- Toyota is planning more GR Sport models for the U.S. market.
- The 2026 Toyota RAV4 is the first GR Sport trim that will be sold here, and it’s based on the 320-hp plug-in hybrid version.
- We suspect the Camry and Prius could be good candidates for the GR Sport treatment.
The arrival of the new 2026 Toyota RAV4 marks the first time Toyota is using the GR Sport designation in the United States—but it won’t be the last. At the debut of the new RAV4, we talked to Cooper Ericksen, Toyota’s senior vice president of product, about the future of the GR Sport nameplate, and he assured us that more GR Sport models are coming to our market in the near future.First and foremost, Ericksen was quick to point out that this sporty trim is not on the level of full-blown GR models such as the GR Corolla hot hatch. “It has true GR suspension tuning and handling and styling, but the powertrain is [the same as] the most powerful powertrain for that vehicle,” Ericksen said. In the RAV4’s case, the GR Sport uses the 320-hp plug-in hybrid setup.Ericksen emphasized that for a Toyota vehicle to warrant the GR Sport treatment, it needs to have enough power to live up to the name. “If we don’t have enough engine performance, the last thing we want to do is dilute the GR name and make it into a sticker package,” Ericksen said. “We will probably have a few of them in the lineup. It won’t be a lot.”This got us thinking about which models could be up next in the GR Sport pipeline. Globally, Toyota sells GR Sport versions of numerous vehicles, including the Corolla Cross and the Hilux pickup. But these variants mostly focus on appearance upgrades, meaning they don’t necessarily fit Ericksen’s vision for U.S.-bound GR Sport models. Instead, we think that the Camry family sedan and Prius hybrid hatchback are the most likely candidates among Toyota’s current U.S. lineup.Ericksen even mentioned the previous-generation Camry TRD as a successful example of a performance version of the mid-size sedan while discussing the GR Sport models. The current Camry Hybrid only makes up to 232 hp, which Ericksen suggested wouldn’t be enough power to justify a GR Sport derivative, but there have been rumors of a more powerful plug-in hybrid Camry for some time now, which could warrant the badge.James Lipman|Car and DriverToyota Camry TRDToyota has previously shown a GR-modified concept version of the Prius at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans race. A potential Prius GR Sport likely wouldn’t be quite as extreme-looking as this one-off, which had a lowered suspension, an aggressive stance with wide tires, and a wing, but it seems that Toyota is open to the idea. Like in the RAV4, any potential GR Sport version would likely use the Prius’ more powerful plug-in hybrid powertrain option, which produces 220 hp and gets the Prius PHEV to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds in our testing.ToyotaAnd then, of course, there are the numerous vehicles with the optional Hybrid Max powertrain. While neither the family-oriented Grand Highlander three-row SUV nor the luxurious Crown sedan is overly sporting, they do both offer upwards of 360 horsepower, which strikes us as enough to go along with the GR Sport treatment. We look forward to seeing where Toyota goes with this new trim line as the GR family continues to expand.More on the New RAV4Despite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.
Source: caranddriver.com
