The Corolla lineup is one of the already established lineups that Toyota has. The lineup is well-known for its value and reliability. Interestingly, Toyota releases a brand-new 2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid as part of the current lineup instead of making a new lineup of hybrids. Will the Corolla Hybrid take on the Corolla’s value and reliability? Will it come with a lack of refinement, styling, and performance as the current lineup does? Find out the answer below.
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid Interior
The interior is well-designed with a nice cabin, soft-touch materials as well as plastics. It has five seats with cloth upholstery. Unfortunately, cloth upholstery is the only option available as there is no seating upgrade available. The headroom and legroom are decent for a compact car but tall passengers might feel the rear seating a bit cramped.
To accommodate children, the Corolla Hybrid comes equipped with a set of LATCH connections, which are used to secure the child seating. A tether-only connection is also available in the middle of the rear seating.
The cargo space of the Corolla Hybrid is also decent. The compact car has around 13 cubic-foot storage trunk available. This cargo space is more or less the same as the regular Corolla but is far behind many of its rivals.
Performance
Next is the performance. What engine powers the Corolla Hybrid? There is only one engine available for the hybrid compact car. And that engine is a 1.8-liter, inline-four engine. This engine is combined with two electric motors. Together, this combination delivers up to 121 horsepower. As for the transmission, the engine plus motors are paired with an electronically-controlled automatic CVT.
For daily driving, the powertrain is capable enough. Accelerating on the highway, however, can be a bit struggle with this powertrain. The transitions between electric and petrol power are smooth although it might generate a loud sound when it accelerates.
In terms of driving, the Hybrid is akin to a non-hybrid car as it has reliable regenerative brakes that prevent the drive from feeling unnatural or grabby. It also has a gentle ride, thanks to its suspension which smooth road bumps.
The powertrain is decent for a hybrid compact car. But it is not the strongest selling point the Corolla Hybrid has. The selling point is its fuel efficiency. Indeed, according to EPA, the Hybrid has a fuel economy of 52 mpg for highway and 53 mpg for city. Are these numbers high? Very. Even by hybrid vehicles standards, these numbers are impressive.
Features
The 2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid comes with myriads of features. The features included are keyless entry, keyless ignition, LED headlights, 15-inch alloy wheels, heated mirrors, selectable drive modes, automatic climate control, adjustable front seats, an 8.0-inch touchscreen display, Bluetooth, a virtual instrument panel, Apple CarPlay, two USB ports and an audio system with six speakers, among others.
Safety
In terms of safety, the Corolla Hybrid does have lots of safety features. First and foremost, it has the Safety Sense 2.0 suite, which includes traffic sign recognition, lane-keeping assist, lane-departure warning, cyclist and pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, a rearview camera, road edge detection, and pre-collision warning.
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid Price
The price of the Corolla Hybrid is around $23,100. Unfortunately, there is only a single trim available for the Corolla Hybrid: the LE trim. There is only a single trim, a single price, and no additional feature or package available. This is both bad and good news. The bad news is it isn’t as customizable as other models. The good news is you can have everything the lineup has to offer in a single purchase.
Closing
Apparently, the brand new 2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid carries on what the established Corolla lineup has been known for. It has solid value and is reliable. While it is not impressive in terms of refinement, styling, and performance, it is much better in these aspects compared to the previous generation Corolla. Not to mention it does have amazing fuel economy and efficiency as well. These alone are what make the brand-new Hybrid among the best hybrid cars right now.
Overall, the Corolla Hybrid is a solid option if you are looking for a hybrid car with excellent fuel economy. With only a single trim and a single price available, you get what the lineup has to offer with a single purchase.
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid Redesign & Changes Pictures
