German publication Motorsportotal.com recently ran an article comparing the GR Corolla, Hyundai i30 N and VW Golf R. With anticipation running high for these cars, it’s important to know which hot hatch is the better deal for the price. All of these cars range in price from $35,000 to $49,000. Although it’s a significant difference, most of these cars have the same performance and all come with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Let’s see what Manuel Lehbrink, the reporter who compared these cars, said about these models.

According to him, the Toyota GR Corolla sits squarely between the 320hp Golf R and the 280hp Hyundai i30 N. All three have small turbocharged engines, none larger than 2.0 liters. In this case the GR Corolla has the smallest engine as it is a 1.6 liter 3 cylinder turbo engine.

Surprisingly, this small engine makes more power than the larger 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine in the Hyundai i30 N. The similar engine is in the Golf R, which puts out 40 hp more than the Hyundai i30 N.
While the GR Corolla’s price hasn’t been officially released for the US market yet, we can expect it to be somewhere along with the $40,000 baseball park for the Core model. Therefore, for the price, the GR Corolla would be a better buy. The Hyundai i30 N starts at $50,000 and has less horsepower. The Golf R has more horsepower with an MSRP of $44,000.

Time will tell if the GR Corolla is better than the Golf R. While Lehbrink isn’t really saying which is the better buy, it seems like the Hyundai i30 N is an underperforming and overpriced car compared to the Golf R and GR Corolla is.

Many specs for the GR Corolla aren’t available yet, so we’re hoping to see that in the coming months. Things like price, performance, various variables, etc. are still not available. Until those numbers come out, we can’t really say which is the better buy.

What do you think? Which do you think is the best? Let us know in the comment section below.

Harutiun Hareyan reports on Toyota news at Torque News. His automotive interests and extensive experience test driving new cars give his stories a sense of authenticity and unique insight. Follow Harutiun on Twitter at @HareyanHarutiun for daily Toyota news.