In January of this year, I was lucky enough to get ahold of a 2024 Toyota GR Corolla Premium. Between being fortunate enough to have test vehicles and the fact that I can walk my kids to school, I don’t get to drive it anywhere near as much as I’d like, but when I do, I am excited every time to engage with the excellent manual transmission. Toyota recently told CarBuzz that it believes most customers feel the same way, saying that it expects the upcoming direct automatic transmission option in 2025 to be less popular than the six-speed manual.
The 2025 model year will be the GR Corolla’s first with an automatic transmission, a $2,000 option for all trim levels. That number adds to the car’s already expensive price tag, which could be a deciding factor for many to choose the manual.
Toyota added a few other improvements for 2025, including an optional sub radiator, more torque, and a new Premium Plus trim to replace the outgoing Circuit Edition. Cars with the automatic transmission pick up a launch control feature, while the manual cars have Toyota’s iMT manual transmission that offers automatic rev-matching and other tech.
While the automatic transmission may help broaden the car’s appeal, it’s encouraging to see so many people excited about the manual. There are so few row-your-own options left on sale, making the remaining options rare and compelling purchases.
[Images: Toyota]
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