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 Hybrid version furthers this belief even more. 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 Corolla Hybrid does not come with many frills when it comes to the exterior and interior, but both are very solid. The model that we reviewed came in beautiful a ruby flare pearl hue. The interior is built with durable material and the seats are comfortable. There is plenty of space in the Corolla Hybrid as it offers 42.0 inches of legroom in the front, 34.8 inches of rear and 13.1 cubic feet of cargo space. The Infotainment technology comes with the Toyota’s Entune system. There is an 8-inch touchscreen along with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and a six-speaker audio system. The Hybrid model does not offer the upgraded JBL option.
I mentioned earlier that this would be a good daily driver and commuter car. The Corolla Hybrid is slow to accelerate but the power is sufficient for what is needed. The 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine produces 121 horsepower and 105 pound-feet of torque. The Corolla uses the Atkinson combustion cycle that offers increased efficiency at the expense of power that is transmitted to the front wheels through a well-behaved continuously variable transmission. The engine also has a permanent-magnet motor that offers 71 horsepower from a 600-volt battery. The front suspension consists of MacPherson struts while the rear uses a multi-link design. The brakes are ventilated discs in the front and solid discs in the rear. The Corolla 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 comes with the Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 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 2021 Toyota Corolla Hybrid comes with a three-year – 36,000-mile basic warranty and a five-year – 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. All Hybrid-related components have an eight-year – 100,000-mile warranty while the hybrid battery has a 10-year – 150,000-mile warranty. 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 Honda Insight, Hyundai Ioniq and the Toyota Prius hatchback. Gas mileage is awesome with the Corolla coming in with 53 miles per gallon city, 52 mpg highway and 52 mpg combined. The Corolla is a great daily driver that a working class individual would proudly rack up miles on it and being able to drive for a long time. I enjoyed the Toyota Corolla and would highly recommend for those in the market for a compact sedan. Please enjoy the photo gallery.
