Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Review – Truly Efficient Regardless of Traffic

Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Specifications

Engine
Drivetrain	Front Wheel Drive (FWD)
Type	4-cylinder, In-line, 16-Valve DOHC with VVT-i
Displacement	1,798 cc
Bore x Stroke	80.5 x 88.3 mm
Maximum Output	72 kW (98 PS) / 5,200 RPM
Maximum Torque	142 Nm / 3,600 RPM
Top Speed	170 km/h
Motor Generator
Type	Synchronous Motor with Permanent Magnet
Maximum Voltage	600 V
Maximum Output	53 kW
Maximum Torque	163 Nm
Hybrid Electric Battery
Type	Nickel Metal Hydride Battery
Voltage	201.6 V
Battery Capacity (3HR)	6.5 Ahr
Transmission
Type	E-CVT
Chassis
Suspension (Front / Rear)	MacPherson Strut with Stabiliser / Torsion Beam with Stabiliser
Brakes (Front / Rear)	Ventilated Disc / Solid Disc
Tyres & Rims	225/50 R18, Alloy
Spare Tyre & Rim	Temporary Spare Tyre (T155/70D17)
Steering	Electric Power Steering
Dimensions
Length / Width / Height	4,460 / 1,825 / 1,620 mm
Wheelbase	2,640 mm
Minimum Running Ground Clearance	161 mm
Luggage Space	440 L
Kerb Weight	1,430 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity	36 L
Minimum Turning Radius	5.2 m
Exterior Features
Headlamps (Type)	Bi-LED (Blue Accents)
Headlamps (Daytime Running Lights)	LED with Light Curtain
Headlamps (Follow-me-home function)	With
Headlamps (Levelling)	Manual
Front & Rear Fog Lamps	LED
Front Wipers	Automatic with Rain Sensor
Front Windshield Glass	Acoustic Type
Rear Lamps	LED with Light Curtain
Radiator Grille	Gun Metallic Paint Grille
Door Window Frame	Chrome
Wing Mirrors	Power Adjustable, Auto Fold with Reverse Link, Signal Lamps & Blind Spot Monitor (BSM)
Antenna with Shark Fin Design	With
Power Back Door	With Kick Sensor
Roof Rails	With
Interior Features
Interior Colour & Trim	Black
Smart Entry & Start System	With
Drive Mode	SPORT / ECO / NORMAL / EV
Multi-Information Display (MID)	7″ Colour TFT
Air Conditioning	Automatic Dual-zone Climate Control
Steering Wheel (Type)	3-spoke Leather with Tilt & Telescopic Adjustable
Steering Wheel (Switches)	Audio, MID, Telephone, Adaptive Cruise Control & Lane Tracing Assist
Illumination System	With (Front Door, Cup Holder & Centre Tray)
Gear Shift Lever	Leather
Digital Video Recorder (DVR) – Front	With
Inside Rear View Mirror	Electrochromic Mirror
3D Panoramic View Monitor (PVM)	With
Audio (Type)	Display Audio with 9″ Capacitive Touch Screen, Apple CarPlay® & Android Auto™-ready Connectivity, Miracast, USB & Bluetooth®
Audio (Speakers)	6
Seats Material	Black Leather
Front Seat (Driver Seat)	8-way with Power Adjustable
Front Seat (Front Passenger Seat)	Manual Adjust
Front Seat (Front Armrest)	With Sliding Armrest
Front Seat (Front Cup Holders)	With
Rear Seat (Type)	60:40 Split Foldable
Rear Seat with 6-degree Recline Angle	With
Rear Seat (Rear Armrest)	With Cup Holders
Rear Air Ventilation	With
Power Windows	Front and Rear with Auto Up/Down & Jam Protection
Portable Tyre Pump	With
Luggage Tray	With
Tonneau Cover	With Roll-up Type
Parking Brake	Foot Pedal Type
Carpet Mat	With Hybrid Blue Accents
Safety – Active
Pre-Collision System (PCS)	With
Lane Departure Alert (LDA) with Steering Assist	With
Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC)	With (All Speed)
Lane Tracing Assist (LTA)	With (All Speed)
Automatic High Beam (AHB)	With
Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) & Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)	With
Tyre Pressure Warning System (TPWS)	With
Parking Sensors	With (Front x2 & Rear x4)
Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Traction Control (TRC)	With
Hill-start Assist Control (HAC), Emergency Brake Signal (EBS)	With
Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)	With Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA)
Hybrid Regenerative Braking	With
Safety – Passive
SRS Airbags	7 Airbags (Fronts, Front Sides, Curtains & Driver Knee)
Seatbelts (Warning)	Driver & Front Passenger only
Seatbelts (Front)	3-point ELR x2 with Pretensioner and Force Limiter
Seatbelts (Rear)	3-point ELR x3
ISOFIX	With (Rear Only)
Security
Security System	2 Remote Control Units, Immobiliser, Speed Auto Door Lock
Toyota Premium Security & Solar Film	With
Vehicle Telematics System (VTS)	Connectivity with Mobile Apps
Optional
Digital Video Recorder (DVR) – Rear	Optional
Wireless Charger	Optional

Fuel Consumption

We drove the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid for 9 days, accumulating a mileage of 355.9km according to the odometer. We also used up 21.14 litres of fuel, which translates to a fuel consumption figure of about 16.84km/l (5.94l/100km). The drive consists of about 65% city drive and 35% highway, with me being mostly on Normal and ECO modes, with Sport mode being used sparingly.

While this is still some ways ahead of 23.3km/l / 4.3l/100km figure, it’s worth noting that for a couple of days, I was stuck in heavy traffic from PJ to KL which took me roughly 90 minutes to drive, and that would have really affected its fuel consumption. While I believe it’s hard to reach figures of 20km/l, anything close to that as well as what we managed to achieve is already impressive as is given my driving situation, and I know it can get better if my driving conditions were a bit more ideal since I typically avoid rush hour traffic.

In short, the fuel economy in this car is great but how low it can go will obviously be heavily dependent on the traffic conditions you go through. To draw a comparison with a car I drive often, the Perodua Ativa AV at its best is this Corolla Cross Hybrid at its worst.

Maintenance Cost

A major part about ownership cost isn’t paying directly for the car itself but caring for it. Given that this is a 1.8L Hybrid SUV, you might think that the maintenance cost would be pricey but it’s actually not bad. Assuming there are no major repairs or surprise part replacements needed, this is what you’re looking at over the course of 5 years:

Compulsory 1st Service	RM185
Compulsory 2nd Service	RM155
8 x Maxcheck Advance	RM2,624
2 x Maxcheck Advance Plus (Major Service)	RM1,076
Grand Total	RM4,040

Do note that for the following 5 years, the cost will be higher as you will need to take into account extra parts / materials that need to be changed, such as iridium spark plugs, super long life coolants, and ATF Fluid. Customers can also opt for their 5-year Toyota Service Savers package, which will will include all the services mentioned above and discounts (20% off for alignment, balancing, and air conditioning packages, 10% off for selected parts) for just RM3,890. These are quite reasonable figures for a car of this size.

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The Good

There are a number of reasons to consider getting the Corolla Cross Hybrid. For starters, it’s quite a spacious car, making it ideal for smaller families, newlyweds, and bachelors for their daily drive. It’s meant to go head-to-head with the HR-V Hybrid, and it’s bigger than that by 75 x 35 x 30 mm (L x W x D), with even the wheelbase 30mm longer, making for a more comfortable ride. More importantly, you can definitely feel the added dimensions when you sit inside as it fits 5 people with ease, and 4 rather luxuriously.

While this may be subjective, it looks quite pleasing from the outside. The front grills give it a more aggressive look while the overall shape makes it look rather beefy. It’s designed to complement the TNGA platform its built on, with the idea here to provide enhanced stability, agility, comfort, and a higher eye-point for better visibility. If you’re not a fan of the grills, we’re likely going to see a change there with a refresh, based on pictures of newer versions seen in other countries, but it’s not a guarantee.

As this is a standard 5-seated as opposed to being like an MPV-style with 7 or 8 seats, you get quite a spacious luggage space in the rear. To be precise, it’s 440 litres of space but if that’s not enough or you need to carry around longer furniture, the rear seats can be folded for even more space. Moreover, it even has a built-in tonneau cover which can be conveniently slid in and out if you need to hide stuff from prying eyes.

One major thing I like, and this should be standard for cars in this day and age is support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In this day and age, no one really bothers listen to the radio and our smartphones are jam packed with mobile data so most of us would rather listen to our own music or podcasts. More importantly, we get to use and see our preferred navigation apps on the infotainment system, making it easier to reach your destination no matter how unfamiliar the journey is for you.

Generally, the Corolla Cross Hybrid drives comfortably and quietly. It’s not designed for people who crave high speeds, though it can theoretically go up to 170km/h, but it’s meant for people who prefers to enjoy the ride rather than reaching their destination as fast as possible. When it first powers on, it’s dead silent as it uses the EV motors rather than the conventional combustion engine, and it seamlessly switches between the two as you drive without the need for any additional input. Just drive like you would any normal car. Wind noise is also minimal inside the cabin. The higher viewpoint further adds to the driving comfort as you have better road visibility here.

There were a couple of occasions where the car in front of me came to a sudden stop, which surprised me at the time but thankfully, the Corolla Cross Hybrid had quite strong brakes and I managed to easily stop in time. Granted it was at speeds of 60-70 km/h but given the short distance with the front car, it was pretty good and I feel quite safe in it, provided I am aware of my surroundings and not distracted by anything else.

Lastly, the Corolla Cross Hybrid comes with dual-zone climate control. This is especially useful when you always have a passenger with you as you might prefer a different temperature than them. No longer will you have to worry about being too warm or too cold since each side can pick their preferred temperatures, and it works great so far.

The Bad

Of course, there are a number of drawbacks to consider as well. For starters, the interior design is rather bland. While I praised the external design, the interior looks dull with not much going on. From a car that costs almost RM150K, you’d expect more gadgets and, more importantly, more storage compartments around. Most of the time, I end up putting my wallet and payment cards in the middle cupholder, which I’m fine with but that makes me want to have a built-in cupholder in front of the air vents for both driver and passenger seats. Putting it in the storage compartment below the air conditioner controls often results in it sliding out at some point, with only smartphones not having that issue.

While the Corolla Cross Hybrid typically drives in a quieter fashion, it’s a different story if you have the need for speed as the engine noise really starts to fill in the cabin as you drive past 120km/h. If you’re only driving fast in moments of overtaking cars in front of you, then it’s not a problem but if you need to be constantly fast like when you’re on a long journey to another state, the noise can get annoying. It’s definitely better for city drives rather than long-distance highway drives.

As I’ve mentioned before, the Corolla Cross Hybrid is quite a spacious car but if you have multiple tall people riding it, it might pose a bit of an issue. I am about 186cm tall with rather long legs so when I’m driving, I have the seats all the way to the back and if someone with a similar build were to sit behind me, leg space would be akin to economy seats on a cheap airline. If the driver is willing to push their seat to some extent, it will be fine since width is definitely far from an issue, even with 3 people sitting in the back (provided all 3 are not giants).

While the dual-zone climate control system is great, I feel like air conditioner’s wind is on the weaker side. Even at max speed, it feels like there’s more noise than there is wind pressure. It would be nicer if they could make the winds stronger but on the upside, the car surprisingly cools down quite well. The rear air vents could play a role in it as well since a lack of it would result in the rear passengers being in severe discomfort given the lack of wind pressure and our insanely hot climate.

One major thing I dislike about this hybrid SUV is the use of the foot brake. I’m in favor of not using a handbrake as it frees up space for additional storage compartments but a foot brake also ends up taking up space for your legs. In fact, it will take up some space away from the footrest when pressed down, which isn’t ideal. It also doesn’t feel quite intuitive to press down when in traffic lights or a jam so you’re likely stuck holding down the brake until it’s time to move again, which can be tiring.

While I loved the fact that the infotainment system in the Corolla Cross Hybrid comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the speakers aren’t something I’m a fan of. The mids and highs are decent but the severe lack of bass makes it sound more like laptop speakers, albeit louder. If you’re just listening to music for the sake of listening, it’s fine but if you want a bit more enjoyment, you should consider a subwoofer upgrade for this.

Lastly, I’m not a fan of the main USB port’s location. It’s located on the headunit itself, which makes it look like an aftermarket one rather than something that came straight from Toyota. Furthermore, this location also makes it look rather messy as you’ll have your cable practically all over the gear shifter, which is quite the eyesore. It also doesn’t help that the USB connection seems a bit unstable as it randomly disconnects at times, and wireless Apple CarPlay isn’t available in this model. Having it below the air conditioner controls, away from the headunit itself, would be much cleaner in comparison.

Corolla Cross Hybrid Verdict

The Corolla Cross Hybrid is a spacious and comfortable SUV for your everyday drive, and it’s fuel efficient to boot. While the drawbacks themselves aren’t a dealbreaker, I would personally wait for a refresh before instead of buying what they have now for an overall better experience. It’s a great car for city driving, but I feel like it’s only worth considering its current iteration if you can get an excellent deal on it, especially given its starting price of RM143,000.

At the end of our Corolla Cross Hybrid review, I award this car with our Silver Pokdeward.

Big thanks to Toyota Malaysia for sending us this car for the purpose of this review.