Toyota Corolla Cross receives a futuristic-looking facelift
The Toyota Corolla Cross is probably what gave hybrid vehicles even more traction in the Philippine market after it was launched a few years ago. With more and more newer competitors coming left and right, it’s about time that it receives an update.
Revealed a few days ago for the Thai market, the refreshed Toyota Corolla Cross gets aesthetic enhancements as well as updated tech features to keep it fresh amidst newer competition.
The biggest change can be found on the exterior where the updated Corolla Cross gets a new large front grille which takes cues from the new generation Toyota Camry and some Lexus products. Also found are new LED headlight clusters and a more aggressive front bumper.
The sides and rear are almost the same as the pre-facelift version with only a new set of alloy wheels, as well as redesigned taillight clusters. Look closely and you’ll see Toyota’s new Beyond Zero HEV badging replacing the former Hybrid badges. Interestingly, Toyota has retained their blue-accented logo which is no longer seen in their newer hybrid vehicles.
Inside, changes are also minor. New here is a new 12.3-inch fully-digital instrument cluster, and a larger 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system. As requested by many customers, Toyota has done away with the foot-operated parking brake and has replaced it with an electronic parking brake with auto-hold function. Also noticeable is a fixed glass panoramic roof which replaces the standard sized power-sunroof.
Under the hood remains the same 1.8-liter 2ZR-FXE Inline 4-cylinder gasoline engine paired with a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor and nickel hydride battery, producing a total combined output of 122 horsepower and 142 Nm of torque, mated to an E-CVT. A naturally-aspirated 1.8-liter Inline 4-cylinder non-hybrid powertrain also remains available with 140 hp and 177 Nm.
It also still gets a full suite of advanced driver-assistance safety technology dubbed as Toyota Safety Sense (TSS), as well as the addition of a tire pressure monitoring system.
There is no news yet on when Toyota Motor Philippines plans to introduced the updated Corolla Cross. Given its popularity though, it should not take too long.
