Toyota Corolla Cross Gets Facelift, GR Sport Makeover

Sometimes, finding stuff to write automotive news about is easy. There’s a new Porsche 911 derivative! Mansory has ruined another car! Jeremy Clarkson did something! Sometimes, though, you get a day when the entire automotive industry seems to be on annual leave. Days like toda… hey, there’s a facelift for the Toyota Corolla Cross!

No, we won’t blame you if you haven’t heard of the Corolla Cross. Though it’s been very successful since its introduction in places like the Americas, mainland Europe and much of Asia, Toyota doesn’t sell it in the UK. And even if it did, we’d probably forget it existed – it’s not exactly a memorable-looking thing, is it?

Perhaps that’s what Toyota set out to change with this facelift, the headline of which is the introduction of a GR Sport version. Don’t get your hopes up for a three-cylinder turbo torque-juggling all-wheel drive maniac, though – it’s a GR Sport, Toyota’s equivalent of something like an S-Line or M Sport trim.

That means it gets an angry new front grille, 19-inch machined alloys, black Toyota logos and the option of the GR-exclusive Storm Grey paint seen here. On the inside, meanwhile, there are some remarkably sporty-looking bucket seats with red stitching – because what sporty trim level would be complete without red stitching?

There are some actual hardware changes, mind – the GR Sport sits 10mm lower than the standard car, the power steering feel has been tweaked, paddle shifters are included, and there’s a dedicated Sport mode that sharpens up throttle response and tweaks the regenerative braking.

Yep, regen, because as before, in Europe, the Corolla Cross is hybrid only. Both are ‘self-charging’ petrol four-cylinder setups, one using a 1.8-litre engine for 138bhp and one with a 2.0-litre for 197bhp. It’s front-wheel drive as standard, although all-wheel drive is optional and brings a new ‘Snow Extra’ drive mode for slippery conditions.

If you live on the continent, then the facelifted Corolla Cross can be yours from this summer, although you’ll need to wait for autumn if you want the GR Sport. It looks as though we’ll be denied it again in Britain, which makes us feel… no, we’ve got nothing.