As much as we love to drive manual transmission cars in real life, when we sit down for a round of Gran Turismo we almost always choose automatic mode. Shifting on a PlayStation controller is just another added level of unnecessary difficulty, and the computer’s shifts are so good that there’s no need to lose valuable milliseconds fumbling around with L2 and R2. That’s the idea behind Toyota adding an automatic transmission to the GR Corolla.
It seems counterintuitive at first, adding a slushbox to a rally-bred hot hatch. It’s not a slushbox, though. Toyota calls the 8-speed a DAT, or direct automatic transmission. It greatly expands the range at which the torque converter is locked, via a clutch, from the moment acceleration begins, for a linear transfer of power between engine and trans. Furthermore, the DAT’s mapping senses hard braking and downshifts, anticipating the gear change before you even stomp on the pedal to accelerate out of the turn.
The DAT was engineered to be quicker than a manual, and has been tested in a GR Yaris in Japan’s Super Taikyu endurance series. Chairman Akio Toyoda even raced the DAT-equipped car, and a DAT-equipped GR Yaris rally car has been put through the paces in the beginner-level Gazoo Racing Rally Challenge in Japan.
“One thing I learned in Super Taikyu is the difference in shifting between myself and the pro drivers. When changing gears on a straight, I lose 0.2 seconds. With two changes, I fall nearly half a second behind,” he explained. “With DAT, there’s no time lost when shifting, so the gap between myself and the pros was smaller than usual. I can just concentrate on braking and accelerating.”
Toyota says it hopes the DAT will get more people into racing. The company cites research that of the 1,176,000 people who obtained a driver’s license in 2022, over 70 percent took the automatic-only test (Japan has different licenses for automatic and manual drivers), and are restricted to driving solely AT cars. Even more unsettling is data that shows 98.6% of new cars sold in Japan in 2019 had automatic transmissions.
In addition to the DAT option, the 2025 GR Corolla has a host of minor performance-enhancing improvements. The shocks now have rebound springs, and the trailing arm mounting point has been raised, helping the car’s stability during cornering. The rear springs and stabilizer bar have been updated as well, to add roll stiffness.
Though the engine doesn’t see any bumps in horsepower, torque has been increased from 273 to 295 lb-ft. The front fasica has also been subtly redesigned to increase airflow to the engine, brake cooling ducts, an ATF cooler on DAT-equipped cars, and an optional sub-radiator. New air curtains at the front corners help reduce air separation for more stability at the front tires.
The improvements help hone the GR Corolla into an even more potent track weapon than it already is. Does the DAT take away from some of its rawness? It’ll be hard to know until driven back to back with an MT car. But Toyota’s goal of getting more drivers interested in motorsports is a noble one, and if that means switching the race cars into automatic mode in real life, then so be it.
Who plays Gran Turismo with an automatic?
Me
Get over it No real race car uses a manual anymore. F1? Nope. WEC? Nope. Maybe those primitive NASCAR ones still do, but they almost NEVER hit a road course.
I always played those games with the manual!
It is great for pure racing application and spec sheet racers to have this new transmission since it makes accelerating quicker for everyone.
But look at used supercars sales, and for a similar model, the manual usually fetch more money. Once the new 0.5-sec shifting car gets one-upped by a newer 0.3-sec shifting car, the buyer or collector realises that the manual is pretty much as quick, and it will be more fun, more rewarding to drive. And when all these get beaten by a newest 0.1-sec shifting car, then it is just a fast car with an automatic.
If you buy the car for racing, you just cannot go without this transmission, if you want to win. If you like manual transmissions and you buy the car for the pleasure of driving, you will select the manual. Save the manuals!
Bonus question! Could it be faster with a good CVT? The ones without fake gears? When floored, it would always keep the engine in the turbo boost, right where the powerband is at its fattest, for however long you want it to accelerate! Faster, at the expense of even more driving pleasure?
Been playing manual Gran Turismo since ps2, and manual Forza since the beginning. The auto GRC is for those who won’t learn to drive manual. I’m happy Toyota is making a child (auto) version so that eventually I’ll be able to aquire an adult (manual) version. Don’t care about other’s opinions on this, auto=simple-driving
Good thinking, I completely missed that, it is becoming more and more rare for people to learn how to drive a manual, so by offering the automatic version, they widen the appeal of the car.
With luck, they will sell so much Gazoo Racing Corolla with the auto that they might that the economy of scale will make the whole car, even the manual, cheaper to make, and Toyota could pass us the saving?
One can dream!