Toyota's power-packed GR Corolla may be a striking value on paper but could be incredibly expensive to buy. Our analysis of Toyota's latest incentives found that 2023 GR Corolla interest rates can approach 9%. That's the highest rate we've ever seen from Toyota and may add thousands to the cost of a new GR Corolla.
Toyota's website lists an estimated monthly payment of $630 per month on the 2023 GR Corolla Core. That's the cheapest trim you can buy, with an MSRP of $36,995. That may sound relatively straightforward, but a closer look reveals that this is based on a 6-year loan at 8.96% APR with a down payment of $2,000.
At that price, the cheapest 2023 GR Corolla would cost $10,373 in interest and come out to $45,368 before taxes & fees. And that's assuming you can manage to avoid a dealer markup on the limited-production car. With no money down, the payment swells to $666 a month with an estimated total cost of just under $48,000.
So why is the GR Corolla such a bad deal? Unsurprisingly, Toyota isn't offering a financing deal on the GR Corolla and this is a non-promotional rate. It's the same story with other sporty 2023 models like the GR86 and Supra, though even mainstream Toyotas like the RAV4 Prime and Venza suffer from the same high rate.
On the higher end, the GR Corolla Morizo Edition has an MSRP of $51,420 and comes out to $926 per month with a total estimated cost of $66,661 based on no money down. That's over $15,200 just in interest cost alone. Earlier this year, Toyota's interest rates hit 7.44% and have only gone up with recent Fed rate hikes.
If you can't get a better rate through your dealer or a credit union, there are alternatives. For example, 2023 Honda Civic Type R prices start at $43,990 but have a 6-year interest rate of 5.49% APR and a Honda-estimated monthly payment of $719. In theory, this could enable some car buyers to get more for their money.
We recommended exploring your options to get the best deal possible. Given the ongoing chip shortage and limited-production nature of the car, buyers should expect to see some sort of GR Corolla markup. There's no advertised lease estimate, so it remains to be seen if the GR Corolla will be a good car to lease.
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