Toyota Corolla Review & Prices

It’s a name badge that feels as old as time itself, but the latest generation Toyota Corolla is one of the most modern family hatchbacks you can buy. It comes with highly efficient hybrid engines, sharp styling and it even manages to be fun on a country lane - though it’s tight in the back, and the engines are a bit noisy.

It’s like one of those Eastpak backpacks, because it looks good and it’s perfectly usable day-to-day, but alternatives are more spacious and cheaper to buy, namely the Honda Civic and Volkswagen Golf - both highly capable examples of the breed. For a more chic alternative, look at the Peugeot 308, while the Skoda Octavia offers far more interior space at a lower price.

The Corolla is one of the best looking family hatchbacks, because where previous generations were a bit dowdy and plain, the newest model has a mix of aggressive headlights and creases alongside big, curvaceous wheel arches. It looks far sportier than any hybrid hatchback has any right to, really.

Inside, however, it’s a little boring. Get behind the wheel and you’re cocooned by charcoal plastics, with a plain dashboard broken up only by some softer materials and bright air vent trims. Interior quality is very high, with only a handful of hard plastics on the dashboard and door cards and a rock-solid feel otherwise.

The 10.5-inch, standard-fit infotainment system has crisp graphics and it’s easy to navigate, but it’s not the quickest setup out there and the driver assist menus are buried a bit too deeply in the menus.

You won’t struggle to find a good driving position in the Corolla, because the seats are firm but comfortable and supportive - especially in top-rung Excel trim models which have a pair of delightful sports seats up front. Rear seat space is lacking though, tight on both legroom and headroom compared to alternatives. The 361-litre boot lags behind others, too.

You can choose from a 1.8- or 2.0-litre hybrid engine, both of which are plenty peppy enough thanks to their electric motors - and highly efficient. The CVT automatic transmissions means they tend to drone when getting up to speed, though.

Get it on the road and the Corolla really impresses, as it’s a fantastic hatchback to drive - no matter the road. In town it does a great job of soaking up bad road surfaces and speedbumps, ironing them out as you drive along.

Put your foot down when merging on the motorway and the Corolla becomes a bit too vocal, but things quieten down once you’re at speed thanks to a well-insulated cabin. There’s minimal wind or road noise on the move, while on a country lane the Toyota is genuinely good fun to chuck into corners with little body lean and feelsome steering.

Fancy this economical, fun to drive hatchback? Check out the latest Toyota Corolla deals on Carwow, or Corolla lease deals instead. There are plenty of used Corollas to choose from - or other used Toyotas - available through our trusted dealer network. Carwow can even help you sell your car when the time comes.

The Corolla in Icon trim may appear pricey compared to an equivalent, entry-level Volkswagen Golf or Vauxhall Astra, but take into account its hybrid system and automatic transmission (the other two are manual, petrol cars) and it suddenly looks like better value.

It also comes as standard with autonomous driving aids, heated seats and a reversing camera - which are optional on its aforementioned alternatives. Design models and above look far posher, with intricate LED lights and fancier alloys.

GR Sport cars get sporty red interior trim details, but you’ll need the top-spec Excel model for the biggest, boldest alloys and a pair of fabulous leather bucket seats up front - with posh, metal trims in the headrests.

The Toyota Corolla is easy and economical to drive in town, relaxing on the motorway and fun in corners, if only the CVT gearbox didn’t drone when accelerating

In town

The Toyota does most of its town driving on pure electric power which makes it quiet and very relaxing, the engine only engaging when you need a sudden burst of speed or if the battery’s getting low on charge. You might find Toyota's regenerative brakes a little bit grabby but in all other respects, the hybrid system works well. 

To complement the car’s relaxing hybrid power, you get suspension that is unfazed by bumps and surface changes, a tight turning circle and an automatic gearbox that is responsive, but also smooth. 

The Toyota’s auto doesn’t jerk at low speeds like a Volkswagen Golf’s gearbox, so it’s easy to manoeuvre the Corolla smoothly, although you will have to deal with some hefty front and rear blind spots when you’re squeezing into a parking space. It’s not helped by the grainy display of the reversing camera – a Golf’s camera looks a million times better. 

All but basic Icon versions of the Corolla also get automatic parking that can select a suitable space and reverse the car in and back out of it automatically, controlling the steering while you operate the accelerator and brake. 

On the motorway

The Corolla’s firm seats are comfortable on a long drive and there’s not much wind or road noise to upset you. Having said that, the Toyota’s CVT gearbox holds the engine’s revs steady when you’re accelerating which causes a constant drone until you drop back into a cruise. 

You’ll forgive it, though, because the Toyota comes with a range of autonomous driving aids that mean it can accelerate, brake and steer itself on the motorway so long as you keep your hands on the steering wheel. It takes the edge off long journeys. 

On a twisty road

The Toyota’s biggest surprise – especially if you’ve ever driven the stodgy Auris that it replaced – is that it’s good to drive on country roads. It steers sharply, stays flat and grips well in corners. It’s not quite as much fun as the Ford Focus, but if you enjoy driving, you can enjoy driving the Toyota Corolla.

The Toyota Corolla has a great driving position, but other cars this size have more rear-seat space and bigger boots

You get plenty of adjustment for your driver’s seat in the Toyota – it adjusts for height, has electrical lumbar adjustment and slides far back on its runners. Plus the backrests are moved forwards and backwards by pulling a lever which is less tricky to operate than the knob you get in some alternatives. The steering wheel also adjusts for height and reach.

GR Sport versions of the Corolla get more supportive front seats, while top-of-the-range Excel models get a leather interior. 

In terms of storage, you get two cup holders in the centre console, small storage space under the front-centre armrest with a 12V socket and front door bins that’ll just about fit a big bottle of water. Having said that, the mobile phone tray on the centre console is only big enough for small phones. 

Space in the back seats

The Toyota Corolla isn’t your best option if you’re looking for a family car with a great back seat. For a kickoff, its back doors don’t open very wide so access is restricted and once you get sat in the back, you’ll find there’s noticeably less knee room than in a Skoda Octavia or a Volkswagen Golf. It also feels a little dark in the back thanks to the small rear windows and the Toyota’s black plastic trims. 

Need to carry three people at once? Well, there will be space for everyone's feet but while the middle seat itself is quite comfortable, there’s not much space for your hips if you’re wedged between two others. The outer passengers will also find their heads being rammed into the roof.

What do you get in the way of handy features? Not much. There’s no rear seat air vent, no charging sockets and no proper door bins, although there are a couple of cupholders moulded into the backseat centre armrest and you get pockets on the backs of the front seats.

Fitting a child seat? Well, those small doors make it hard to manoeuvre into position, although it’s easy to line the seat up with the Toyota’s ISOFIX points.

Boot space

The Toyota Corolla’s 361-litre boot is smaller than in cars like the Volkswagen Golf (381 litres), Honda Civic (404 litres) and Skoda Octavia (600 litres), plus it’s not that well designed with a large load lip and a bumper that gets in your way when you’re lifting luggage. 

The load-lip issues can be solved by specifying a space wheel, which then raises the floor so it is in line with the boot’s opening – without it, you get a huge ridge in the floor with the back seats folded away. That’s a shame because in this format the Corolla can carry an adult bike with both its wheels attached or a surprising number of boxes. 

In terms of features, the Toyota has hooks for shopping bags and tie-down hooks for luggage.

The Toyota Corolla’s interior feels posh for the most part but is a tad less intuitive to use than some alternatives and the infotainment is laggy

The Toyota Corolla has a smart interior to match its interesting exterior. Quality is pretty good, most of the interior plastics are soft and squidgy and areas of the cabin like the centre console feel very solid. The steering wheel is leather-trimmed and the stalks behind it are nicely damped, the ventilation system’s knobs have a nice action, and you get flashes of chrome and contrast stitching depending on the model.

It’s not perfect, though, there’s a hard patch of plastic between the steering wheel and your door and the front centre armrest is a hard-and-unyielding contrast to the padded door armrest. 

The Toyota’s layout isn’t as intuitive as a Volkswagen Golf either. You get driving controls on the centre console, but also in a row of buttons by the steering wheel. The headlight controls are also split between this row of buttons and a stalk behind the steering wheel. 

Something else you’ll not be keen on is the low resolution of the Toyota Corolla’s display, although at least it is colourful. The system’s menus are laid out clearly and the banks of shortcut buttons on either side of the display make it easy to bounce between submenus.

What’s not so easy is using the touchscreen. It’s not very responsive, with noticeable lag between making gesture commands and anything happening – even route calculation takes longer than you would expect. The voice activation system also has limited functionality and can’t understand colloquial speech like the system in the Volkswagen Golf.

On the upside, Apple Carplay and Android Auto are now fitted as standard so you can use your phone’s excellent voice activation system on the car’s big screen. 

The Corolla also gets a digital instrument binnacle as standard which is clear and easy to read but doesn’t have the extensive list of functions you get with the system fitted to the Volkswagen Golf.

The Toyota Corolla is available with two petrol-electric hybrid engines.The basic motor is a 1.8-litre four-cylinder producing 140 to get you from 0-62mph in 9.1 seconds. It’ll return an official fuel economy figure of more than 64mpg (which we managed to achieve with gentle driving) and CO2 emissions of bang on 100g/km.

Want more performance? Then you’ll need the 2.0-litre four-cylinder which produces 178hp to get you from 0-62mph in a more spritely 7.4 seconds. Fuel economy of around 60mpg and 105g/km of CO2 place the bigger engine model in almost as low a road tax band as the entry-level version.

You’ll struggle to option-out a Corolla to the point where it crosses over the luxury car tax threshold, even if you play it fast and loose with the accessories. Company car drivers are better off looking at an electric car or plug-in hybrid alternative, for the lowest Benefit-in-Kind duty.

The Toyota Corolla scored five stars for safety when it was crash-tested by Euro NCAP in 2019, with a remarkable 95% score for adult occupant safety. It’s worth noting that the test became stricter in 2022 to take into account driver assistance software, but the Corolla is very well equipped in that regard.

It comes as standard with automatic emergency brakes that detect pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles, lane assist which steers the car in lane and speed assist that can detect speed limits and ensure your Corolla abides by them. All models also come with an alarm that includes a motion and glass-break sensor and an anti-tamper alarm.

Toyota came 14th out of 31 brands in the 2025 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, which is a middling result - not fitting of Toyota’s reputation for reliability.

That being said, all Corollas come with a three-year warranty that extends up to 10 years/100,000 miles so long as your car is serviced annually at an approved dealer - which stands out against its alternatives, even Kia and Hyundai.