The year 2020 isn’t over and Toyota has already unveiled a third crossover SUV. Joining the likes of the Toyota Yaris Cross and Toyota Harrier (badged as the Venza in North America) is this new 2021 Toyota Corolla Cross. These three crossover SUVs are also part of an ever-growing number of crossover SUVs populating our roads nowadays.
Thankfully, Toyota did not just lift the Corolla’s body, added a bit of cladding, and then calling it a day. From the outside, the Corolla Cross looks different from the Corolla Altis sedan and Corolla hatchback sold in other countries. Whereas the Corolla sedan and hatch have a slim upper grille mated to a larger one at the bottom, the Corolla Cross has a single mesh grille. The LED headlights with LED daytime running lights are also slimmer and more elongated than in the Corolla passenger cars. Towards the side, the Corolla Cross features two boomerang-shaped character lines highlighting the wheel arches. Lastly, the rear fascia features a pair of slim LED taillights.
Dimensionally, the Toyota Corolla Cross sits in between the Yaris Cross and RAV4. It’s also slightly shorter than the Corolla Altis at 4,460 mm in length, but almost the same in width 1,825 mm. Of course, because this is a crossover, the Corolla Cross is taller at 1,620 mm. These dimensions also put it closely with the Toyota Rush.
The interior of the Corolla Cross feels the most similar versus the Corolla passenger cars. The overall dashboard design remains the same, though buyers in Thailand can opt for a red leather upholstery for the upper dash, doors, and seats. Also in Thailand and other global markets, the Toyota Corolla Cross features an 8-inch Toyota OEM infotainment system with Apple CarPlay smartphone integration.
Under the hood of the Toyota Corolla Cross are two engine choices. In Thailand, the base Sport variant 1.8-liter inline-4 naturally-aspirated gasoline engine that produces 140 hp and 177 Nm of torque, powering the front wheels via a CVT. The rest of the lineup gets a 1.8-liter hybrid powertrain that’s also found in the Corolla Altis and Prius. The gasoline engine produces 98 hp and 142 Nm of torque while the electric motor provides another 72 hp and 163 Nm of torque. In total, the whole system produces 121 hp with no total torque figures provided. The hybrid powertrain is then mated to an eCVT. Do note that the total hybrid system output is simply not a matter of adding the figures of the two power sources.
As with many modern cars nowadays, the Toyota Corolla Cross can be fitted with a host of advanced driver-assist systems such as automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert, and full-speed adaptive cruise control.
The Toyota Corolla Cross is going to go on sale in Thailand shortly. With many of Toyota Motor Philippines’ product portfolio coming from Thailand, it will be interesting to see if Toyota’s latest crossover SUV offering will also be coming to the Philippines.
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