Memory is a funny thing. It has a habit of putting on rose-tinted spectacles and erasing the mundane, focusing exclusively on the highlights. The BMW 2002 is iconic, but fewer people remember the 1602. The Dodge Neon SRT-4 is now pure nostalgia, but fewer people remember the Neon R/T. You can probably guess where I’m going here. This is the 2026 Toyota Corolla FX Hatchback and if you’re overly excited at the thought of a reborn Corolla FX-16, I’m going to need you to hold your horses for a second.
Right out of the gate, the 2026 Toyota Corolla FX Hatchback comes in three colors: the pictured Inferno, the Enterprise-worthy Ice Cap, and the extra medium Blue Crush Metallic. No matter which paint you pick, you’re getting white wheels, a bear to keep clean but far more interesting than the industry-wide infestation of diamond-cut rollers that frequently make cars look like they skipped leg day. From there, Toyota adds a spoiler to the Corolla FX Hatchback, orange stitching, a bit of suede, and a throwback badge.
I know what you’re thinking at this point, what about performance? Well, the Corolla FX Hatchback does get some very GR Corolla-like seats and that’s about it. No word on suspension, no extra power, just a pack of 169-horsepower CVT-equipped creamsicle hatchbacks for sensible extroverts.
It’s the sort of move that sticks a pin in the balloon of hope for a Honda Civic Si competitor, because nobody remembers the base-model Corolla FX hatchback of the 1980s but everyone remembers the FX16, a twin-cam three-door hot hatch with a rampaging 112 horsepower thanks to a 1.6-liter 4A-GE four-cylinder engine.
An FX16 this is not, and that’s largely due to the car community’s own unrealistic expectations, like a group of college juniors nervously stumbling into the campus pub hoping to not go home alone, only to sink a combined 23.5 Twisted Teas and still be too shy to talk to anyone. See, Toyota already makes a hot Corolla, the all-singing all-dancing 100-horsepower-per-cylinder GR Corolla, and the hot hatch market has proved slim enough that, well, why would Toyota sell something in between the 169-horsepower regular Corolla and its 300-horsepower creatine-mixing brother?
So, if you want a mildly more interesting compact hatchback with better seats and a fantastic shade of orange, Toyota’s building 1,600 of these Corolla FX Hatchback models for the 2026 model year. If you were hoping for a Toyota-built counterpart to the Honda Civic Si, maybe put another small bill in the slot machine. Between the cost of development, the cost of homologation, and the fact that enthusiasts like you and I are the worst customers ever because we complain about everything then largely go out and buy second-hand stuff on this end of the market, throwing something like the 244-horsepower S20A-FTS two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine from the Chinese-market Highlander in a Corolla just doesn’t make sense, assuming it would even fit. Besides, it’s not like we’re that short on sport compact options. If you want something hotter than a regular Corolla but not as expensive as a GR Corolla, Toyota has something called the GR86 they’d love to sell us.
Top graphic credit: Toyota
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Sarah n Tuned of Youtube (whom I’m a fan of, and not (just) because of her appearance 😉 ) just released her review of the Corolla GR-Four and it’s both informative and entertaining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMz0Rewv3h8
My only thoughts are that this is a fantastic application of Inferno, combined with the white wheels it’s a great look.
I always want to like this color, but the typical Tundra/Tacoma/4Runner application of this color never looked quite right to me.
Notice while hanging the Focus forums that these guys are getting rid of their Focus ST / RS and buying these corolla’s anyway,.. we finally solved the spring pop outs with a new set of class 3-6 truck shocks?? that’s right.. we installed a set of Monroe truck shock on the rear of the van. mainly because these truck shocks have a limited upo travel of 16.88 which is what we need to keep the coil springs in their seat. Check out my post on either http://www.youtube.com/@BoxxBodyCustoms or https://www.eng-tips.com/threads/follow-up.525135/ or https://passionford.com/forum/restorations-rebuilds-and-projects/503931-developing-pre-loaded-coil-springs-for-2019-2023-transit-connect.html What about our track day?? we’ll we’ve had to postpone this till early Fall.
Two pedals and a CVT? I’ll just buy a Camry for that experience and have better leg room.
FX: Murder by Illusion.
Hey, look! It’s the Toyota Ford Focus ST!
If they’re gonna put an automatic in the GR Corolla, they should still offer a manual in the regular hatch. It’s only fair. I don’t need a $50k rally fighter for my daily driver just to get a manual.
Maybe if they’d put some racing stripes on it –
I hear they’re good for an extra 5-10hp….
So, it is mostly just effects?
Bringing back the manual is the obvious choice here, but how hard would it be to have at least done some suspension tuning and something with the steering to give it some decent feel?
They could have at least put a stick in the thing. And why not something halfway in-between to compete with the GTI? Though of course, you can’t get a stick in those either anymore, since we live in the worst possible timeline.
I remember hearing that, but the VW website still lists a stick in the R, GTI, and GLI
GLI does actually still have it
Once the stick GTIs that are on dealer lots are gone, that’s it for them (and IIRC, only one trim level gets a stick this year, so good luck). The R and GLI continue to get them for the moment. Stupid.
The CVT kills it. The 169hp makes it easier to accept as dead. Too bad, because it looks pretty good. I agree with what most here seem to be saying… Toyota should have a Civic Si competitor and unfortunately this is not it.
Scion spiritual successor! You better be able to option a siq Kicker sub, I’m trying to bump “Sitting Sideways” after watching 2 Fast 2 Furious while shot gunning Lost Energy drinks.
Its too bad they don’t have a middle ground version of the Corolla available. Something more inline with a VW GTI.
The GTI doesn’t offer a manual either.
Yeah but if you’re choosing between a dual clutch and a cvt, one is at least more certifiably “hot”
meh, the DSG is a great transmission.