2022 Toyota Corolla Sedan, Hatchback Earn Top IIHS Award


The Toyota Corolla’s reputation as a practical, efficient and reliable car helps it remain one of the automaker’s top sellers even as new SUVs and pickup trucks take center stage. Now, the 2022 Corolla sedan and hatchback should appeal even more to the pragmatic shopper: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has awarded both models its highest Top Safety Pick Plus designation.
Related: Toyota Corolla: Which Should You Buy, 2021 or 2022?
In order to nab an IIHS Top Safety Pick, the Corolla and Corolla Hatchback had to earn a score of good in six crashworthiness tests: driver-side small overlap, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength, and head restraint and seat tests. Award status also requires an available front crash prevention system with an advanced or superior rating in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluation. The system comes standard as part of the Toyota Safety Sense suite and earns a superior rating for both body styles.
The availability of good- or acceptable-rated headlights is another box a Top Safety Pick vehicle must check, and for the Top Safety Pick Plus designation, it must offer these headlights across all trims. The Corolla offers two LED headlight systems (one curve-adaptive) and both earn acceptable ratings. This is a recent improvement, however; only Corollas built after November 2021 qualify for the Top Safety Pick Plus award, as that’s when Toyota upgraded its marginal-rated non-curve-adaptive system.

Other key safety and driver-assist features on the 2022 Corolla include adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and road sign assist. In 2021, Toyota added a blind spot monitoring system with rear cross-traffic alert as standard for the range-topping XSE trims and available on lower trim levels.
The 2022 Corolla sedan and hatch join Toyota’s IIHS award winners, which include Top Safety Pick Plus honorees the Camry, Highlander and Sienna, plus Top Safety Picks the Avalon, C-HR and Venza. The gas-only Corolla sedan starts at $21,200 (all prices include destination); the Corolla Hatchback with the standard six-speed manual transmission starts at $21,940; and the Corolla Hybrid sedan starts at $24,775.
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