Video: 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Review: Less Slow, Still Steady

. Toyota says this is the sporty Corolla Cross SUV, and we're here in southern California to put that to the test. So, let's get behind the wheel and check it out. So, welcome inside the 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid. This is the XSE trim; it's the highest of the three. It's S, SE, and XSE. The XSE gets 18 inch wheels, some optional two-tone paint, couple other little comfort and convenience features. Starting price is a little over $31,000 before you add in destination. This one with all its options; things like the moon roof, power lift gate, things like that; stickers for about $35,000. We'll have to check to see if that's before destination or not. But either way, that's a nice little chunk of change. You also get a Corolla Cross that, unlike the gas-only version that one of our editors called dog-slow, and I should say called it that fairly, you get one that isn't. I wouldn't call this quick by any means, and it's weird to drive after I've driven the Prius Prime also today, and find that it is slower than something with the name Prius in it. But, you know, this is fairly competent SUV that now has sort of the power to back up the handling and ride quality that we praised in the gas-only version. Steering isn't super communicative. It's not, you know, anything I'd write home about, but it's nicely balanced; fairly light, but decent amount of road feel, decent directness. Ride and handling feels great for a subcompact SUV. The Corolla Cross Hybrid has a quote unquote "sport tuned" suspension. And, you know, I'm not really feeling that difference that sometimes you get with sportier suspensions where it's just stiffer, bumps are harsher. There's still a fair amount of body roll; usually, that can be controlled a little better with sport tuned suspensions, but you pay the price for it in firmness. Here, this is still just nice, easy, well controlled, good overall. Big fan of the driving experience within the context of something of this size. Again, Toyota's calling this the sporty version; I don't think it's that sporty, but I'm still fairly impressed with how well it is driving. We're on the larger 18 inch wheels of the Corolla Cross Hybrid and it's, I wouldn't say, the smoothest ride I've ever had, but it's not really getting upset by these large bumps. I'm not feeling, you know, aggressive amounts of vibration come through the cabin. I think part of that might also be just a little bit of extra heft of this hybrid powertrain and standard all-wheel drive. You can get all-wheel drive on any trim of the gas-only Corolla Cross, but on the hybrid it is standard. Overall, very nice to drive. I will say the brakes are not the best. We thought they were great in the gas version; here, it has some of that Toyota hybrid mushiness leaking back into it, so it's not super linear. You press and press and press, and then you finally get to the bite point. And, you know, over time you'd figure that out if you were driving this every day, you know, where do I press to actually get that stopping force? But for, you know, the first little bit of driving; or in my case, the first 30 minutes; stops were a bit abrupt. My passenger was probably not thrilled with how this car stopped. But otherwise, you're not getting a lot that's different from the Corolla Cross in its gas-only guise. You do get unique front and rear styling, some black badging. That two-tone paint job I mentioned is available - that's a nice little touch. Our car is Acidic Blast, or as you might call it, yellow. But it's growing on me. I don't know that I would choose to look at this every day, but I also don't know that I would be upset looking at it every day. Space is fine. I've got a decent amount of leg room up here in the driver's seat. I do have my knee hitting a little bit of a protrusion right below the center console controls, which isn't ideal, but that might just be me and my seating position. So, you know, if you're considering this one, definitely sit in it, definitely adjust your seat to where you're gonna be and see if you're gonna be uncomfortable driving it for long stretches of time. But otherwise, I would say at $35,000, $36,000, I'm starting to feel a little disappointed in cabin materials. It's all nicely styled but it's basically just textured black vinyl and plastic. The steering wheel is leather wrapped, which is a nice bit. But for the most part, you're looking at, you know, some padding but not necessarily some nice materials. So, power for the Corolla Cross Hybrid is 196 system horsepower. That's up fairly significantly from the Corolla Cross gas-only version at 169 horsepower. Fuel economy, as a hybrid, also significantly better. So, you're looking at 42 combined MPG regardless of trim level. So, even with these larger 18 inch wheels over the standard 17s, you're still looking at an EPA rating of 42 miles per gallon combined. Now, whether you achieve that or not is entirely up to your driving style, whole bunch of other factors, but there's no penalty in mileage right off the bat by getting the XSE. That's up from the all-wheel drive Corolla Cross, which was still respectable at 30 miles per gallon. The best you could do in any Corolla Cross was 32 miles per gallon but that was a front wheel drive version. The Corolla Cross filled a big gap in Toyota's SUV lineup, and now the Corolla Cross Hybrid is filling a smaller gap but one that allows buyers to get good fuel economy, standard all-wheel drive, and actually adequate power, all for a fairly reasonable price without having to upsize in cost or size to something like the RAV4. Subcompact SUVs are really competitive right now, so it'll be interesting to see how the Corolla Cross, and especially the Corolla Cross Hybrid, competes. But I think it'll do pretty well. For more on the 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid and my full review, be sure to head to cars.com.