Could UMW Toyota Motor be planning to launch a Toyota Corolla Cross GR Sport in Malaysia? A sportier version of the Toyota Corolla Cross might be hitting Malaysian showrooms soon according to what we found.
We sighted this advertisement posted by a sales agent listing a GR Sport variant of the Corolla Cross for RM15x,xxx. The listing also lists it as a Hybrid instead of the normal 1.8L petrol version. As a comparison, the regular Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid is priced at RM142,000.
Offering the GR Sport exclusively as a hybrid matches what Toyota did for the model in Thailand. It’s also a hybrid only model in our northern neighbour.
The GR Sport bodykit has a significantly different front fascia. There’s a new grille with a horizontal bar and a thick gloss-black surround that leads into the headlights, reminiscent of the latest facelift for the Land Cruiser 200. Lower down, you’ll find a more aggressive triple air intake design, plus a beefier decorative skid plate.
At the rear, clear LED tail lights are fitted. Rounding off the exterior changes are the black roof and unique 18-inch turbine-design two-tone alloy wheels. Inside, you get black leather seats with a white centre stripe and GR-embossed headrests, a perforated leather-wrapped gearknob, gloss black interior trim and a smattering of GR badges. Also included are some chassis tweaks, consisting of retuned steering and a lower strut bar.
The above are of course the Thai specs. For the Malaysian specs and actual pricing, we’ll have to wait until the eventual launch to find out what our Toyota Corolla Cross GR Sport will be getting.
GALLERY: Toyota Corolla Cross GR Sport in Thailand