the “GR Hot Hatch” (GR for Gazoo Racing) is set to add some new ‘bite’ to the uber-successful Corolla and Yaris models.

Now I know what you’re thinking, “that’s all great but will we see the GR models in Aus?”. Affirmative! The Yaris GR is earmarked for a November release and with the information available so far, the Corolla GR is also very likely arrive on Australia shores.

What can we expect from Toyota’s entry into the ‘Hot Hatch’ arena? The details on the Corolla GR are not concrete but they have confirmed it will be a “legitimate performance car”. On the other hand, we do know the Yaris GR will be an AWD, 3-cylinder, turbocharged little rocket, delivering 192kW and 360Nm of torque from its 1.5 litre engine.

What could this mean for the Corolla GR? Well my fingers are crossed for a Corolla pushing upwards of 200kW! But will it be enough to compete with the Golf R, Focus RS and Civic Type R? Time will tell, but one thing is for sure, a new entrant to the Hot Hatch world is enough to get me excited. And while we wait for the Corolla GR, the Yaris GR will create more than enough excitement in the meantime.

If you’d like to see us create more ‘Hot Hatch’ content, be sure to send us an email at carclub@eziway.net.au. You can also reach out to me directly on the details below.

AUTHOR

Curtis Hosking | Group Marketing Manager

T 03 8768 5777

E curtis@eziway.net.au

SOURCES

https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/toyota-gr-yaris-officially-revealed-122379/

https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/toyota-corolla-gr-hot-hatch-confirmed-124177/

https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/toyota-corolla-gr-hot-hatch-wanted-in-oz-125095/