2024 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Review: Affordable SUV Faces Unexpected Kryptonite

For so many people, hybrid cars just make more sense. A toe-dip into electrification, they don't upend the familiar gas station experience or demand a home charger be installed; nor is there a change in how you actually drive, just an uptick in overall economy. Little surprise, then, that next in line to get the mild-hybrid treatment in Toyota's line-up is the 2024 Corolla Cross Hybrid.

Taking the standard, gas-only Corolla Cross as its basis, the hybrid version adds a trio of electric motors and around $4,400 to the starting price. It also gives it a slight makeover, particularly at the front where the Corolla Cross' fairly anodyne grille is replaced by a more distinctive fascia. The end result — especially in this $500 two-tone Acidic Blast finish — still isn't going to win design contests, but at least it looks somewhat less like a generic, brand-less SUV from a car insurance commercial.

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Pricing kicks off from $28,220 (plus $1,350 destination) for the S trim, with 17-inch alloy wheels and eight inches of ground clearance. Nobody is going to confuse the Corolla Cross Hybrid for a true off-roader, no, but 1,500 pounds of tow capacity is not bad at all for a subcompact SUV. The biggest question is whether you're making unnecessary sacrifices in the chase for crossover fashion.

As with the latest Prius we reviewed last year, the Corolla Cross Hybrid uses Toyota's fifth-generation hybrid system, though here all-wheel drive is standard. The crossover pairs a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gas engine with three electric motors spread across the front and the rear axles, along with a small lithium-ion battery and a continuously variable transmission (CVT). In total you get 196 horsepower to play with, which Toyota says is sufficient for an 8.0 second 0-60 mph time.

That's faster than the gas-only Corolla Cross, though still far from rivaling even a fairly tame sports car. In practice, though, the advantages of electrifying a car — even mildly, as has been the strategy here — make a bigger overall impact on driving feel than you might expect. With the electric motors possessing a healthy 152 lb-ft of torque, and all that arriving from the get-go, the crossover zips ahead from a standing start with an eagerness that belies the on-paper figures.

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When the gas engine kicks in — which will happen regardless of whether you've hit the EV Mode button or not, since the electric-only range is tiny and speed-dependent — the transition in power sources is smooth. Switch to Sport mode and the throttle mapping is more eager (Eco mode, in contrast, deadens things to the point of dreary).

Toyota likes to play up the sporting aspirations of the Corolla Cross Hybrid, pointing to its "sport-tuned" coil-spring suspension and stabilizer bar. Compared to the regular, gas-only Corolla Cross it's certainly more spritely. Just prepare yourself for a wake-up call when you reach the first corner.

It's not that it's bad, just bland. Nothing about the Corolla Cross Hybrid inspires enthusiastic driving, from the light heft in the steering, through to the way the crossover corners sedately and with obvious body roll that'll soon have you slowing a little more preemptively.

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Frankly, I suspect none of this would particularly matter to most prospective buyers, had Toyota not decided to bill the Corolla Cross Hybrid as more fun than it manages to be. There's no reason, after all, that this particular crossover needs to also be a sporty little number: the most important digits are its economy figures, after all.

Toyota and the EPA say the 2024 Corolla Cross Hybrid can achieve 45 mpg in the city, 38 mpg on the highway, and 42 mpg combined. That's 12 mpg better than the combined economy number for the gas-only Corolla Cross. My own, mixed driving clocked in just above 36 mpg.

My biggest issue with Toyota's gas-electric drivetrain remains its soundtrack. The EV half is quiet and surreptitious, with a soft and vaguely futuristic whine from the electric motors. Then the gas engine kicks in and spoils things completely.

It's not just that the 2.0-liter inline-four is loud — though it is — but that the noises it makes are rough and faintly agricultural. It was the same in the new Prius, but (anecdotally, at least) the Corolla Cross Hybrid seemed to rouse the combustion half of its drivetrain more frequently in my driving. Factor in how disconnected the engine speed is from how you're actually driving — since it's often being used more as a generator for the electric propulsion, versus directly turning the car's wheels — and you get a singularly ear-gnawing experience.

With the regular Prius, the fix is to spend a little more to step up to the excellent Prius Prime: the plug-in hybrid hides its gas engine's growls far more effectively than the mild hybrid manages. Sadly Toyota hasn't seen fit to make a "Corolla Cross Prime" PHEV yet, and the also-praiseworthy RAV4 Prime is considerably more expensive.

The base Corolla Cross Hybrid S trim is both cheap and reasonably equipped, though won't be mistaken for lavish. It gets single-zone automatic climate control, manual front seat adjustment, a pair of USB-C ports, an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen, and analog driver gauges around a dinky 4.2-inch color screen. Step up to this top-trim XSE — from $31,155 plus destination — and things get nicer: there's a fully digital cluster (albeit with a relatively small 7-inch screen), two more USB-C ports, wireless phone charging, dual-zone climate control, and heated front seats with power-adjust for the driver.

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Not bad at all, but spend any time in a modern Prius and you might start to feel like the Corolla Cross Hybrid has been relegated to an older parts bin. The Prius gets a compact little electronic shifter; the Corolla Cross Hybrid has a clunky, old-school stick. The heated seat controls are big, clicky switches. Hard plastics with elephant rump texturing abounds, mixed with smudge-showing glossy black.

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It works — and Toyota's newest infotainment system, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, is a massive step up from its old software — but it just doesn't feel as fresh or as special as many rivals do. Buick's Envista is cheaper (and neither a hybrid nor AWD), but its cabin feels modern and distinct, with big dashboard displays as standard. Mazda's CX-30 also lacks electrification, but its touchpoints are positively premium compared to Toyota's.

Space in the front seats is ample, and Toyota's faux-leather SofTex fabric is comfortable and feels sturdy. Even with the $1,250 Convenience Package's addition of a tilt & slide moonroof, there's no shortage of headroom. In the rear, though, legroom is on the tight side. The fix there, obviously, is to step up to a RAV4.

The Convenience Package also includes a power tailgate, to access the Corolla Cross Hybrid's 21.5 cu-ft of trunk space. That expands to 61.8 cu-ft with the rear bench folded. It means the Toyota bests the Mazda CX-30 but falls short of the larger and aggressively-priced Chevrolet Trax for seats-up cargo space, though overtakes the Chevy with them down. Weirdly, it also means that some Prius trims beat the crossover: the hatchback has 20.3 to 23.8 cu-ft depending on which version you pick.

Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 is standard on all 2024 Corolla Cross Hybrid trims, complete with adaptive cruise control, pre-collision assistance with pedestrian detection, lane departure warnings with steering assistance, lane tracing assist, road sign assist, and auto high-beams. All but the base trim get blind spot warnings with rear cross-traffic alerts. The XSE has front and rear parking sensors, with automatic braking for obstacles.

On the one hand, the 2024 Corolla Cross Hybrid makes perfect sense. The crossover form factor and flexibility of the regular, gas-only Corolla Cross, but blended with Toyota's frugal gas-electric drivetrain. Factor in standard all-wheel drive and a fulsome ADAS package, and the fact that the SE trim — which strikes a solid balance between pricing and equipment levels — is under $30k (albeit before destination) and you have a recipe for affordable success.

Ironic, then, that it's the Prius that undermines the Corolla Cross Hybrid so convincingly. About the same price but more frugal still, the biggest surprise is that the 2024 Prius has more leg, shoulder, and hip space in both rows, compared to its crossover cousin. Only in headroom does the taller car claw back an advantage, and even then the difference is primarily in the rear.

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I get it: Crossovers and SUVs are more in demand than hatchbacks and sedans these days. Plus, back when the Prius looked like a deep sea creature unwillingly yanked from the ocean and slapped on four wheels, I could understand aesthetics being the deciding factor. Today, though, the new Prius looks amazing — memorable and futuristic — plus it's more frugal and it drives better than the 2024 Corolla Cross Hybrid. At the end of the day, you pay your money and you make your choice, but just be fully aware of what you're giving up by chasing the more fashionable body style.