It Needs To Go Fully Electric

Amid a flood of software-defined cars packed with screens and automation, the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid feels rudimentary.

As I got behind its wheel for the first time, the seat squab and backrest felt narrow. Touching the non-heated steering wheel when it was 16 degrees F (-9 degrees C) outside sent an icy jolt across my body. I had to roll the front windows down and stick my hand out to push open the manually folding mirrors.

Yet, when the hybrid powertrain fired up, it started in pure EV mode, silent and vibration-free. It then drove on battery power at slow speeds in the city and while coasting on the highway, the engine seamlessly kicked in with the build-up of speed. This formula of being frugal, simple and efficient, resonates with tens of thousands of American buyers. Toyota sold 35,289 Corolla Cross Hybrids in 2024, an impressive 128% growth over the year before.

It’s not a sales champ; that accolade still belongs to the bigger and roomier RAV4 Hybrid, which found over 200,000 buyers last year. However, the electrified Corolla SUV is a core piece of Toyota’s “multi-pathway” strategy, where ICE cars, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fuel-cell vehicles and pure EVs coexist. After selling over a million electrified vehicles in the U.S. last year—the vast majority of them hybrids—Toyota’s approach has proven effective, even if it has come at the cost of a sluggish transition to EVs.

So, should the Corolla Cross Hybrid be on your radar if you’re car shopping? I put it through its paces in various conditions—including a nighttime drive through a brutal snowstorm—and found that its hybrid powertrain is both an asset and a limitation. Its shortcomings can be resolved if and when Toyota finally decides to fully electrify the Corolla moniker, something that has been long overdue.  

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

35

Design And Dimensions

The Corolla Cross Hybrid’s design has remained unchanged since it began reaching dealers in 2023. It has only seen minor model year upgrades since, like the darkened Nightshade Edition. It bears little resemblance to its sedan namesake and there’s no cohesive family design language at play here.

Up front, an oversized grille dominates, flanked by chunky wraparound LED headlights that look disproportionately large for a small SUV. The profile gets a dose of ruggedness from black cladding, but that fizzles out at the rear, which is bland. It blends into the swarm of nondescript crossovers on the road and nothing here really is head-turning.

The blacked-out 18-inch alloys and dual-tone paint are the only elements adding some flair to an otherwise forgettable design.

It measures 176.1 inches long, 71.9 inches wide and 64.9 inches tall, with an 8.0-inch ground clearance. The RAV4 Hybrid is bigger on all those fronts, measuring 180.9 inches long, 73.3 inches wide, and 67 inches tall with a ground clearance of up to 8.6 inches. After dozens of Uber and Lyft rides in the RAV4 Hybrid which is ubiquitous in New York City, I can safely say that it’s a roomier and comfier option.

Cabin And The Tech

Photo by: InsideEVs

Sitting in the rear, with the driver’s seat adjusted to my 5’7” frame, my knees had just enough room. Space is not its forte and taller passengers would be better off with the RAV4. It’s cramped in the front too, with tiny door pockets and a narrow seat squab. You can never really share the center armrest with the co-driver because it’s not adequately wide for two elbows to rest at the same time. Four average-sized adults can manage short trips, but they’d need breaks to stretch out over longer journeys.

This is where an EV brings undeniable advantages when it comes to cabin space. The Corolla Cross Hybrid’s interior is sandwiched between the internal combustion engine up front and the hybrid battery mounted under the rear seats. The battery also eats into the boot space, raising the height of the boot floor. Removing the internal combustion engine, driveshafts and traditional transmissions allow carmakers to make roomier cab-forward cabins, while integrating the high-voltage battery into the floor.

On the tech front, the Corolla Cross Hybrid feels like a crossover of the bygone era, and that’s not necessarily a negative trait. There’s a delightful number of physical buttons and switches that don’t require you to take your eyes off the road. The drive selector and climate settings are all embellished in chrome and have a satisfying tactile feel. The steering-mounted audio and call buttons are just good old-fashioned plastic switches, easy to decipher and memorize.

While I’m not a fan of large screens, the ones on the Corolla Cross are undersized. Navigating New York City’s maze of bridges and streets required me to stare at the central 8.0-inch screen longer than I would have liked, just to make sense of the small icons and tiny Google Maps direction arrow. Relying on the audio alerts to avoid missing turns felt safer. The 4.2-inch gauge cluster also does not display navigation information, which is frustrating.

Photo by: InsideEVs

But the central screen—small as it is—is snappy. During my week-long test, I didn’t notice any lag or frame drops. It supports both wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The former connected to the vehicle flawlessly every time I entered the vehicle.

The screens are also excellent at relaying drivetrain, efficiency and energy stats. I’ve always been a fan of the “Energy Monitor” on Toyota and Lexus hybrids which showcases real-time illustrations of the EV driving ratio, power source for the wheels and regenerative braking. It’s intuitive, the green color coding makes it easy to read and tracking the real-time efficiency of the vehicle is effortless.

The Brilliant Hybrid Powertrain

Photo by: InsideEVs

Speaking of efficiency, the hybrid Corolla reigns supreme. Like its design, the SUV has little in common with its sedan sibling. It shares its underpinnings with the Prius. But while the Prius is front-wheel drive only, the Corolla Cross Hybrid gets all-wheel drive capability.

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 under the rear seat, which powers three electric motors: two at the front and one on the rear axle. The combined output is 196 hp.

The first electric motor (motor/generator 1 or MG1), mounted at the back of the engine, switches the car on silently and seamlessly switches the engine on or off when needed. MG1 also charges the lithium-ion battery using engine power when energy runs low. MG2 is linked to the transmission (E-CVT) and spins the front wheels. It can do that independently or along with the gas engine. It also doubles up as a generator for brake energy regeneration.

This primarily front-wheel-drive configuration turns into all-wheel drive under low-traction conditions thanks to the third electric motor (motor/generator rear or MGR) on the rear axle. This AWD setup is surprisingly simple. Unlike traditional all-wheel-drive vehicles that use a mechanical driveshaft to distribute power to all four wheels, the MGR has no mechanical connection to the rest of the drivetrain. It only kicks in under low-grip situations. The result of all this years-old techno-wizardry is phenomenal fuel efficiency.

Photo by: InsideEVs

The calculated fuel economy over 150-odd miles of driving in mixed, city and highway traffic conditions in freezing weather was 37 miles per gallon. In the city alone on a separate efficiency test, I got 42 mpg, with the vehicle running on pure battery power for a whopping 70% of the time, according to the on-board energy monitor. For the mixed conditions test, however, I switched between Normal, Eco and Sport modes and drove normally for the vast majority of the drive at posted speed limits.

According to the EPA, the Corolla Cross Hybrid can save $3,250 in fuel costs over five years compared to the average new car. Its EPA-rated fuel efficiency is 45 mpg for the city, 38 mpg for the highway and a combined average of 42 mpg.

The hybrid powertrain also helps with traction in low-grip situations. All-wheel-drive cars typically sip more fuel than front- or rear-wheel-drive vehicles due to the extra power required to spin all the wheels. But the Corolla Cross Hybrid defies that trend.

A severe snowstorm started hitting the northeast when I was returning from a skiing trip in Connecticut with my friends. Visibility was bleak. I saw at least a couple of rear-wheel-drive sedans spinning out of control due to the loss of traction. The Corolla Cross Hybrid effortlessly and imperceptibly switched between FWD and AWD, delivering power to the rear wheels when necessary, without hurting the fuel economy.

Both my friends were deep asleep for the majority of the drive in the snowstorm, which explains how stress-free that drive was, that too in a primarily front-wheel-drive car. The 50-odd mile drive in peak snow storm delivered an indicated efficiency of 36 mpg. But remember that the on-demand E-AWD is not a replacement for winter tires or full-time 4x4 systems with lockers seen on larger off-road-focused SUVs. It can only handle mild traction losses—it’s not meant to climb the Rockies.

Verdict

Photo by: InsideEVs

The Corolla Cross Hybrid starts at a shade over $28,000 before destination, which makes it very appealing considering how sophisticated the hybrid powertrain is. But the top XSE trim I tested cost $34,320 including destination, which strays far into RAV4 Hybrid territory; that car starts at $31,900. That makes it a tough sell when you can get a larger, more spacious alternative with equally impressive efficiency for just a bit more. (Then again, it might be hard to hit that price point as a full EV, although some options like the Hyundai Kona Electric do feel like worthy competitors here.) 

The hybrid system is the Corolla's friend and a foe. While it delivers strong efficiency, it eats into the cabin space and misses out on some of the high-tech features found on modern software-defined vehicles. The engine doesn’t make it a range king either. Even with a full tank of fuel, it had an indicated range of 350 miles. Sure refueling it would be far easier, but America’s charging infrastructure is growing and many EVs today have over 300 miles of range.

The E-AWD surely helps with efficiency and traction, but it’s no match for the brilliant systems in pure EVs. In that snowstorm, all-wheel-drive Teslas were effortlessly overtaking me—electric motors are simply better at adjusting the power output more seamlessly, allowing for more precise traction control.

Adding hybrid power to the Corolla Cross makes it a compelling proposition. The MPGs I saw were hard to argue with for anyone who wants to save money on fuel and emissions and not worry about challenges like charging infrastructure. And it shows how much promise the humble and versatile Corolla—available across the world in wagon, sedan, crossover, petrol, hybrid and crazy hot hatchback forms—still has even today. 

But I'm looking forward to the day when the Corolla can go fully electric too. That's the choice that's missing from this "multi-pathway" approach, and if it ever happens, it could be a true game-changer. 

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