The turbocharged, all-wheel-drive, Torsen diff-equipped Toyota GR Corolla is an absolute ball of fun, but cosmetically, it can be a bit much for wallflowers. Fortunately, there is an antidote, but you’ll have to both live in Japan and be extremely lucky to get it. This is the Lexus LBX Morizo RR, and it’s a hot hatch wearing proper business attire.
If you aren’t familiar with the Lexus LBX, don’t feel ashamed — this upscale subcompact crossover isn’t available in America. Based on the Yaris Cross, the standard LBX seems like a perfectly cromulent thing to park outside of a real estate agency’s office or in the underground car park of a big bank, which makes the fast version of it quite the sleeper.
Yes, underneath the classy sheetmetal of the LBX Morizo RR sits all the running gear from a Toyota GR Corolla. That means you get a G16E-GTS 1.6-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine making 300 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque, an all-wheel-drive system with adjustable torque split, a brace of limited-slip differentials, and a proper six-speed manual gearbox.
Those who find themselves constantly fighting traffic can pop for the eight-speed automatic newly available on the GR Yaris, and while it does carry a weight penalty of 66 pounds, ticking that box to ease the pains of rush hour can be totally understandable. In addition, the rear-biased AWD mode in the GR Corolla isn’t present here, but you can still lock the torque split 50:50.
The result is a reasonably spicy zero-to-62 mph time of 5.2 seconds, a shockingly reasonable curb weight of 3,175 pounds, and all the proper hot hatch components you could want in a package that’s right up there in subtlety with the Volkswagen Golf R. It’s an enticing package, but it’s also not for everyone, not even every person who wants one.
See, Lexus is only making 100 of these LBX Morizo RR crossovers, and is employing a lottery system to choose who’s allowed to plunk down their hard-earned cash on one. The standard model starts at $41,555.15 at current conversion rates, but should you want more customization options, Lexus is also offering a Bespoke Build trim (like the one available on the LC 500) for $46,030.32 at current conversion rates. In the grand scheme of things, that’s quite reasonable. It’s just a pity Lexus is making so few of them.
(Photo credits: Lexus)
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Oh, and this Lexus kind of looks like a Chinese Ora Cat that’s higher than hell on catnip
Why can’t we have nice play things like this in the states anymore?
This thing is great. Shame about 50:50 being as rear-biased as it gets, why not allow more like on the GR Corolla/Yaris? It’s the same system…
Other than what I’m sure would be a sky high price, I’d love one of these!
So… why exactly isn’t this sold in America? If you want to make F Sport a thing, this is how you do it.
I’d drive one. But it’s a shame Toyota in general seems to be keeping a tight lid on production numbers of a bunch of their best cars.
Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more than 100 registered Autopians who’d buy one of these if they were available here
This is a very sellable car, and they are only making 100 of them. The should square that.
Fairly small, pretty quick, has good haunches—and doesn’t look like it just downed 4 Red Bull & vodkas then ran wild in the Pep Boys accessories aisle. I like it
Oh yes. Yes yes yes.
Want. So badly.
It looks great, has an interesting engine and a manual, isn’t crazy heavy, is (probably) great to drive, and the price seems almost reasonable? Sounds perfect! I would very much like something along these lines to replace my BRZ… So of course I can’t have one.
Is it normal for Japanese models to offset the parking brake opposite to the driver?
Or did they just maintain a common position for the lever based on a LHD model?
The regular car has an electronic parking brake which is on the left side too. I presume it’s just for consistency.
That thing is… FUCKING UGLY!!!!!!
Kill it with fire!
Don’t love it, but don’t hate it either. I know they will never bring this stateside, but I’d be appreciative if they did.
this is just more evidence that what Volvo needs to do is put the full T8 PSE drivetrain into an XC40 (rear seats optional) with ridiculous aero and fat, fat wheelarches
How the heck did they get this to be lighter than a GR Corolla?
Fewer tacked-on spoilers, fender extensions & ground effects thingies.
It’s a smaller car too.
It’s based on the Yaris, not the Corolla hatch. It just has the same drivetrain
So the title of the blog is wrong.
Not necessarily. It’s the same drivetrain and closest comparison.
It’s the GR Corolla (drivetrain) with a “tailored Suit,” or new/ different design
I think this does a better job of integrating the widebody fenders than the Corolla but I’m not sure I like the grill any better or the higher ride height. I think I’d stick with the Corolla.
Concerning the widebody fenders, yes exactly. It looks so much cleaner than the Corolla plastic slabs glued to the doors.
I know tailored suits.
I wear tailored suits.
That is not a tailored suit.
(It’s a lumpy, bumpy, overdesigned mess – just less so than the GR Corolla)
Yeah, this is a call for a new tailor, one with working eyes and who knows how measuring tape works.
I’m not totally sure it looks any better than the Corolla, just different. Maybe slightly better?
God Toyota treats their customers like literal garbage. They show this thing off, get everyone excited, then announce they’re only making 100 of them and you need to enter a lottery to get one? It’s a fucking badge engineered YARIS, not a Ferrari. The stupid ass Morizo edition GRC was the same goddamn way…you had to APPLY for it and give Toyota access to your socials…for a $60,000 version of a $40,000 car with a rear seat delete.
Do they all just sit around sniffing their own farts like the hybrid episode of South Park? Fuck this company. I’m never giving them my hard earned money for an enthusiast product. Their approach is so deeply cynical and terrible for customers…and that’s not even getting into the allocation system.
Toyota hates their customers. It’s that simple.
Seriously. This thing is gorgeous and sounds cool and they could probably sell it easily here (if it met FMVSS) but that’s ridiculous.
Id say they should just throw the powertrain in a UX and sell it here but if they did I’m sure they’d only make 200 of them or some shit and dealerships would have them marked up to 90k….which JDM bros will still line up to finance over 10 years. To them paying an obscene markup isn’t a shame thing, if anything it’s clout. Your Instagram post about how you paid 911 money for a Corolla will go viral in no time and buy you as many Brazzers license plate covers as you want.
It sucks because on paper I love Japanese sports cars but in practice there’s just way too much bullshit to deal with between dealership shenanigans and the overall scene around these cars. If you’re a self respecting, financially literate adult all of it is very unappealing. Oh and how big of an ego does Akio have to insist on putting his nickname on all of these?
You did some endurance racing, we get it. You aren’t Jackie Ickx or Lewis Hamilton.
The Brazzers license plate covers… spot on.
My god, thanks for the laugh.
It’s either one of those or an “ass, grass, or cash, no one rides free” sticker next to their Instagram handle
Agreed, the limited production fake scarcity thing sucks. It’s lame even when it *is* a Ferrari.
No kidding. If you don’t want to sell the things, STFU about them.
I also don’t think this looks any better than the GR Corolla. It doesn’t look ‘premium’ in any way. It looks like it could be the Oldsmobile version of the Chevy Trax.
Toyota will gladly sell you an 85 thousand dollar Tundra with a self destructing twin turbo engine though. Us Americans don’t get the really good stuff
At over MSRP, no less
Pug ugly. No thanks.
So ugly it’s absolutely adorable?
If you like, but “adorable” is not a characteristic I seek in a car.
It’s a Lexus. It’s in their DNA.
Not usually a hot hatch guy, but I would buy this.
Can you imagine showing up for the local rallycross with this? LEGENDARY.
Now that would be a tempting crossover. It’s like a Kona N, but nicer and with a manual.
Nothing is nicer than the Kona N, obviously
Haha I figured that comment would trigger you. But seriously I am interested in your take, if you could get one of these, with a manual, would it be tempting to swap? (I almost said upgrade, but didn’t want to keep the hornet’s nest)
I’m being deeply sarcastic, my car is fun as hell and I love it but it is ROUGH around the edges. It rides like ass, the interior is crappy, there’s tons of NVH, etc. The Kona N forces you to make a lot of compromises, which is why it didn’t sell and they canned it after all of two model years. At the end of the day it’s a $36,000 car because every resource was put into performance. They had to save somewhere, and so they checked 0 refinement boxes lol.
I would absolutely upgrade to something like this if I had the option. I love the idea of a luxury hot hatch but they just don’t exist in the US. I guess there’s the Golf R, but my family and I have had terrible luck with VAG products/the EA888 engine.
Naturally I find the Integra Type S appealing and will likely look at one next go around, however I don’t want to daily a manual. I live in DC, commute in heinous traffic, and my wife can’t drive stick. I personally don’t think the joy it will give me on backroads is enough to outweigh what a pain it will be day to day.
So the manual isn’t important to me, although one of the reasons I got the Kona N and my GTI before it is I legitimately wanted a performance automatic. A DCT is a good compromise for my needs, and I found the N DCT to be very appealing because it’s amazing. It makes VW’s DSG seem like a torque converter…and not even because it’s a bad transmission, it’s a great one….the N tuned DCT is just on another level.