2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid review: Law of averages

One of Singapore’s best-selling nameplates is now available in SUV form, and the Toyota Corolla Cross looks set to extend the brand’s dominance in the market.

For as long as it has been around, the Toyota Corolla has been one of Singapore’s most popular automotive nameplates.

Regardless of economic situation or COE fluctuations, the Corolla, in its various incarnations, have always sat somewhere near the top of the sales charts here, year after year, generation after generation.

It’s not hard to see why really.

Solid, dependable and reliable, the Corolla fulfils the need of the vast majority of motorists who simply want a fuss-free car to go about their daily business.

But the requirements of today’s motorists are evolving, and for an increasing number of buyers, a simple sedan may not be sufficient for their needs any longer.

It is in that vein that the Corolla Cross was conceived, with the car aiming to “suit the growing demand for SUVs” (Toyota’s own words).

Effectively, the Corolla Cross aims to take all that is good with the classic Corolla, and translate them into a modern day SUV form factor.

Design

It seems that Toyota has not strayed too far from its philosophy, in that it has tried to make the Corolla Cross look as inoffensive as possible.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as most of its target customer base probably wouldn’t want something that stands out too much anyway.

There are some elements that point towards the car’s perceived SUV ruggedness, such as the black plastic wheel arches, the roof rails and the chunky 18-inch alloy wheels.

But aside from that, the Corolla Cross comes across as just another ordinary crossover SUV on the road, and, certainly in our test car’s white colour anyway, simply blends in with traffic anonymously.

Just as well really, given that it’s only a matter of time before its ubiquitousness makes it part of Singapore’s road furniture.

The large black front grille does try its best to cut an imposing figure, but as far as design goes, the Corolla Cross is as nondescript as it comes, with its general plainness and fairly ordinary design details.

The dimensions too are average, with the car measuring in at 4,460mm long, 1,825mm wide and 1,620mm tall.

That obviously puts it right smack in between the Yaris Cross and RAV4 in Toyota’s SUV line-up, and the general sense is that the Corolla Cross is just about the right size for this segment, no more no less.

Interior and features

This is really where the Corolla Cross shines, and it seems like Toyota has really considered the fact that the inside is where most of their customers spent their time, and has therefore made it as comfortable and pleasant as possible, without being too over the top.

The general layout is pretty much a carbon copy of the Corolla Altis sedan, which again is no bad thing, as it is mostly quite functional and ergonomically sound.

A noted highlight though is the 12.3-inch fully digital driver's instrument display, which can be customised in quite a number of different ways.

It's not overly fancy, but it does liven up the experience and makes the Corolla Cross that little bit more interesting.

In terms of space and practicality, the Corolla Cross pretty much meets most expectations.

The seating position is suitably high enough, and there's plenty of headroom as one would expect from a crossover-type vehicle.

At the rear, passengers are catered for with generous legroom and rear air con vents, so three at the back in comfort is very much a given.

Oddly, the Corolla Cross' boot space is smaller than that of the Corolla Altis sedan, at 425 litres versus 470 litres respectively.

The boot floor itself is fairly high too, although it compensates for that via its larger tailgate opening and electric-powered tailgate, and the ability to expand the capacity to around 1,200 litres by folding down the 60:40 split rear seats.

The most impressive aspect of the Corolla Cross is its level of driver assistance and safety equipment, and it's really a demonstration of what customers expect in the mainstream segment today.

The car features the latest iteration of the Toyota Safety Sense suite of driver assistance features, which includes automatic emergency braking, radar adaptive cruise control, lane departure alert, and automatic high beam, to name but a few.

There is also blind spot monitoring, a 360-degree camera system, and eight airbags to keep your family safe.

Driving experience

Locally, the officially imported version of the Corolla Cross comes with a 2.0-litre petrol engine mated to a hybrid setup, as opposed to the 1.8-litre engine featured on the parallel imported Japanese Domestic Model (JDM) variants.

Power output stands at 196hp and 190Nm of torque, which is a significant chunk more than the 120hp and 142Nm you get on the JDM 1.8-litre version.

Performance is really in keeping with the character of the car, which is to say, average.

The car hums along well, and while it's not particularly fast, it doesn't struggle to get up to speed either.

Delivery is smooth mostly, although the CVT does drone a little bit under acceleration, but for the most part the Corolla Cross lives up to expectations as an urban-oriented family car.

It does translate into a rather middling driving experience, and there's not much here with regards to excitement or entertainment.

The steering feels light, woolly and somewhat devoid of feel, and handling can really only be described as okay, nothing more, nothing less. 

The ride quality is a tad bumpy over bigger humps and rougher surfaces, as is expected for an SUV of its type, but contributing Top Gear editor David Khoo noted that the car seems to feel much more settled and planted when the car is fully loaded with passengers, so at least you'll know that your family will enjoy a comfortable ride.

In any case, the main highlight of the Corolla Cross is the hybrid powertrain, and given Toyota's expertise in this area, it's no surprise to find that the system works superbly in this application.

Toyota officially quotes a figure of 5.3L/100km, but over our three day test drive, we consistently got figures in the high 4s, even with lots of start-stop traffic and plenty of idling.

It only goes to show that Toyota's hybrid system in particular has now been refined to a state where one can achieve real world gains in fuel efficiency even with everyday driving.

Pricing, competitors and conclusion

Given its status as a Cat B car, the Corolla Cross' price tag of $188,488 with COE doesn't seem too unreasonable, especially when you consider what it offers.

Part of this can perhaps be attributed to its $15,000 VES rebate, but if COE premiums were more reasonable, we could envision this going for around $120,000 or so.

In any case, there really is no shortage of competitors for the Corolla Cross in this segment.

The most obvious ones in terms of size and price are the Mazda CX-5 and Nissan Qashqai, both of which offer similar levels of quality and equipment to make them serious rivals that are worth consideration for those shopping in this segment.

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Neither of them offer the sheer efficiency of the Corolla Cross' full hybrid drivetrain though, which alone is probably enough to tip the scales towards the Toyota if one is looking a fuel-saving family SUV.

But probably the biggest strength of the Corolla Cross is really its name, and all the associated qualities that come with it.

It's an average car for average people, in other words.

In essence, the Corolla Cross does what it says on the tin, and if a Corolla in SUV form is the car you need in your life, then it very much ticks all the boxes.

Given the sheer demand for SUVs today, and the cachet of the Corolla name, it won't be surprising if the Corolla Cross ends up being Singapore's next best seller, once COE prices returns to more sane levels anyway.

2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Premium

This article was first published in CarBuyer.