The Volkswagen Taos and Kia Niro are notably more family friendly. There's good room up front in all directions and a comfortable seating position, but the back seat is merely mid-pack for space. In terms of passenger space, the Corolla Cross is somewhere in the middle of the segment, but represents a significant step up from its Corolla namesakes (again, they're just barely related). Notably, it has a fair amount of ground clearance at 8.1 inches, which is almost even with the all-wheel-drive Jeep Renegade and more than the Kia Seltos, though less than the Crosstrek or a Renegade Trailhawk. Size-wise, the Corolla Cross is what we'd call a midcompact SUV, and as such, is sized similarly as the Mazda CX-30, VW Taos, Kia Seltos and Subaru Crosstrek. A mostly-analog gauge cluster is standard and looks awfully plain by today's standards, especially in the Hybrid, but higher trims adopt a fully digital cluster with slick, modern graphics. Both wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto are onboard as standard equipment, and if you like talking to your car, the Amazon Alexa-based voice control is snappy and understands commands well. Toyota's latest infotainment system that the Corolla Cross is updated with this year is much faster and more fluid than the old, but its user interface can prove tricky to navigate. We appreciate the dedicated physical buttons and knobs for the climate control, as well as the knob for volume control. However, a test car had some rattles, and cranking the audio system would cause some annoying vibrations. Everything is put together nicely with tight gaps, and the XLE and XSE trims looks a bit more premium than the lower models thanks to two-tone color schemes. Some stitched soft plastic is front and center on the dash, but harder varieties are found in most other places (such as to the left of the steering wheel where it may look like the soft stuff but is really just hard plastic with fake stitching stamped into it). As is usually the case in the midcompact SUV segment, interior plastics are a mix. While the Corolla Cross exterior looks nothing like a Corolla, the interior is a spitting image with a fairly minimalist dashboard and an infotainment screen popping up out of the middle. What are the Corolla Cross interior and in-car technology like? Additionally, it gets the latest suite of Toyota's driver assistance systems standard, going from TSS 2.0 to TSS 3.0. Every Corolla Cross then gets Toyota's latest infotainment system running on a standard 8-inch touchscreen. It adds the all-wheel-drive powertrain of the new Toyota Prius, plus unique sport-oriented trim levels that spruce up its appearance. The big news, is the addition of the 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, which we review here. Interior & Technology | Passenger & Cargo Space | Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive | Pricing & Features | Crash Ratings & Safety Features That said, it's still hard to get as excited about it as its many rival SUVs. The 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, on the other hand, changes the dynamic considerably as its superior fuel economy and slight increase in performance make for a more distinctive and quite simply better car. There are plenty others that are more fun to drive, have better tech, look more stylish and are simply all-around more enjoyable vehicles to own on the daily than the Corolla Cross. Unfortunately, the standard car just doesn’t do enough to push the needle. There's also the Hybrid being added to the lineup later this year that'll improve that fuel economy even more and give it an X factor for a segment that counts only one other hybrid, the Kia Niro. It has competent tech, OK backseat and cargo space, and some of the best fuel economy in the segment. It’s a Corolla, but in SUV form, and that makes a certain amount of sense for someone looking for a basic and utilitarian form of transportation. It’s both smaller and cheaper than a RAV4, but doesn’t come off as quirky or weird like the canceled C-HR was. The 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross is the definition of what perfectly fine and acceptable looks like in a midcompact SUV. Pros: Strong fuel economy for the segment, especially the hybridĬons: Bland to drive and look at slow acceleration unremarkable space and storage
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |