The hit of the car market in the first test
No matter what is written here, this car is going to sell in record numbers.
It's not because of ride qualities, performance, safety equipment or a good price.
It's because of what's in her name
Kenan Cohen
02/10/2022
Sunday, 02 October 2022, 23:52 Updated: Monday, 03 October 2022, 00:07
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Don't look for hints of the Corolla in the design here (photo: Keinan Cohen)
The man looked at us, then looked some more, did this walk in a half circle and then cut directly to me like a scene from Meir Ariel's "Bachari Hayom".
"What is this model?"
He asked with the Israeli politeness of 38 degrees in the shade.
"It's a Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid" I shoot out that long name and prepare for the usual barrage of questions.
It took him a quarter of a second to announce - "This car's a bomb".
After two sentences he told me what cleared my head in the test of this car - it's called Toyota, Corolla, Cross, Hybrid - for me these are 4 excellent reasons to buy it, no matter what you tell me.
We parted as friends.
Toyota, like any manufacturer of a life item or a happy cash flow, has already understood the point.
Take a road car platform, put heels, big earrings, mascara and rouge on it and send it out - people will already pay more for it.
Its showroom is lined with such models as the Iago, which also became a Cross, to the Highlander.
Within this portfolio, the Corolla will be pushed into the space between the CHR and Rab 4.
Shorter than the Corolla and taller than it, the base of the wheels subtracts 6 cm, but the usability is better (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Don't try to find a Corolla or hints of a Corolla in the exterior design.
The language here is different.
A large grill, wing flaps, square wheel arches and roof rails mark it as a tough crossover, a blue logo marks it as a hybrid.
The curiosity it aroused during the test days was towards its gray-concrete color and the fact that it is new to the landscape - not because of its beautiful design.
The passenger cabin doesn't improve the condition of the eyes either.
Simple, purposeful and efficient plastic without too much creativity.
Most of the attention and investment seems to have been focused on the modernization of the 12.3-inch digital dashboard that offers an innovative and fresh look compared to its other models and even three adjustment and design options for the data display.
The 10.5-inch multimedia screen has a resolution and display that are, on the whole, perfectly fine, but compatibility with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay will lead you to use them and not necessarily Toyota's.
A new feature presented here is Toyota's voice assistant, which after saying "Hi Toyota" will switch to the FM radio or perform various commands as long as you adhere to an accent and grammar that meet its standards.
good to know (in advance)
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A purposeful driver's environment, the performance is not uniform at its level (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Human engineering is good, mainly because it is simple.
No one will get in trouble here with touch controls or unrecognized buttons.
Two comments - you have already left dials for the temperature - how about making another one for the volume of the audio system instead of the blind buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Second thing is the logic puzzle of canceling the lane departure correction, it seems that every combination of presses produced a different result and it was never what we wanted.
Simple button - works or doesn't work - thanks.
The front seats are generally comfortable, except for those with broad shoulders or tall people who will feel the shoulder pads are too low.
The driving position is high and the view out is excellent except for the two huge side mirrors to the point of blocking a cyclist at a T-junction.
Don't be impressed by the number of cm on the data sheet, the actual spacing is very good (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Since it's called "Corolla" the expectation in the back seat was a large wheelbase like the sister, but here it stands at 264cm and not 270 as in the regular Corolla, meaning it's the wheelbase of the smaller CHR. Still, the more generous door openings and the fact The fact that the roof here is not cut down creates a very good entry and exit opening for it, certainly better than those of the Corolla - one of the points that disqualified it in our family test. On the other hand, a better interior design than the CHR's allows for better space than the claustrophobic crossover. Those sitting in the back have air conditioning outlets and two USB C sockets (normal and single USB socket in front for some reason). Three children who are not big and spoiled will do well here or two car seats. The official volume of 436 liters in the trunk is not impressive on paper, but it has a good loading opening and these are only the wheel arches that stand out And the lack of a spare wheel and a 12V outlet that hurt it.
436 liters, there is no spare wheel, but the loading opening is wide and convenient (photo: Keinan Cohen)
The Corolla Cross comes in three trim levels;
Active, dynamic and adventure.
We received the last one for a test and the list includes 18-inch rims, tinted windows, LED lighting even in the high beam, keyless entry, roof rails and a panoramic roof, heating for the front seats (with switches that Toyota traveled to the early 2000s to get them), integrated upholstery Leather and fabric, wireless charging surface and more.
The safety systems include vehicle detection in a "dead zone", a warning system for a passing vehicle when a door is opened, rear cross traffic detection and, like the other trim levels, 8 airbags, automatic braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure correction, sign recognition and a reminder to prevent forgetting children (based Opening a door, that is, you opened and closed the back door - the system is activated).
Changing display on the dashboard (photo: Keinan Cohen)
The car gets not only the name and the TNGA C platform from the Corolla, but also its powertrain.
A 1.8-liter gasoline engine combined with an electric motor for a power of 140 hp (compared to 122 in the Corolla). The engine also receives here the fifth generation of Toyota's hybrid drive system, which has been polished for years and is definitely considered one of the best on the market. There will also be a 2.0 version abroad. liters with 197 hp which sounds much more tempting than ours. The engine is connected to a continuous gearbox and through it it sends the power to the front wheels.
The combination of a lean engine, a not lean car and a continuous gearbox produces a combination that causes it to produce a whining sound in the octave that makes the driver use Very minimal on the accelerator pedal. Even with earplugs and earplugs, there is no return on the other side of the business in the form of amazing performance. Except for a determined departure thanks to the electric motor, the rest of the business simply does not want to drive.
You can also reach the trails, but unfortunately - there is no spare wheel (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
I don't want to travel and I don't want to leave.
Despite this platform that knows how to do good things.
Here someone realized that their customers have nothing to invest too much in the calibration of the package.
So there is a fairly fast rudder and after the initial change of direction comes a kind of very unpleasant movement on the longitudinal axis.
The roll angles are noticeable and if you were unlucky and had to brake in the middle of a turn because there was a plank or a sheep on the road, this whole business cuts off grip in a very stressful way for an unskilled driver.
So if the engine didn't convince you to let off the gas and roll slowly, its road behavior will.
From there you will mainly discover a very soft calibration of the shock absorbers, this is good for those who like their car "rocking and rocking" in the old American flavor.
Bonus - you won't experience the road heads penetrating the passenger compartment.
Total fuel consumption is reasonable for a crossover, not impressive compared to hybrids.
In the administrative segments he spent 16.9 km per liter and after the dynamic part the consumption was 14.5 km per liter.
The blue logo that explains that it is a green hybrid (Photo: Ariel Zandberg)
Summary
Toyota Corolla Cross Highbird - really, each of these four words is worth a good few hundred pieces in sales, no matter what the nature of the car.
And what is the nature of the car?
Honesty?
Not quite the step up expected from Toyota.
If in any of its other models you can find some point of excellence in some section, here, it doesn't happen. There is some bright spot here and there, but not a knockout.
Its second problem is the price.
Because in terms of the product, it can compete well against the Kia Seltos or Suzuki Crossover, Kia Niro, the second row of crossovers.
But its price, which starts at NIS 169,000, goes to NIS 175,000 for the intermediate level and reaches up to NIS 185,000 for the tested Adventure - put it against vehicles like the Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Nissan Qashqai, Peugeot 3008 - all products So much more whole and baked than him, except for the credit points he earns on them thanks to the hybrid drive.
If he had arrived here two years earlier, and enjoyed the tax benefit of the hybrid cars in the past, next to the lukewarm impression he would have had a low and attractive price tag attached to him.
Today with its capabilities and with the not low price, it really builds on the four words Toyota, Corolla, Cross, Hybrid.
The name says everything (photo: Keinan Cohen)
On the technical side: Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid
Engine, drive:
gasoline, 4 cylinders, hybrid, front
Volume:
1,798 cc
Power/rpm:
140 hp
Torque/rpm:
3,600/14.5 (petrol only)
Gearbox:
continuous
Dimensions:
length (s "m":
446
Width (cm):
183
Height (cm):
162
Wheelbase (cm):
264
Trunk (liters):
436
Performance:
Acceleration 0-100 (seconds):
10
Maximum speed (km/h):
170
Fuel consumption (test):
14.5 km per liter
Competitors:
In the product: Kia Niro, Kia Seltos, Suzuki Crossover.
Price: Nissan Qashqai, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson
Price:
vehicle
Vehicle tests
Tags
Toyota
Corolla
Crossover
Union Motors
