Cars are getting easier to drive quickly. This is progress, of course. More grip, smarter differentials, cleverer electronics. And we are not even talking about EVs yet. These things make performance more accessible, and accessible performance is a double-edged sword. For one, it means more people get to enjoy it. But the flipside is that
I drove the pre-facelift Toyota GR Corolla on track, and having spent time now with the facelift, they feel mostly identical in character. What stayed with me about this car is not about firepower, it is how hard it is to make the thing misbehave.
You can throw a lot at it and it does not really seem to care. Power out of a corner and try to get the rear to help you rotate the car and, regardless of modes, it simply does not want to play in the way the GR Yaris could (at least, the pre-facelift one).
The GR Corolla defaults to safety. To get rotation on entry, you almost have to provoke it. Flick it in, trailing on the brakes, really make the weight transfer happen, and only then will it begin to come alive. Otherwise, it settles into secure, dependable understeer. Which most people will call stable, safe and surefooted. And they would be right.
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The problem is that a car that is this secure can start to flatter the person behind the wheel. You can do almost anything you want to it and it does not bite back. It does not really punish mistakes. It does not really expose a lack of finesse. It just gets on with the job, and gets on with it very effectively. That makes for a very good road car, but I am not entirely convinced it makes for a very good teacher.
Because if a car constantly saves you from yourself, or simply hides the consequences of your inputs, then what exactly are you learning? If you can arrive at the answer without ever being shown the working, then yes, you may be quick, but have you actually improved?
That is why, for me, the GR86 remains the Toyota to buy if your goal is to become a better driver.