2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid Review
2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid Review
A value-packed commuter with a very familiar name.
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The Corolla might not be Toyota’s best-selling car anymore, but the latest model is still an incredibly efficient and affordable car. The 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid now offers all-wheel drive (AWD) on multiple trims, and it can deliver up to 50 mpg in combined driving. With a new and improved infotainment interface and a long-standing reputation for reliability, is this 2023 Corolla a better buy than the 2023 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid? Or maybe you’d rather purchase a new Toyota Prius, instead.
For more information on the 2023 Corolla Hybrid, read our full review: https://cargur.us/WfmSC
Shop for a new Corolla on CarGurus: https://cargur.us/WfmTW
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Presenter: Matt Smith, Deputy Editor
Cinematography: Elliot Haney, Senior Video Producer
#toyota #corolla #hybrid
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0:00 The 2023 Toyota Corolla
1:55 Inside the Corolla
3:35 Driving Impressions
7:26 Infotainment
8:45 Safety
9:08 Rear Seat \u0026 Cargo Space
10:01 Pricing \u0026 Competition
Content
0.3 -> the Toyota Corolla used to be ubiquitous they were
everywhere in 2006 Toyota sold almost 400 000 of
8.82 -> them and then the compact crossover got hot and by
2022 suddenly the RAV4 was the one selling 400 000
16.74 -> units so it's okay if you've forgotten a bit about
the Toyota Corolla this is one right here it's a
23.88 -> hybrid it actually has all-wheel drive and it's
supposed to get 47 miles per gallon in the city
30.48 -> last year if you wanted a Corolla hybrid you
were buying a front-wheel drive LE model that
36.18 -> was the only option for 2023 Toyota has expanded
the trim lineup to include the SC XLE the SC
43.56 -> infrared Edition and all-wheel drive versions of
the Le SC and SC infrared this is an sc all-wheel
52.26 -> drive trim and personally I think it looks pretty
handsome the headlights have a nice wraparound
58.5 -> design and our SE trims front end with its black
mesh Grille looks dare I say it a little sporty
66.42 -> styling is much more conventional down the side
but at the back things do kick up again yeah the
72.6 -> tail lights are pretty bland but I like how this
black trim piece splits the trunk with the upper
77.64 -> half jutting out a bit more for a more aerodynamic
shape take a look at this it's a single exhaust
85.08 -> pipe sure but it has dual Chrome tips that's a
little bit of trickery but I like it our test car
92.4 -> has 18 inch wheels it's wild how even a Corolla
can wear 18s these days like it's no big deal and
99.72 -> then down the side we have this blacked out rocker
trim to add a little extra flare and you know what
105.78 -> else has a little extra flare the CarGurus
YouTube channel so don't forget to subscribe
110.94 -> we've got a button right here unless you're
on your phone then it's somewhere over there
116.04 -> inside we are back to the basics the Corolla gets
criticized a bit for being more of an appliance
122.34 -> than a car and the interior of this Corolla has
all the excitement of a KitchenAid stand mixer
128.46 -> now don't get me wrong those stand mixers are
incredibly helpful and I personally love mine but
135.48 -> we're still just talking about a KitchenAid let's
hit the highlights Toyota covered the surfaces
141.18 -> above the hip point with a soft touch rubber
material and it all fits together beautifully
147 -> this material will hold up better over long
periods of time than hard plastic will it's
153 -> less likely to develop squeaks and won't scuff
quite as easily I also really like the steering
158.88 -> wheel it's relatively small in diameter but it
has good grip to it and I like the layout of all
163.8 -> the physical buttons on the wheel other things
I like positioning of the cup holders I like
169.02 -> that there's a forward tray up here for my phone
and I actually really like how the shifter feels
174.78 -> most notably the tech interface is a huge step
forward this has Toyota's new look software
181.26 -> rather than the painfully old stuff that was
in last year's Corolla it's a big deal for this
187.14 -> car and we are going to go a little deeper into
it a little later in the video so keep watching
192.48 -> the bad news is that well that's pretty much
it I mean look at this and then look at the
198.36 -> interior of a 2023 Hyundai Elantra where's
all the fun and games and the quirks and the
204.84 -> gimmicks I mean sure there is something to
be said about the utilitarian functionalism
209.82 -> of the Corolla but when you strip out all the
style you're left with something pretty bleak
217.56 -> it's a hybrid no no engine when
you turn it on here we go [Music]
227.1 -> let's not take our Eye Off the Ball here this
is still a Corolla and it's a hybrid and that
232.74 -> means that if you are shopping for this car
you are motivated by value by reliability and
239.58 -> by efficiency and let me tell you fellas this
car is pretty efficient with all-wheel drive
245.16 -> we should be getting 47 MPG in the city 41 on the
highway and 44 combined but if we drop all-wheel
253.56 -> drive and if we get the Le trim with its little
16 inch wheels those numbers balloon to 53 in the
259.86 -> city 46 on the highway 50 combined now I've been
driving this car about 350 miles and mostly on
268.68 -> the highway it also in very cold winter weather
and over the course of that test I saw 40.1 MPG
277.62 -> a 1.8 liter four-cylinder is the backbone of
the hybrid powertrain which makes a total of
283.02 -> 134 horsepower and 156 pound-feet of torque it
is not fast in fact it's pretty slow and it's
291.48 -> even slower if you deplete the hybrid systems
battery but luckily the little regenerative
297.3 -> braking or some time spent sitting in traffic
you'll put the juice you need back in the battery
303 -> output is managed by an electronic CVT that
likes to claw along especially on the highway
310.38 -> honestly this car doesn't like driving on the
highway and it really doesn't like driving on a
316.44 -> hilly highway it's a fine car for zipping around
town or Road and wind noises kept nicely at Bay
323.52 -> but get it up to 60 miles per hour and you gotta
crank up the radio to really drown out the rest
328.92 -> of the racket I mean highway driving just reveals
how little insulation Toyota has stuffed in here
336.9 -> on a slower more windy road things are much better
the steering is very light but it's not vague it's
345.84 -> pretty sharp doesn't wander off center and the
suspension is surprisingly well sorted for a
352.98 -> vehicle in the corolla's class you know assuming
you don't drive really fast over some windy or
359.34 -> broken pavement Country Roads you know like you're
driving a WRX it's not going to do that but as a
365.58 -> multi-link rear suspension that doesn't you know
it doesn't dance and get unsettled quite as easily
372.3 -> as some of those old torsion beam suspension cars
that we've driven that said it's not the hardest
379.14 -> thing in the world to upset a Corolla hybrid but
you kind of have to go out of your way to do it
386.22 -> this Corolla hybrid has an electronic all-wheel
drive system powered by an extra electric motor
391.98 -> mounted on the rear axle however that extra
motor on the all-wheel drive models doesn't add
398.52 -> any power to the equation still all-wheel drive is
this vehicle's trump card even more than its price
406.56 -> or its value or its reputation for reliability
and better yet it's a pretty good all-wheel drive
413.64 -> system I took the Corolla up to Vermont this past
weekend to do some skiing after about 10 inches of
420.42 -> fresh snow I didn't have any problem getting
up there folks shopping for a Corolla expect
426.48 -> it to be reasonably priced and they expect it to
last a long time what they likely don't expect is
433.14 -> all-wheel drive capability to get an all-wheel
drive car at this price you have to look at a
437.94 -> Mazda or a Subaru and critically neither of those
Brands sell their options with hybrid powertrains
446.88 -> last year's old touchscreen software has been
swapped out for this new system there are a
453 -> few physical changes for instance the buttons that
used to flank either side of the screen have been
458.1 -> removed those are now icons in the touch screen
and we also lost the tuning knob which was here
463.74 -> I'm not a huge fan of either of those decisions
however everything else basically everything else
471.12 -> is a huge upgrade the interface looks slick way
better than the old stuff there's also better
477.78 -> natural language voice commands you can use it
to set navigation to change the climate controls
484.14 -> or adjust your music hey Toyota that's all you
have to say to wake it up hey Toyota [Music]
492.96 -> playfish radio
499.98 -> there we go it even knew to spell it with
a pH amazing if you're like me you'll spend
505.98 -> most of your time driving with Apple carplay
or Android auto you can also use it to link
511.5 -> your Apple music or Amazon music accounts
assuming you pay for the 4G Wi-Fi hotspot
518.04 -> there's also HD radio Sirius XM you have to
pay for that subscription and four USBC ports
526.44 -> there's some new safety Tech too the Corolla
hybrid now comes standard with Toyota safety
531.48 -> Sense 3.0 it includes pretty much all of
the standard Advanced Driver assistance
537.12 -> systems you can see them listed in the driver
information display here but it doesn't come
542.52 -> standard with blind spot monitoring or rear cross
traffic alert you have to pay extra for those
548.4 -> being a sedan you don't get quite the same
Headroom or legroom in the back that you'd get
553.2 -> out of a crossover being a compact sedan well you
don't really get much Headroom or legroom at all
560.34 -> I'm 5'11 and I'm cramped there's only 34.8 inches
of leg room in the back of the Corolla hybrid as
568.68 -> opposed to 38 in the Elantra hybrid Headroom is
a bit closer at 37.1 inches to 37.3 but what I'm
578.4 -> saying is if you're tall you probably don't want
to spend a lot of time in the back of any compact
584.64 -> sedan trunk is small too 13.1 cubic feet falls
short of the Elantra and also the Honda Civic
592.32 -> the Nissan Sentra and the Volkswagen Jetta it's
closest in size to the Mazda 3 not a car known for
599.16 -> being overly spacious ultimately most Shoppers are
going to look at the Toyota Corolla hybrid because
605.64 -> of its value including its 1095 destination fee
this car starts at 23 895 dollars that is for a
615.24 -> front-wheel drive Le trim our SE all-wheel drive
trim starts at 27 735 now again that includes
623.88 -> destination if you tack on a few options like we
have here our as tested price comes in at thirty
629.76 -> thousand four hundred four dollars for the 2023
model year Toyota lowered the price of the Corolla
636.6 -> hybrids base trim by one thousand two hundred
fifty dollars and it's a good thing they did
641.46 -> because it makes this car much more competitive
you see the Hyundai Elantra hybrid starts now
647.28 -> at twenty five thousand six hundred sixty five
dollars including destination now granted the
652.5 -> Elantra hybrid does have a much nicer interior
but it's not available with all-wheel drive and
658.08 -> that makes the Corolla hybrid all-wheel drive
a bit of a Goldilocks in the segment you see
664.14 -> it is Affordable it is efficient and it's a
safer bet for driving in wintry weather now
671.82 -> as far as I know there's only one other car on
the market that can boast that Trio of features
677.82 -> and it's another Toyota the all-new Prius looks
better it's more powerful returns better fuel
685.08 -> economy and it has more cargo space it also
offers all-wheel drive but it's not priced
690.72 -> as competitively it starts at 28 545 dollars
including destination what do you think do you
698.04 -> go with the new Prius or is the Corolla hybrid
the better value let us know in the comments
703.86 -> section below we genuinely want to hear from you
as always thank you for watching don't forget to
710.46 -> subscribe to the CarGurus YouTube channel
and we'll see you next time [Music] foreign
715.44 -> [Music]
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V4lo8VpYn4