THE Corolla Hatch replaced the Auris in 2019 and brought sporty sexy back.
For some time, Toyota seemed to have misplaced the hot hatch handbook including the sporty recipe for their cars.
In the ’90s, Toyota manufactured some legendary sports cars, including the AE82 Conquest, nicknamed the Chisel, which employed the renowned red top 4AGE engine, following that came the Conquest RSi.
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The Conquest RSi used a 180i 7afe engine, that made the small hatch loved to this day – and the last of the proper sporty hatches Toyota released was the RunX 180i RSi.
A Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) enthusiast would pay big bucks for an RSi in mint condition, now the big question is, will the Corolla Hatch make a name for itself and go down in the history books as one of Toyota’s legendary hot hatches?
Well, Toyota has levelled up with the addition of stylish, directional 18-inch alloy wheels to their Corolla Hatch Xr to up the “street appeal”.
These promote an even sportier stance and elevate the visual drama, aligned to the 18-inch wheels’ package, is the fitment of a space-saver spare wheel, while Xs models retain their 16-inch alloy wheels with corresponding 205/55/R16 rubber and full-size spare wheel.
They have fitted a new-generation infotainment system across the board – incorporating Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
This allows users to mirror applications off their mobile phone for seamless connectivity – while providing enhanced telephony and messaging interfaces “on-the-fly”.
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For the millennials, the Corolla Hatch is available in both monotone and striking bi-tone configurations.
Graphite Grey and Caribbean Blue have been added to the monotone list while a new iridescent Red (Fierce Red) replaces Scarlet metallic.
The Xr variant builds on this foundation and adds Sport front seats in a Leather and Alcantara combination, power-adjustable driver lumbar support and seat-heating function for driver and passenger.
All the variants are powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged 8NR-FTS engine, producing 85kW and 185Nm mated to a six-speed manual transmission or “10-speed” Shiftmatic CVT.
PRICING:
Corolla 1.2T Xs – R369 100
Corolla 1.2T Xs Bi-Tone – R379 800
Corolla 1.2T Xs CVT – R380 600
Corolla 1.2T Xs CVT Bi-Tone – R391 300
Corolla 1.2T XR CVT – R425 200
Corolla 1.2T XR CVT Bi-Tone – R435 900
