Reflecting increased consumer interest for compact crossover SUVs in Europe, their market is the latest to receive the Toyota Corolla Cross. Interestingly, however, they also have a far better Corolla Cross than what the rest of the world gets.
Our jealousy towards the European Toyota Corolla Cross starts with their powertrain. While we get a 140-hp 1.8-liter naturally-aspirated gasoline engine or a 120-hp 1.8-liter hybrid powertrain, Europeans get none of that. Instead, their market benefits from a superior 2.0-liter hybrid powertrain that makes a total output of 197 horsepower. That’s a whopping 77 horsepower more than our hybrid Corolla Cross and 57 more than the non-hybrid model. As a result, the European-market Corolla Cross scoots from zero to 100 kph in just 8.1 seconds.
All-wheel drive (AWD) is also available, and this adds a rear-mounted electric motor that produces an additional 41 horsepower that only sends power to the rear wheels when needed. As a result, its zero to 100 kph time is the same as the two-wheel drive (2WD) version.
Apart from its engine, the European Toyota Corolla Cross is also superior in terms of tech. Higher variants of the European Corolla Cross gets a 12.3-inch fully-digital gauge cluster, which is superior to the 7-inch gauge cluster found in the ASEAN Corolla Cross hybrid. Additionally, their market also benefits from a significantly larger 10.5-inch Audio Multimedia infotainment system. With its new operating system and more powerful processor, European customers also benefit from wireless Apple CarPlay (but wired Android Auto), over-the-air (OTA) updates, and cloud-based navigation as a result.
The European Corolla Cross also benefits from a new suite of safety features called T-Mate, which is one of the first Toyotas to be equipped with these tech features. T-Mate works on top of the existing safety features of Toyota Safety Sense.
For the first time, the Pre-Collision System offers Acceleration Suppression at low speed and Intersection Cut-In Traffic Assist, as well as improved Oncoming Traffic detection and Intersection Turn Assist.
Other new Toyota Safety Sense functions include an Emergency Driving Stop System (EDSS), and Over The Air (OTA) updates which keep the functions up-to-date and add new ones during the vehicle’s life. In addition, improvements have been made to the Full Speed Range Adaptive Cruise Control (FSR ACC), and both the Lane Trace Assist (LTA) and Road Sign Assist (RSA) systems.
T-Mate offers driving assistance through a Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) with Safety Exit Assist (SEA), an Auto High Beam System (AHB), parking assistance with Toyota Teammate Advanced Park, a Panoramic View Monitor (PVM), Rear Cross Traffic Alert with Automatic Braking (RCTAB) and Intelligent Clearance Sonar (ICS).
Lastly, the European-market Corolla Cross gets the same LED headlights and panoramic sunroof as the Japanese-market model. The rest of the body carries over unchanged from the ASEAN version.
Jealous? We definitely want what Europe is getting. These features may eventually come when the ASEAN Toyota Corolla Cross finally receives its mid-cycle refresh in a few years.
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