Toyota was the darling of automotive enthusiasts across Canada when it introduced the manual-only GR Corolla in 2023. In 2025, it wants everyone to be able to drive its hot hatch thanks to the addition of a new eight-speed “Direct Automatic Transmission.”
The DAT available in the 2025 GR Corolla will be unlike the automatic transmissions available in the GR Supra or GR86. In these cars, the onboard computers wait for data from G-force sensors and speed sensors to decide what gear to select. By contrast, the DAT goes directly to the accelerator and brake pedals to decide what gear to select, making it feel more connected to the driver.
To ensure that the performance programming within the transmission delivered a truly sporty experience, Toyota turned to professional racecar drivers, like Hiroaki Ishiura, for help developing the DAT. He explained that poorly tuned automatic transmissions can slow a pro driver down around a racetrack because they take time to interpret a driver’s intention, making them “feel slippery.”
“A standard AT [automatic transmission] would head into the corner without changing [gears[ and only recognize that acceleration is needed when you floor the gas pedal, dropping a gear (known as a kick down). This creates a massive time lag,” he told the Toyota Times in 2023. “DAT senses when you’re braking fully and downshifts for you to prepare for the next acceleration.”
Ishiura and the rest of the development team used circuit and rally driving to tune the DAT and landed on a similar ratio to that offered in the six-speed manual transmission already available in the GR Corolla. That helps ensure that torque is always available to the driver and helps make the car feel more energetic, the automaker claims.
What will also help the car feel more energetic is the addition of 22 lb-ft of torque. For 2025, Toyota managed to squeeze a total of 295 lb-ft of torque out of the GR Corolla’s 1.6L three-cylinder turbocharged engine. Like last year, the engine will continue to make 300 horsepower for the coming model year.
Toyota engineers also made some chassis improvements for 2025, such as adding rebound springs to the front and rear suspension to prevent the inner wheel from lifting under hard cornering (thereby improving traction). They also improved the rear coils and stabilizers to improve controllability in corners and changed the mounting point of the trailing arm to make the car squat less under hard acceleration, improving responsiveness. A new launch control system available on GR Corollas equipped with the eight-speed DAT will also help improve throttle response.
Models equipped with the DAT will be available with a transmission fluid cooler, which is hidden behind the front bumper, but this isn’t the only change made to keep components from overheating. For the 2025 model year, manual and automatic models will be available with a new sub-radiator to help keep the engine cool longer, allowing owners to drive around a track for longer.
These additions necessitated a redesign of the GR Corolla’s front bumper. While they were at it, the designers also improved the brake ducts so that they create an air curtain around the car reducing turbulence from the tires and improving stability.
For 2025, the GR Corolla will be offered in three trim levels: Core Grade, Premium Grade, and Premium Grade with DAT. The base models gets the six-speed manual transmission, a heated steering wheel, and brake cooling ducts.
The Premium Grade also comes standard with the manual gearbox, and adds a carbon fibre roof, a vented hood, matte black wheels, suede seats, an eight-speaker sound system, rear parking sensors, a head-up display, and the new sub-radiator.
Finally, the Premium Grade with DAT gets the new automatic transmission, paddle shifters, dynamic radar cruise control, and sonar.
The 2025 Toyota GR Corolla is set to go on sale across Canada this winter, pricing has yet to be announced.
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