Next time you roll up on a new Corolla, don’t forget that it could very well be a stick. In fact, it could be Nathan Geer.

“I found out about the car back in 2019, when the great Larry Chen released his Corolla Hatch at SEMA,” said Geer, who remembered the tuner concept’s fifteen52 wheels above all. “I’m 18, so I was looking for a car that would be reliable enough to get me to school and work and still be fun enough for me to get excited to drive it everyday.”

Nathan knew the Corolla Hatch was a match. He also knew his would have to be a manual — even though he had never driven stick.

“I bought the car without knowing how to drive manual, so my dad drove it home from the dealership,” said Geer, a mechanical engineering student in his freshman year who learned to drive manual transmission on his new car. “It truly made the driving experience raw.”

The E210-chassis Corolla is so new, aftermarket companies are still developing performance parts. Geer said the owner community is active and helpful; springs, intake and exhaust options are out there, but front lips and diffusers are the most popular mods. For now, the owner community is focused on aesthetics — and Geer’s Corolla had no problems attracting attention out of the box.

“I have always loved the color blue and was amazed by how Nitrous Blue looked on the Focus RS,” Geer said. “When the Hatch was released in Blue Flame, I knew that was the right color for me. The color definitely draws a lot of attention, especially mid-day when the sun hits it.”

Squint, and you’ll see more than a little DNA from Gazoo Racing’s hottest projects out of Europe and Japan. With bulging fenders and right-sized proportions, the Corolla Hatch is a convincing visual package missing just one finishing touch.

“I was looking for a cool-looking sticker that still gave a warning not to get all up on the car at stops,” said Geer, who discovered The Manual Gearbox Preservation Society through the Instagram Discover feed. “The simplistic design of the TMGPS decal was exactly what I was looking for.”

@highmileage is a world-traveling automotive historian. follow adam barrera on instagram.