Amid a flood of software-defined automobiles full of screens and automation, the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid feels rudimentary.

As I received behind its wheel for the primary time, the seat squab and backrest felt slim. Touching the non-heated steering wheel when it was 16 levels F (-9 levels C) outdoors despatched an icy jolt throughout my physique. I needed to roll the entrance home windows down and stick my hand out to push open the manually folding mirrors.

But, when the hybrid powertrain fired up, it began in pure EV mode, silent and vibration-free. It then drove on battery energy at sluggish speeds within the metropolis and whereas coasting on the freeway, the engine seamlessly kicked in with the build-up of velocity. This system of being frugal, easy and environment friendly, resonates with tens of hundreds of American patrons. Toyota offered 35,289 Corolla Cross Hybrids in 2024, a powerful 128% progress over the 12 months earlier than.

It’s not a gross sales champ; that accolade nonetheless belongs to the larger and roomier RAV4 Hybrid, which discovered over 200,000 patrons final 12 months. Nevertheless, the electrified Corolla SUV is a core piece of Toyota’s “multi-pathway” technique, the place ICE automobiles, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fuel-cell autos and pure EVs coexist. After promoting over one million electrified autos within the U.S. final 12 months—the overwhelming majority of them hybrids—Toyota’s strategy has confirmed efficient, even when it has come at the price of a sluggish transition to EVs.

So, ought to the Corolla Cross Hybrid be in your radar when you’re automotive procuring? I put it via its paces in varied circumstances—together with a nighttime drive via a brutal snowstorm—and located that its hybrid powertrain is each an asset and a limitation. Its shortcomings may be resolved if and when Toyota lastly decides to totally electrify the Corolla moniker, one thing that has been lengthy overdue.  

(Full Disclosure: Toyota loaned me a Corolla Cross Hybrid for one week in New York Metropolis. It arrived with a full tank of gas and I returned it likewise.)

35

Design And Dimensions

The Corolla Cross Hybrid’s design has remained unchanged because it started reaching sellers in 2023. It has solely seen minor mannequin 12 months upgrades since, just like the darkened Nightshade Version. It bears little resemblance to its sedan namesake and there’s no cohesive household design language at play right here.

Up entrance, an outsized grille dominates, flanked by chunky wraparound LED headlights that look disproportionately massive for a small SUV. The profile will get a dose of ruggedness from black cladding, however that fizzles out on the rear, which is bland. It blends into the swarm of nondescript crossovers on the street and nothing right here actually is head-turning.

The blacked-out 18-inch alloys and dual-tone paint are the one components including some aptitude to an in any other case forgettable design.

It measures 176.1 inches lengthy, 71.9 inches large and 64.9 inches tall, with an 8.0-inch floor clearance. The RAV4 Hybrid is greater on all these fronts, measuring 180.9 inches lengthy, 73.3 inches large, and 67 inches tall with a floor clearance of as much as 8.6 inches. After dozens of Uber and Lyft rides within the RAV4 Hybrid which is ubiquitous in New York Metropolis, I can safely say that it’s a roomier and comfier choice.

Cabin And The Tech

Picture by: InsideEVs

Sitting within the rear, with the motive force’s seat adjusted to my 5’7” body, my knees had simply sufficient room. House just isn’t its forte and taller passengers could be higher off with the RAV4. It’s cramped within the entrance too, with tiny door pockets and a slim seat squab. You possibly can by no means actually share the middle armrest with the co-driver as a result of it’s not adequately large for 2 elbows to relaxation on the similar time. 4 average-sized adults can handle brief journeys, however they’d want breaks to stretch out over longer journeys.

That is the place an EV brings plain benefits in terms of cabin house. The Corolla Cross Hybrid’s inside is sandwiched between the interior combustion engine up entrance and the hybrid battery mounted beneath the rear seats. The battery additionally eats into the boot house, elevating the peak of the boot flooring. Eradicating the interior combustion engine, driveshafts and conventional transmissions permit carmakers to make roomier cab-forward cabins, whereas integrating the high-voltage battery into the ground.

On the tech entrance, the Corolla Cross Hybrid looks like a crossover of the bygone period, and that’s not essentially a unfavourable trait. There’s a pleasant variety of bodily buttons and switches that don’t require you to take your eyes off the street. The drive selector and local weather settings are all embellished in chrome and have a satisfying tactile really feel. The steering-mounted audio and name buttons are simply good old style plastic switches, straightforward to decipher and memorize.

Whereas I’m not a fan of huge screens, those on the Corolla Cross are undersized. Navigating New York Metropolis’s maze of bridges and streets required me to stare on the central 8.0-inch display screen longer than I’d have preferred, simply to make sense of the small icons and tiny Google Maps route arrow. Counting on the audio alerts to keep away from lacking turns felt safer. The 4.2-inch gauge cluster additionally doesn’t show navigation info, which is irritating.

Picture by: InsideEVs

However the central display screen—small as it’s—is snappy. Throughout my week-long take a look at, I didn’t discover any lag or body drops. It helps each wi-fi Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The previous related to the car flawlessly each time I entered the car.

The screens are additionally wonderful at relaying drivetrain, effectivity and vitality stats. I’ve all the time been a fan of the “Vitality Monitor” on Toyota and Lexus hybrids which showcases real-time illustrations of the EV driving ratio, energy supply for the wheels and regenerative braking. It’s intuitive, the inexperienced coloration coding makes it straightforward to learn and monitoring the real-time effectivity of the car is easy.

The Good Hybrid Powertrain

Picture by: InsideEVs

Talking of effectivity, the hybrid Corolla reigns supreme. Like its design, the SUV has little in frequent with its sedan sibling. It shares its underpinnings with the Prius. However whereas the Prius is front-wheel drive solely, the Corolla Cross Hybrid will get all-wheel drive functionality.

The noisy 2.0-liter, four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine generates 169 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque. It’s supported by a 4-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery mounted beneath the rear seat, which powers three electrical motors: two on the entrance and one on the rear axle. The mixed output is 196 hp.

The primary electrical motor (motor/generator 1 or MG1), mounted behind the engine, switches the automotive on silently and seamlessly switches the engine on or off when wanted. MG1 additionally costs the lithium-ion battery utilizing engine energy when vitality runs low. MG2 is linked to the transmission (E-CVT) and spins the entrance wheels. It could actually try this independently or together with the gasoline engine. It additionally doubles up as a generator for brake vitality regeneration.

This primarily front-wheel-drive configuration turns into all-wheel drive beneath low-traction circumstances because of the third electrical motor (motor/generator rear or MGR) on the rear axle. This AWD setup is surprisingly easy. In contrast to conventional all-wheel-drive autos that use a mechanical driveshaft to distribute energy to all 4 wheels, the MGR has no mechanical connection to the remainder of the drivetrain. It solely kicks in beneath low-grip conditions. The results of all this years-old techno-wizardry is phenomenal gas effectivity.

Picture by: InsideEVs

The calculated gas economic system over 150-odd miles of driving in combined, metropolis and freeway site visitors circumstances in freezing climate was 37 miles per gallon. Within the metropolis alone on a separate effectivity take a look at, I received 42 mpg, with the car operating on pure battery energy for a whopping 70% of the time, in line with the on-board vitality monitor. For the combined circumstances take a look at, nonetheless, I switched between Regular, Eco and Sport modes and drove usually for the overwhelming majority of the drive at posted velocity limits.

In keeping with the EPA, the Corolla Cross Hybrid can save $3,250 in gas prices over 5 years in comparison with the typical new automotive. Its EPA-rated gas effectivity is 45 mpg for the town, 38 mpg for the freeway and a mixed common of 42 mpg.

The hybrid powertrain additionally helps with traction in low-grip conditions. All-wheel-drive automobiles sometimes sip extra gas than front- or rear-wheel-drive autos as a result of additional energy required to spin all of the wheels. However the Corolla Cross Hybrid defies that pattern.

A extreme snowstorm began hitting the northeast once I was getting back from a snowboarding journey in Connecticut with my pals. Visibility was bleak. I noticed not less than a few rear-wheel-drive sedans spinning uncontrolled as a result of lack of traction. The Corolla Cross Hybrid effortlessly and imperceptibly switched between FWD and AWD, delivering energy to the rear wheels when essential, with out hurting the gas economic system.

Each my pals have been deep asleep for almost all of the drive within the snowstorm, which explains how stress-free that drive was, that too in a primarily front-wheel-drive automotive. The 50-odd mile drive in peak snow storm delivered an indicated effectivity of 36 mpg. However do not forget that the on-demand E-AWD just isn’t a substitute for winter tires or full-time 4×4 methods with lockers seen on bigger off-road-focused SUVs. It could actually solely deal with gentle traction losses—it’s not meant to climb the Rockies.

Verdict

Picture by: InsideEVs

The Corolla Cross Hybrid begins at a shade over $28,000 earlier than vacation spot, which makes it very interesting contemplating how refined the hybrid powertrain is. However the high XSE trim I examined value $34,320 together with vacation spot, which strays far into RAV4 Hybrid territory; that automotive begins at $31,900. That makes it a tricky promote when you will get a bigger, extra spacious various with equally spectacular effectivity for only a bit extra. (Then once more, it is perhaps exhausting to hit that value level as a full EV, though some choices just like the Hyundai Kona Electrical do really feel like worthy rivals right here.) 

The hybrid system is the Corolla’s pal and a foe. Whereas it delivers sturdy effectivity, it eats into the cabin house and misses out on among the high-tech options discovered on fashionable software-defined autos. The engine doesn’t make it a spread king both. Even with a full tank of gas, it had an indicated vary of 350 miles. Certain refueling it will be far simpler, however America’s charging infrastructure is rising and plenty of EVs at the moment have over 300 miles of vary.

The E-AWD absolutely helps with effectivity and traction, but it surely’s no match for the sensible methods in pure EVs. In that snowstorm, all-wheel-drive Teslas have been effortlessly overtaking me—electrical motors are merely higher at adjusting the facility output extra seamlessly, permitting for extra exact traction management.

Including hybrid energy to the Corolla Cross makes it a compelling proposition. The MPGs I noticed have been exhausting to argue with for anybody who desires to save cash on gas and emissions and never fear about challenges like charging infrastructure. And it reveals how a lot promise the common-or-garden and versatile Corolla—out there internationally in wagon, sedan, crossover, petrol, hybrid and loopy scorching hatchback varieties—nonetheless has even at the moment. 

However I am trying ahead to the day when the Corolla can go totally electrical too. That is the selection that is lacking from this “multi-pathway” strategy, and if it ever occurs, it may very well be a real game-changer. 

Have a tip? Contact the creator: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com