Experienced by Adrian McQueen
Photography by Adrenaline Lifestyles
One thing that comes to mind when you think of the Toyota Corolla is that is widely known as a reliable vehicle. The Corolla is a good value car and efficient as the gas pump. The Toyota Corolla is a compact car that was introduced in 1966 and has been one of the best-selling cars in the world since 1974. The name Corolla comes from “corolla” Latin for “small crown”. The Toyota Corolla Cross is a compact crossover SUV produced since 2020 and first unveiled in Thailand. The Corolla Cross is positioned between the smaller C-HR and the larger RAV4.
Upon first look, you will notice the beautiful Acidic Blast hue, with the Jet Black roof, on the model that we reviewed came in. The Corolla Cross has black badges, smoked out emblems and a sport grille. There are LED head and tail lights, as well as LED fog lamps. The Corolla Cross sits on 18” alloy wheels.
The interior of the Corolla Cross Hybrid is fairly roomy. The dashboard layout, interior materials, and convenience features are fairly similar to the standard Corolla’s but the space is larger, which creates more room for passengers. The XSE model that we received comes with SofTex upholstery, heated front seats, a sunroof, ambient interior lighting and a flip-down center armrest for rear-seat passengers.
The Corolla Cross comes with an 8” infotainment screen and a 7-in. Color TFT Multi-Information Display in the instrument cluster. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and SiriusXM satellite radio, wireless smartphone charging and rear-seat USB charging ports are all available as well. The 9 speaker, JBL Premium audio system with a subwoofer, was crystal clear and kept us grooving all the time.
I mentioned earlier that this would be a good daily driver and commuter car. The Corolla Cross is slow to accelerate but the power is sufficient for what is needed. The Corolla Cross hybrid comes with a 196-hp powertrain that combines a 2.0-liter four-cylinder and three electric motors. The front suspension consists of MacPherson struts while the rear uses a torsion beam rear suspension. The Corolla Cross handles well in the city and out on the open road, but the engine noise is loud when the pedal is pressed hard.
Toyota maintains safety as a priority within their vehicles. The Corolla Cross comes with the Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 system equipped with automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear cross-traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring, lane keep assist with lane centering, automatic high beams, adaptive cruise control and road sign assist.
The Toyota Corolla Cross includes a standard warranty package with two years of complimentary scheduled maintenance. The Limited warranty covers three years or 36,000 miles, the Powertrain warranty covers five years or 60,000 miles, the Hybrid components are covered for eight years or 100,000 miles and the Complimentary maintenance is covered for two years or 25,000 miles. That is a pretty reliable warranty package and definitely needed for a vehicle that will put up a lot of miles.
The Corolla has stiff competition going up against the Kia Seltos, Mazda CX-30 and the Hyundai Kona. Gas mileage is awesome with the Corolla coming in with 45 miles per gallon city, 38 mpg highway and 42 mpg combined. The Corolla is a great daily driver that the working class individual would proudly rack up miles on it and being able to drive for a long time. I enjoyed the Toyota Corolla Cross and would highly recommend for those in the market for a roomy daily driver. Please enjoy the photo gallery.
