Toyota updates Thai-spec 2025 Corolla Altis GR-S HEV; PH next?

New battery, and a new body kit for the Altis

It’s been two years since Toyota Motor Philippines first offered the GR Sport variant of the Corolla Altis. While it’s not quite a true performance version like the GR Corolla hatchback in the US, the GR Sport Corolla Altis gets a more stylish look both inside and out.

Fast forward to the present, and it looks like there’s an update coming soon. In Thailand, Toyota has launched the refreshed Corolla Altis GR Sport HEV for the 2025 model year, with updates to its battery and a slight tweak to its body kit to boost the sedan’s visual appeal.

For the exterior, the new Corolla Altis GR Sport HEV receives a restyled front bumper. The lower grille and side intakes get squared off similar to the design treatment done to the new GR Yaris and GR Corolla. The upper grille has been likewise made slimmer to give the Altis a sharper look.

Much like the Corolla Cross GR-S, the Corolla Altis GR Sport HEV gets smoked LED taillights with clear lenses. The roof has also been blacked out for the 2025 model year, along with the new ducktail spoiler at the back. The 17-inch alloy wheels were carried over, but it’s also now finished in single tone gloss black.

Inside, the Corolla Altis GR Sport HEV gets the new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster found on the Corolla Cross GR-S HEV, along with a bigger 9-inch infotainment display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a color heads-up display, and red seatbelts. Other features like the leather upholstery with red contrast stitching, plus GR branding on the steering wheel, seats, and start/stop button have been carried over from the pre-update model.

Powering the 2025 Altis GR Sport HEV is still the 1.8-liter hybrid powertrain that produces a combined 122 PS and 142 Nm of torque. However, there’s a new lithium-ion battery pack that allows the self-charging hybrid to stay in EV mode for longer and improve its fuel efficiency.

As with the pre-updated model, the GR Sport HEV variant in Thailand gets the Toyota Safety Sense, getting advanced driving features like a pre-collision system, automatic high beam, lane-tracing assist with steering assist, lane departure alert, dynamic radar cruise control and blind spot monitoring.

Toyota Motor Philippines is still on course to launch the new Tamaraw and the new Camry HEV before the year ends. With that being said, we may have to wait for the new Corolla Altis GR Sport until at least an early 2025 launch.