Toyota Corolla review

Timing is everything, and it’s entirely possible that the latest Toyota Corolla arrived at a vital point for family car buyers.

That’s because the Corolla's hybrid engines make it an ideal solution for drivers who don’t want a diesel, find petrol cars too inefficient and are not ready for an electric car.

It's a regular hybrid rather than a plug-in hybrid so you don't need to charge it up to get the best out of it. A small battery, which is topped up when you use the brakes, powers an electric motor that lends the petrol engine a helping hand to improve efficiency and performance. And if you're really gentle, the Corolla can drive on battery power alone for short distances.

Toyota Corolla video review

This halfway house between a petrol car and an electric one certainly has impressive official fuel economy figures. But are they achievable in real life, and how do we rate it against the best family cars in other areas?

Read on as we compare the Toyota Corolla with another hybrid, the Honda Civic, plus regular petrol models you might be considering, including the Ford Focus, the Peugeot 308 and the VW Golf...

During a mid-life update, the Toyota Corolla's entry-level 1.8-litre engine gained a healthy lift in power to 138bhp. With a 0-62mph time of 9.1 seconds, it's quicker than the cheapest 114bhp 1.5-litre VW Golf (9.9 seconds), and while it’s half a second slower than the more powerful 1.0 Ecoboost 155 Ford Focus, that’s not really a problem.

Why? Well, the 1.8 Corolla has more than enough performance for everyday driving and gets up to motorway speeds without you needing to mash the accelerator into the carpet. Indeed, the only time you might wish for a little more oomph is when you need to overtake a dawdling motorist and you’ve got a car packed to the rafters with people and luggage.

For those situations, the brawnier 193bhp 2.0-litre has you covered, dropping the 0-62mph sprint time to 7.4 seconds – faster than any Honda Civic except the Type R. Even when your foot isn’t flat to the floor, the increased power from the Corolla’s electric motor makes it satisfyingly snappier to your demands in normal driving.

Fancy a bit of pampering? Well, forget the spa and buy yourself a Corolla instead – it's one of the most comfortable models in the family car class.

Even against the very comfy Focus, the Corolla’s softer suspension means that it smoothes off the rough edges of road ridges better and fidgets less on patchy sections of motorway.

The trade-off is that its body moves around a little more along undulating roads, but it's still better tied down than the Peugeot 308 and other rivals. We would recommend avoiding the bigger 18in alloy wheels fitted to GR Sport and Excel trims though. They don't completely ruin the ride but you’ll notice the difference over sharp road imperfections.

When you’re driving normally, you’ll find that the Corolla is a fine-handling car. The steering is precise and its weight builds in a progressive manner, starting light for city driving and ending up with a reassuring heft. There's a reasonable amount of feedback streaming to your fingertips.

There’s also a decent feeling of composure at faster speeds. However, the Corolla isn't as keen to tuck its nose into bends as a Focus, Civic or Seat Leon and runs out of front-end grip sooner. If driving thrills are your thing, you’d be even better served elsewhere.

The GR Sport trim isn't any more thrilling, despite name-dropping the Toyota performance brand. It really is just a trim level, adding styling tweaks and additional equipment but nothing that improves the Corolla’s dynamism.

One benefit of hybrid cars is that they're usually hushed when you're pootling around town because the electric motor can manage on its own in stop-start traffic. The Corolla is no exception, making virtually silent progress. Even when the petrol engine cuts in to assist, it doesn’t spoil the peace too much.

On faster roads, especially going uphill, the engine roars a bit because the CVT automatic gearbox causes revs to soar during moderate to hard acceleration. Thankfully, since the Corolla was updated with more powerful electric motors, it doesn't need to rev as highly to get up to speed. That said, the hybrid system in the Honda Civic is even more resistant to rev flares.

You hear a bit more tyre roar on motorways than in a Ford Focus, but the Corolla is a quieter cruiser than the Leon. The 2.0-litre hybrid is better than the 1.8 at isolating you from the outside world, thanks to its acoustic side glass.

"I find the Toyota Corolla very quiet around town. That's because the electric motor can manage on its own in stop-start traffic and the petrol engine isn't loud when it does kick in." – Oliver Young, Reviewer

The driver's seat in the Toyota Corolla places you higher up than in the Seat Leon, and offers a decent amount of support and a reasonably generous range of movement – including height and powered lumbar adjustment on all trims. You shouldn't have any problems getting comfy.

It's not perfect though. The steering wheel adjusts for height and reach but doesn't slide in or out as far as in some rivals, including the Ford Focus. What’s more, while the front seats in many family cars have a wheel that allows you to fine-tune the angle of the backrest, the Corolla has a lever that offers a limited number of angles.

Regardless of trim level, you’ll find a 12.3in digital driver's display behind the steering wheel. It’s similar to the screen in the VW Golf but requires a lot more button pressing to switch between the various trip, media and hybrid system displays, so it's not as easy to use while you're driving. More positively (and unlike in the Golf) you get proper buttons and dials for the air-con system.

The Corolla’s skinny windscreen pillars mean you have a good view of the road ahead and out of the side windows at junctions.

The view out of the back is more restricted by chunky rear pillars (you get a better view out of the rear of a Skoda Scala for example), but every Corolla has a rear-view camera, and front and rear parking sensors to help you when you're reversing.

Powerful LED headlights are fitted as standard. In some rivals, you have to pay extra or upgrade to a posh trim level to get these.

Let’s start with the positives: the Corolla's 10.5in infotainment touchscreen is positioned high on the dashboard, making it easy to see and reach, and responds relatively quickly when you tap around the menus.

On the minus side, the screen resolution isn't hugely impressive and the graphics for the standard navigation system are rather basic. The menu lay-out is mostly intuitive, but some of the sub-menus could be easier to find. As a result, it’s still some way behind the best systems in the family car class, including the set-ups in the BMW 1 Series and the VW Golf.

Thankfully, all Corollas come with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring so you can bypass the Toyota software for a better experience. You also get DAB radio and Bluetooth, while the standard six-speaker stereo is clear and punchy.

When you get behind the wheel of a Corolla you might initially feel a bit underwhelmed. The design is restrained, conventional and (dare we say it) even slightly old-fashioned.

Fortunately, when you start touching things you realise Toyota has used high-quality materials that are screwed together in a way that puts most family cars to shame. It doesn't quite match the Audi A3 or BMW 1 Series but then those are premium-brand models with class-leading interiors.

"I like how easy it is to adjust the temperature in the Toyota Corolla compared with many rivals, although it did take me a while to get used to the position of the heated seat switches.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

You won’t struggle to fit in the front of the Toyota Corolla, even if you’re really tall. The front seats slide back a long way, and although some family cars have a bit more head room, you’re unlikely to feel hemmed in. The Corolla is also broad enough inside to keep some space between you and your passenger.

What about storage? Well, the door pockets are on the small side, but you’ll find plenty of room elsewhere, thanks to a generous glovebox and enough trays and cubbies dotted about. You get two cupholders in the centre console too.

"Disappointing" is probably the best way to describe rear space in the Corolla. While the Ford Focus and Seat Leon are remarkably roomy in the back, the Corolla feels cramped for anyone approaching 6ft tall – especially if they're sitting behind someone similarly tall.

You wouldn’t call head or leg room impressive, and the sloping ceiling adds a bit of a claustrophobic feel compared to rivals, made worse by the wide front sports seat in top trim models. If you'll often have passengers in the back, it's worth considering the more accommodating estate version, the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports.

Storage in the back isn’t that impressive. Rear passengers don’t get door bins, although there's a cupholder in each door and two more in the armrest that folds down from the middle seat.

The Corolla's rear seats don’t recline or do anything else particularly clever, but neither do the ones in the main family car rivals.

You can fold down the rear seats in a 60/40 split, which is pretty standard across the class but not as versatile as the 40/20/40 split in the Audi A3. The Corolla doesn’t have a ski hatch for poking long items through into the rear seat area.

All versions come with a manually adjustable front passenger seat, but your passenger doesn’t get adjustable lumbar support, even as an option.

If you need a decent boot, be careful which Corolla you buy: luggage capacity depends on the engine. The 1.8-litre model can take six carry-on suitcases in its 361-litre boot. That's a match for the Seat Leon and one more case than the VW Golf – although there are small cars with bigger boots, including the Renault Clio and Skoda Fabia.

The 2.0-litre Corolla has just 313 litres of boot space, which is less than a VW Polo. That's because its larger engine means there’s not enough space for the car's 12V battery under the bonnet, so Toyota has put it under the boot floor instead.

If boot space is important to you and you’re set on a Corolla, we’d suggest turning your attention to our Toyota Corolla Touring Sports review.

“I found there was plenty of space in the front of the Toyota Corolla but things are a little cramped in the rear, especially for leg room." – Oliver Young, Reviewer

The Toyota Corolla makes plenty of sense as a private buy. It has a higher list price than some family cars but it’s also predicted to have better resale values, and that helps make PCP finance payments surprisingly affordable. Like for like, the Honda Civic costs significantly more.

The Corolla also makes sense as a company car because the 1.8-litre model officially emits as little as 101g/km of CO2, keeping BIK tax bills down. For even cheaper tax bills, you'll want to look at a plug-in hybrid or, better still, an electric car.

You can't argue with the 1.8 Corolla's fuel economy either. Our Real MPG testing saw a combined figure of 50.5mpg, and our previous testing suggests that's easily achievable in the real world. Efficiency is particularly impressive around town, so if that’s where you spend most of your time, you might get even more miles to the gallon.

Entry-level Icon is our recommended trim for the Corolla because it comes with everything you need, including power-folding and heated door mirrors, automatic LED headlights, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control, heated front seats and 16in alloy wheels.

You’ll need to upgrade to Design trim if you want rain-sensing wipers, as well as 17in alloy wheels, some ambient lighting, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and privacy glass.

The range-topping Excel trim and the sportier-styled GR Sport add more goodies, but are too expensive for us to recommend.

Reliability is a real strong point for the Corolla: it finished sixth in the family car section of our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey. Toyota as a brand performed admirably too, claiming fifth place out of 31 car makers in our overall rankings.

The Corolla is covered by a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty if you have it serviced regularly at a Toyota dealership. That’s longer cover than you get from any other car maker except Lexus, although Kia offers seven years.

Testers from Euro NCAP gave the Corolla five stars out of five for safety, although it's important to note that the test procedure is more stringent today than when it was appraised in 2019.

There are plenty of active safety aids to help you avoid a collision in the first place, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-departure warning, traffic-sign recognition and automatic high-beam assistance for the headlights. The only notable aid that isn't available across the range is blind-spot monitoring, which is reserved for top-spec Excel.

As for security, all versions of the Corolla come with an alarm and immobiliser as standard.

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