Sometimes the best measure of a car has nothing to do with power figures, acceleration times or how many letters appear on the badge. Sometimes, it is simply a stranger knocking on your window while you are minding your own business in a car park.
That happened to me one Saturday while I was waiting for my daughters to finish having their hair done. I was sitting in the Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 HEV GR-Sport when someone walked over and knocked on the window. Now, this is South Africa. You don’t simply open your door because a stranger wants your attention. I looked at him, puzzled, reminded myself I was in an enclosed parking area, and cautiously lowered the window.
“Is this the Corolla Cross GR?” were his first words. As it turned out, he drives a regular Corolla Cross, had never seen the GR-S in the metal and wanted a closer look. He liked it. A lot. That encounter probably said more about the GR-S than any carefully worded description could. The Corolla Cross is hardly an unfamiliar sight on South African roads, yet this one had made an existing owner stop, walk over and knock on my window. It clearly had presence. A silent sensation, perhaps.
FAMILY BUSINESS
My week with the Corolla Cross GR-S HEV was considerably less dramatic after that, but probably far more relevant to what life with one will actually look like. We are a family of seven, but before anyone starts wondering how I squeezed the entire household into a Corolla Cross, relax. Unless we’re on a planned family trip, getting all seven of us into the same car at the same time is an event in itself.
With schools open during my test week, the Toyota’s daily assignment involved dropping four children off in the morning, then heading back out at various intervals in the afternoon to collect them. Add the usual errands, shopping, weekend duties and Pretoria East traffic, and the Corolla Cross was being subjected to the sort of glamorous motoring journalism that involves school bags, waiting outside gates and repeatedly asking, “What time must I fetch you?”
After a few days of that routine, the hybrid started making a very convincing argument for itself. A 72 kW 1.8-litre petrol engine works with a 53 kW electric motor, for a total system output of around 90 kW, with drive to the front wheels via a CVT. Those figures may not sound GR-like, but performance isn’t the point here. Around town, the HEV is smooth, quiet and easy-going, particularly in the stop-start environment of school-run duties.
GR-S ATTITUDE
Toyota hasn’t attempted to disguise the Corolla Cross as something it isn’t. The GR-S treatment adds attitude without turning it into a full-fat GR performance model. A black mesh grille, sporty front and rear detailing, sequential LED indicators, blacked-out elements and newly designed 18″ six-spoke machined alloy wheels give it a noticeably sharper appearance.
The bi-tone treatment worked particularly well on my Glacier White test unit. Clearly, that stranger at the salon agreed. The differences are noticeable enough to distinguish it from the many Corolla Crosses we see every day, but not so extreme that you feel like you should arrive at the school gate wearing racing gloves.
Changes are also beneath the skin. Toyota has specifically tuned the suspension to improve handling and road feedback, giving the GR-S a slightly more purposeful character. Body movement is well controlled, and the steering has reassuring weight, but comfort remains central to the experience. This is still a family crossover first, and after a week of living with it, I wouldn’t want Toyota to have sacrificed that for the sake of making the GR-S badge seem more convincing.
HYBRID LIFE
The hybrid drivetrain and everyday family life make good companions. Pull away gently, and there are moments when proceedings are remarkably quiet as the electric side of the equation does its work. The transition between electric assistance and petrol power happens with little fuss, and after a while you stop trying to work out which one is doing what and simply get on with driving.
Push harder, and the CVT makes its presence known, but drive the Corolla Cross in the relaxed manner it prefers, and everything settles nicely. Toyota quotes fuel consumption of around 4.3 l/100 km. I won’t pretend that a GR-S badge suddenly turns those school runs into special stages, because it doesn’t. What the hybrid does particularly well is make the constant stopping, starting and crawling through suburban traffic feel effortless.
There is also nothing to plug in when you get home. You simply park, walk inside and get on with family life. With four children already providing enough things to remember during a normal school week, I certainly wasn’t complaining about having one less cable to think about.
A LITTLE RED ATTITUDE
Inside, the GR-S theme becomes much more obvious. Black leather upholstery is contrasted by red stitching, GR branding and bright red seatbelts, while aluminium sports pedals add another reminder that this isn’t the regular Corolla Cross. Those red seatbelts in particular bring a welcome bit of theatre to what remains a very sensible family cabin.
A 12.3″ digital instrument cluster sits ahead of the driver, while the 10.1″ display audio system brings Apple CarPlay and Android Auto into the mix. It also has a 360° Panoramic View Monitor, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and a power back door with a kick sensor. None sounds particularly exciting until you start living with the car, and then you realise how often you actually use them.
The 360° camera quickly became a friend, especially during those afternoon school collections, where finding a decent parking space in Pretoria East can sometimes take more patience than the drive there. Rear space handled the children coming and going, while the boot swallowed the usual school bags and everyday family paraphernalia without complaint. No, it cannot carry all seven of us, but that was never its job during this particular week.
SAFETY IN NUMBERS
When you regularly have children in the rear seats, safety equipment becomes far more important than sporty badges. The GR-S comes equipped with seven airbags, including driver and passenger airbags, driver knee, front side, and curtain airbags, along with a suite of driver-assistance technology.
Blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are particularly useful in everyday driving, especially when reversing out of busy parking spaces with cars, children and shopping trolleys seemingly appearing from every direction. These may not be the features that get someone knocking on your window to admire the car, but they are the ones you appreciate when they become part of your daily routine.
At R569,700, the GR-S HEV sits at the top of the current Corolla Cross range. Competition is plentiful at this price point, particularly with an ever-growing number of Chinese alternatives arriving with impressive equipment lists. Toyota’s answer is different. It offers a familiar product, hybrid efficiency, local production and a formula South African buyers already seem to understand rather well.
LAST WORD
The Corolla Cross GR-S HEV adds just enough attitude to an already proven formula. After a week of school runs, staggered collections, Pretoria East traffic, and family duties, their comfort, practicality, and hybrid efficiency made a convincing case for themselves.
And judging by the stranger who knocked on my window, the GR-S treatment certainly gets noticed too.
Toyota is clearly working on me. First, a Kaizer Chiefs jersey in my wardrobe, now a Corolla Cross GR-S HEV I rather enjoyed. At this rate, I might just end up supporting Amakhosi. Easy, Toyota. Easy.
Report by BRYAN KAYAVHU | Images © TOYOTA SOUTH AFRICA
