2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Revealed

I was mildly excited about the cross hybrid...but 37 MPG is *really* F'n disappointing! I was expecting at least as good as my 2012 Prius v wagon...but nope. The AWD Prius seems like a much better package than this thing does. Also saw that the regular Corolla Hybrid is getting AWD as an option as well.

Edit : Here is an article with some good discussion in the comments section ( hint : people are not pleased ).

2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid revealed: 37-mpg crossover will be American-made

 

With all due respect Toyota....37 mpg combined?! Frankly, that sucks...sigh.

I was hoping it would at least match the MPG of my 2012 Prius V wagon. Heck, the AWD Prius seems like a much better package if you can put up with the Prius styling.

 

GM did the same to make the HHR panel truck.

It's smaller than the RAV4 and Prius v. Look at the Prius c to gen3 Prius numbers.

 

Uhh....yeah what's your point? My Prius V wagon gets *better* MPG than the Corolla Cross...The RAV4 hybrid gets better MPG as well.

 

The Corolla Cross is a baby Rav4. It is smaller in size and engine. It gets slightly worse fuel economy than its bigger sibling.
The Prius c was smaller size and engine than the Prius of its day. It got slightly worse fuel economy.

Longer cars can have cleaner airflow. In one of the other threads, someone posted the Corolla Cross has a higher drag coefficient than the Rav4.

 

I'd rather something that was more Corolla than Rav4 in design, but achieving 45mpg would have been difficult for something that is a SUV. Bipolar NiMH would increase performance and lower weight over an old NiMH, but the car is getting Li-ion, and possibly one of higher capacity than seen in other Toyota hybrids.

Anyone come across fuel efficiency figures for the new Aqua? How does it compare to the Prius? The old Prius c was rated slightly lower than the old Prius. Smaller size for a car that is family usable can make designing clean aero difficult, and it is also being designed for a lower price point.

 

Uhh...the Prius C gets 53 city / 46 highwayt...the Gen3 Prius gets 51 city / 48 highway...and the Prius V wagon gets 44 city / 40 highway ( for 2012 model years ). We have owned all three...and in the real world, I could almost always pull off the best MPG in the Prius C.

I'll stand by my comment...the 37MPG the Corolla Cross gets is absolutely disappointing..


BTW - here is an article with some good discussion in the comments section...folks are not pleased.

2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid revealed: 37-mpg crossover will be American-made

 

Check the other thread...the Prius C is *not* slightly lower. The C gets 2MPG better in the city than the Gen3 but 2MPG worse than the Gen3 on the highway. So pretty much a wash..

At any rate, lots of folks were expecting the Corolla Cross hybrid to have much better MPG than it does. Something seems off. Heck, even the Ford Maverick gets 42 city / 33 highway...and is basically a box going down the road..

 

Yep - saw that here - maybe a ROLL-CAGE in the back?

 

Oddly - the Media here are saying

"Both engines are front-wheel drive only, in keeping with the Corolla-based platform that the Corolla Cross uses. This is likely to be a non-issue for buyers, given the Corolla Cross is seen as a hatchback alternative rather than an off-roader."

 

Yes dissapointing and sad indeed. Depressing and sorta annoying to me.
37mpg with a 0-60 in 8 sec.

Heck, I would give up twice that time to 0-60 in 16 sec to get the 37 to go to 73mpg!!!!

HINT HINT HINT, not on my list Sir Mr Toyo!

American Made? Hmmm, they put limits on mpg here?? lol

 

Different markets get different options. You get the option of FWD with the Rav4 hybrid. In the US, it is AWD only, which lets Toyota 'hide' the hybrid upcharge in the margin of the AWD option for the ICE models.

Have people been clamoring for an AWD option for the C-HR hybrid there? We don't even get the hybrid as a FWD one. The Niro is FWD only, is it popular?

No one is going to buy a highway legal car that slow these days.

The EPA made changes to the pretesting and rules of the emission test in 2016. The big one is with the coast down test that is used to determine a car's air and drive train resistance for the dynamometer. It used to start 50mph, but now is at 70mph. This means aerodynamics has a bigger impact on the test. Some older models were adjusted to reflect this change, but not all, including the Prius c.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=32183&id=31836&id=31767&id=38508 The Prius and v there are adjusted(there is a view old MPG link), and are 1 to 2 mpg lower than what you posted. Since we are talking about a 2023 model, we need to use post 2016 figures for other models for a like to like comparison. The adjusted 2012 Prius is 49mpg city / 46mpg highway; the 2017 Prius c is 48 city / 43 highway. Their combined difference is 2mpg. The figure released for the Corolla Cross is 3mpg lower than the Rav4 hybrid's.

Now, it is possible Toyota's release is conservative, and the official rating will be higher. Expecting a SUV to get near the fuel economy of an actual car designed with aero in mind is unreasonable. Those complaining don't want a Corolla SUV. They want the hatchback and wagon hybrids, which Toyota has been selling for years in other markets.

And that would make my last statement wrong. The EPA could hit 49mpg. The 37mpg figure is for AWD. Is the WLTP figure for AWD or FWD, which other markets are getting. Seems to be FWD only in Australia.

49mpg for FWD would match the Niro. Sounds like the Corolla Cross will have a battery capacity higher than the Niro's. Maybe that's the reason for the bigger Li-ion pack.

 

I tend to agree that the EPA measurements can be taken with a grain of salt other than giving a rough expectation.

All I can say is we have owned a Prius C, Gen3 Prius, and a Prius v wagon. In my own personal experience, the Prius C easily beats the Gen3 to win the *overall* MPG crown. The Fuelly data tends to agree with what I am seeing as well. It comes down to physics....the Prius C is a LOT lighter than the Gen3 and Prius v wagon.

Curiously, I also get slightly better highway MPG in the Prius C. Frankly, I didn't expect that...and it is certainly most likely due to differences like tires, etc...

I sure hope the 37 MPG estimate of the Cross Hybrid is egregiously wrong. However, it is very odd of Toyota to release a number in a press release like that...especially when fuel prices are soaring. I though they knew their customer base better.

 

Someone in another of these threads(@Prashanta ?) mentioned its coefficient of drag being 0.32 to the Rav4's 0.30.

What I recall of what was said of the Prius c was that it is like the gen2 Prius, in that an efficient driver can get a bigger improvement than in the later Prius generations.

The Corolla Cross looks like Rav4, and not the car it is derived from. Other manufacturers would sell it like a whole new model. So it having an announced rating near that of the Rav4h isn't surprising to me. The conversion to a SUV means changes that are the antithesis to fuel efficiency.

Even with a 47+mpg, I would have been happier with the introduction of the Corolla Touring Sport(wagon) to the US. Seeing how the cross is shorter in length and wheelbase than the sedan, the wagon likely has more space inside.

 

Absolutely. I'd love something similar to our 2012 Prius v wagon. A hybrid Corolla Touring Sport Wagon, assuming it has great MPG, would fill that need and would be a prime contender for my next vehicle.

 

From something I read the other day, even in larger SUVs, FWD is more popular. To the average buyer - who won't see any more dirt than the view of the sandpit at the DayCare Centre from the carpark - they just want an SUV - and are more interested in features inside than whether it will cross the Simpson Desert (it won't probably). And the point they made was that sometimes there is better boot space in the FWD than AWD - and in some cases, the FWD comes with a SPARE WHEEL - instead of a patch-kit - making it more suitable for ... just about any use.

 

Absolutely - TOYOTA has been nagged here about the Corolla WAGON - and it falls on deaf ears. They are intent on being an SUV only company from what I gather. Oh - and little trucks.