When former aircraft engineer Tatsuo Hasegawa presented the first KE10 generation Toyota Corolla at the 1966 Tokyo Motor Show, the Corolla nameplate – meaning ring of petals around a flower - stood for being a dependable family car. Today, nearly 60 years later, the Corolla family of ‘family cars’ now include a 300 PS all-wheel drive track-ready weapon that fits child seats (GR Corolla) and a tall riding Corolla Cross SUV for less intense drivers.

With SUVs like the Toyota Corolla Cross overtaking the Proton X70 (and many more sedans), the role of the traditional Corolla (Altis) sedan is no longer as critical as before.

The Toyota Corolla Cross is the new era’s Corolla Altis but even as demand for sedans is not as high as before, the hallowed Corolla nameplate means little when there is no Corolla sedan to anchor the Corolla Cross and GR Corolla on.

Seen here is the latest iteration of the Toyota Corolla (Altis). UMW Toyota Motor no longer use the Altis suffix in its communication materials, but the Altis badge is still found on the boot lid.

Updated for 2023, the new Toyota Corolla adds:

• 12.3-inch fully digital instrument panel (1.8G and GR Sport only)
• Honeycomb grille front bumper
• Keyless entry on front passenger door
• Type C USB ports
• Clip on wireless charging pad to secure smartphone
• Improved seat design for better comfort
• Reduced engine intake noise
• New graphics for infotainment (screen size unchanged, at 9-inch)

The highlight of the updated Corolla range is the new GR Sport variant. Toyota’s hierarchy of cars wearing the Gazoo Racing is split into two tiers – at the top is core GR models. These models have the GR name in front – GR 86, GR Supra, GR Yaris, GR Corolla. These are genuine track-ready performance-oriented cars.

At the lower tier are cars with the GR Sport badge under the model’s nameplate – Vios GR Sport, Corolla Cross GR Sport, and Hilux GR Sport.

Unlike the Motomachi GR Factory-built GR Corolla, this imported-from-Thailand Corolla GR Sport is an upgraded (handling + aesthetics) version of the regular Corolla 1.8G. It’s the fourth GR Sport model by UMW Toyota Motor.

The GR Sport variant adds:

• GR Sport front bumper
• GR Sport rear bumper
• GR Sport side skirts
• 18-inch GR Sport alloy wheels (225/40 R18 tyres)
• Gloss black side mirror
• Red stitching on cabin’s leather upholstery
• Front seats with GR logo
• GR carpet mat
• GR Sport suspension

Note that the GR Sport variant uses a space saver spare wheel, while the regular 1.8E / 1.8G (which uses smaller 16- or 17-inch wheels) comes with a full-size spare wheel.

Powertrain is unchanged. The nothing-fancy-but-bullet-proof reliability 1.8-litre naturally aspirated 2ZR-FE Dual VVT-i engine makes 139 PS / 172 Nm, transferred to the front wheels via a CVT-type automatic transmission.

Suspension remains unchanged, even though some markets have switched to torsion beam. Our local market Corolla continues with MacPherson strut in front and Double Wishbone behind.

Prices of the new 2023 Toyota Corolla (Altis) are as follows:

• Corolla 1.8E: RM 139,800 (previously RM 130,888)
• Corolla 1.8G: RM 147,800 (previously RM 141,888)
• Corolla 1.8 GR Sport: RM 152,800 (new addition)

The Corolla GR Sport is only available in 3 colours - Red Mica Metallic, Platinum White Pearl MC and Attitude Black. The first two colours are exclusive only to the GR Sport variant.

For safety, the Corolla GR Sport comes with 7 airbags, blind spot monitor, and rear-cross traffic alert (RCTA)

Also included is the full suite of Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) suite of advanced driving aids - Pre-Collision System (PCS), all-speed Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC), Steering Assist and Lane Trace Assist with Lane Departure Alert (LDA), and Automatic High Beam (AHB.).

The regular variants Corolla 1.8E and 1.8G are available in 5 colours - Celestite Gray Metallic, Red Mica Metallic, Platinum White Pearl MC, Attitude Black, and Metal Stream ME.

The Thailand-made (CBU) Corolla competes against the locally assembled (CKD) Honda Civic, which is priced from RM 131,900 to RM 151,900 for the 1.5-litre VTEC Turbo-powered variants, and RM 167,900 for the 2.0-litre e:HEV full-hybrid.

There’s also the Japan-built (CBU) Mazda 3 Sedan, which is priced from RM 143,320 for the 1.5-litre naturally aspirated variant, while the 2.0-litre variants are priced from RM 151,059 to RM 161,059.