The GR-Sport I wish Toyota sold in South Africa – But doesn’t

Toyota has an extensive catalogue in South Africa with all manner of bakkies, hatchbacks and SUVs, but its most exciting models are the ones that carry a GR badge.

Short for Gazoo Racing, GR is the Japanese automaker’s sports division and is a highly sought-after subset of cars for good reason, as they offer great performance and cool looks to match.

There are the GR originals like the Yaris and Corolla hot hatches, but more recently the manufacturer has been putting effort into its “GR-Sport” series, which aren’t performance models but are rather tweaked versions of existing mass-market entries.

Toyota’s current GR-Sport stable consists of the Hilux, Land Cruiser 300, and Corolla Cross, all of which offer a slightly sportier feel thanks to new cosmetics and minor improvements to their engines or suspension.

However, there is one GR-Sport that Toyota has thus far decided not to introduce in South Africa – the C-HR.

A perfect candidate

The C-HR is Toyota’s frontrunner in the premium crossover segment in South Africa, situated above the brand’s mass-market Urban Cruiser and Corolla Cross but below the larger Rav4 and Fortuner SUVs.

This is a market section filled with models like the VW T-Roc, Ford Puma, Nissan Qashqai, Hyundai Kona, and Audi Q2 – all of which posit the idea of a car that is stylish, well-equipped, and is a bit sportier than their respective brand’s more family-oriented units.

All of this applies to the C-HR, which makes it a prime candidate for the GR-Sport treatment, and yet the Corolla Cross is the only crossover to have received it so far in South Africa.

It makes sense from a business perspective since the Corolla Cross is by far the more popular model, selling thousands of cars each month in comparison to the C-HR’s double digits, but that element of exclusivity is also meant to be part of the appeal of the GR moniker.

It’s important to note that Toyota actually does have a Gazoo version of the C-HR overseas, but this is not available in South Africa and the company’s local division has given no indication that it will be brought here.

The next-gen C-HR that was revealed earlier this year could potentially get the racing treatment, but Toyota has not said if and when we will get this one, either.

Styling is of course subjective, and while thoughts on the C-HR’s appearance may vary, it is hard to deny that it is one of the most distinctive-looking units in the carmaker’s current stable.

The UK version, which does receive the racing credentials, gets a GR push-start button, a red and black interior with cross-stitched GR seats, a slightly reworked front end, and a two-tone exterior with a black roof and Gazoo colour options like Arizona Red or Glacier White.

In South Africa, the crossover is sold with a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol plant with 85kW and 185Nm, but the UK versions are sold with larger 1.8 and 2.0-litre setups – options that would certainly be nice to have here as well.

Even if the engine remains the same (as is the case with the Corolla Cross) the suspension and steering are still tweaked to provide sportier handling, meaning the Racing theme is not purely cosmetic.

It’s also worth noting that the C-HR is slightly smaller than the Corolla in every dimension, reinforcing the idea that the latter is better for families while the former is more suited for couples or individuals wanting an SUV with a sportier feel to it.

Whether Toyota will introduce a C-HR GR-Sport in South Africa remains to be seen, but given how popular its other Gazoo models are, a racing-themed flagship could be just what the C-HR needs to increase its market share.