For Toyota’s compact crossover, designers thankfully didn’t just stick on a new body kit. Instead, they’ve pretty much changed the front-end. Gone is the frumpy guppy face and in comes a well-proportioned grille with mesh-grille detailing. Apart from the more acceptable face, the Corolla Cross GR Sport gets satin-painted overrider style elements to the front, side, and rear lending it a more off-road look as well as standard roof rails. It also gets a two-tone color motif with a black roof. The same high-gloss black finish is found on the side mirrors, while the taillamps have been given a darker tint.

Exterior changes aside, the Corolla Cross GR Sport also benefits from a revised suspension system. According to Toyota, the springs and shock absorbers have been tweaked to give less body roll and improve the overall handling, while bracing has been added to improve the overall rigidity. Even the electric power steering (EPS) system has been recalibrated.

Inside, the Corolla Cross GR Sport gets sporty front seats embossed with the Gazoo Racing logo as well as the GR logo on the push-start button and the infotainment system start-up sequence. In terms of safety, it gets the Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) system along a 360-degree camera and a blind spot warning system.

Engine-wise though, Toyota’s left the Corolla Cross GR Sport pretty much alone. Surprisingly though, its available in both hybrid and non-hybrid versions. The non-hybrid has a 140 horsepower, 172 Nm 1.8-liter 4-cylinder, while the hybrid pairs a 98 horsepower, 142 Nm of torque 1.8-liter engine with a 72 horsepower, 163 Nm of torque electric motor (overall output remains at 122 horsepower).

So far, the Corolla Cross GR Sport has been released in Taiwan. There’s still no news whether Toyota will release this sporty variant of their compact crossover to more markets.