Not quite but the upgrades for the small price increase is easily worth it. Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – July 14, 2024 2024 AWD Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid The Nightshade trim arrived at $34,787 incl. $1,350 D&H. Built upon the 5th gen Prius’ second gen TNGA-C platform but with a slightly shorter wheelbase – 103.9 vs 108.2 inches, the 2024 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid offers a long list of the latest technology features for a price the average consumer can afford. That is if you are careful with the trim, options, and accessory list. Let us begin with the 2024 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid retail pricing and equipment. And more than likely, you will be paying at least MSRP given Toyota’s controlled dealer inventory. S ($28,220) and SE trim includes standard with 17” alloys, an 8-inch touchscreen, LED headlamps and smart key access SE ($29,540) adds privacy glass, roof rails, rear wiper, leather wrapped wheel, paddle shifters, Qi wireless charger, Safe Exit Assist (SEA), plus BSM and RCTA Nightshade ($30,465) adds fuel robbing 18” black alloys, black accented headlamps, tail lamps, badging, door handles and mirrors, rear lip spoiler, black roof, roof racks, wireless charging, HomeLink Rearview Mirror, and floormats XSE ($31,405) adds 18” alloys, LED head lamps, taillamps and fog lamps, Softex-trimmed seats incl. heated front seats, 10-way power driver’s seat, and a 7” digital gauge cluster D&H adds $1,350 to the retail pricing above. 2024 AWD Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Package Breakout SE can be equipped with a moonroof ($940) or moonroof + 9-speaker JBL Audio system pkg. ($1,740) The Nightshade can be equipped with the same packages as the SE The XSE can be equipped with a Convenience pkg incl. a powered moonroof and liftgate ($1,250) Convenience package with the powered moonroof, powered liftgate, and 9-speaker JBL system ($2,050) Convenience package with the powered moonroof, powered liftgate, 9-speaker JBL system, and adaptive headlamps ($2,665) $34,787 as driven. 2024 AWD Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Exterior A sharp looking compact CUV at a southern California, Pacific Coast sunset. Like any compact CUV, the Corolla Cross Hybrid includes lower black plastic cladding all-around. The grille is a RAV4 Hybrid knockoff with a little more elegance, and out back, the Nightshade’s Two-Tone body and roof plus rear spoiler looks even better than our own RAV4 HEV. 2024 AWD Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Interior Moving inside, the smallish 4.2” central digital driver display surrounded by an analog tach and Trip A/B reset pushbutton on the left, and an analog speedometer on the right. This is a direct carry over from the RAV4 XLE and looks not only out of place but extremely dated with competitors sporting hi-def all-digital displays including the one found on the XSE trim. A single aFCD is also a head scratcher as it costs nothing but a few lines of code and a Trip A, Trip B, Odometer, and Trip aFCD display are completely missing. The Toyota Audio system with Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and (4) USB-C charge ports on all trims outside the two on the S, worked as expected. In the 2023 MY Toyota’s, driving for short periods found Android Auto to work perfectly. However, once I purchased a 2023 Prius, after driving for a few hours, the Google Maps Audio directions would drop out at random and only a reboot of the car could bring them back. Rebooting the head unit would not fix that. Over the past 6-weeks and in all the 2024’s I have driven from Toyota or Lexus, that problem seems to have disappeared whether wired and wirelessly connected. It may have been yet another Google update to my Samsung Galaxy S22+ that cured that, or Toyota has finally introduced an OTA update that fixed the SW in the head unit. In any case, other than an occasional connection time out that occurs every few days and I still do not have an explanation for, Google Maps with Pandora and XM worked perfectly. As much as I drive, shutting down, starting up and not having to do anything with my phone to bring up Google Maps and my audio of choice just begins as if I had never got out of the vehicle. The Nightshades 9-speaker JBL system did not really add much over the base systems in the 2023 Prius LE, 2021 Prius Prime LE, and 2020 RAV4 XLE. Maybe a little volume addition and clarity but it was certainly not worth the $800 upgrade. Moving into the interiors actual use, a misstep and carryover from the RAV4 was the very small center console. It was too small to accommodate much beyond keys, wallet, and a few small items with the full-size shifter ahead of the side-by-side two cup holders. 2024 AWD Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Drivetrain This is where the Corolla Cross Hybrid buries most competitors. The heavily atkinsonized 2.0L I4 mated to the 5th gen Hybrid drivetrain is seamlessly quick with 196 total system output and propelling the 3,400 lb AWD compact CUV to 60 in just under 7.5 seconds. All the while providing an EPA of 45/38 mpgUS city/highway. That rating was more than likely provided for the SE with 17s and not the XSE/Nightshade with the 18” alloys that we drove. Despite having the 18s, the 38 mpgUS highway EPA was crossed at an excellent 70.75 mph. Below is the measurement(s) I collected to derive that EPA highway crossover speed. The 2024 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid in Nightshade trim was equipped with the fuel derisive 18" alloys and probably cost owners 1.5 to 2.5 mpg. In other words, DON’T! The calibration drive consisted of 233.0 actual miles traveled from initial top off at a Costco in Vista, CA to the final calibration top off at a Costco in Corona, CA. 2024 AWD Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Topped off with displays reset. 60.3 mpg over 233.0 miles indicated. The refuel came in two batches as the pump timed out when I snapped the pic of the Corolla Cross Hybrid at the Costco pumps. 2.838 + 1.090 gallons = 3.928 total gallons. And the odometer offset? It proved to be insignificant with 120.0 miles traveled vs 119.9 miles indicated. The .1 miles came from me walking around parking lots with my phone trying to get a nice shot of the Corolla Cross Hybrid in front of the San Bernardino Mountain Range. Nothing worthwhile was in the offing on this little drive but I did get one in front of the P-51 Redtails plane at the Proud Bird Restaurant just outside of LAX in Los Angeles. Trip A and aFCD reset for a short 120.0-mile odometer study... 233.0 actual miles/3.928 gal = 59.318 mpg actual vs 60.3 mpg indicated. The aFCD offset: 59.3/60.3 = 0.983 For the steady states, temps ranged from 60 to 62 degrees F with winds calm on the multiple NB and SB runs. From the calibration drive, the aFCD offset came in at 0.983 * aFCD. Only 4 of the 10 runs had a SOC difference from start to finish and I added or subtracted 2.0 mpg depending on if it was a 1 bar added or 1 bar subtracted. The speedometer was 1 mph faster than actual from 50 to 70 mph. Meaning 50 mph actual was 51 mph indicated on the speedometer, 55 mph actual was 56 mph indicated, 60 mph actual was 61 mph indicated, 65 mph actual was 66 mph indicated, and 70 mph was 71 mph indicated. CC however matched the actual but not the indicated. CC set at 70 mph, actual was 70 mph while indicated was 71 mph for example. Using straight line analysis, the EPA highway (38 mpgUS) crossover occurred at an excellent 70.75 mph. And this is while equipped with the optional and larger 225/55R18 from the XSE which probably knocked off at least 2.5 mpg from its results vs the std. S and SE equipped with the 215/65R17s. Good job Toyota. I completed a 75 mph back and forth run because someone asked, and it came in at 36.2 mpg actual including the offsets. All-in, if efficiency, reliability, and low total cost of ownership for a small AWD CUV were your three top considerations for vehicle choice and that CUV offered a very consistent mid 50s and to low 60 mpg result as it did me, you had better move it to the top of your short purchase list. AWD 2024 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Platform Like the rest of the Toyota CUV lineup, the Corolla Cross Hybrid incorporates a multi-link double-wishbone rear suspension and struts up front, both with stabilizer bars. The Corolla Cross Hybrid was touted to have a sport tuned suspension and while rocking it back and forth and side to side while topping it off for the measured initial and final refuel(s), it was much softer than the Prius and RAV4 Hybrid underpinnings. And I am thankful for that. The rough riding sport suspensions on CUVs add higher NVH to your daily travels and 99% of the driving public will never benefit from a less compliant “tuned” suspension. The passenger volume is a bit small at 88.4 cu. ft. (w/out moonroof) and 87.3 cu. ft. (with moonroof). For driver and front seat passengers, the roominess is just fine. Where that smallish 102.8” wheelbase comes to the forefront however is rear seat leg room. One of the few times I blow a front and rear seating pic occurred here. I snapped the front and rear seat 10-sec delay pics about 1 ft to the left of where I should have been so you cannot see that my knees were pressed into the back of the front seat by ~ 2”. It is to tight back there for a taler driver considering rear seat passengers of any size. Where the Corolla Cross Hybrid really shines however is its cargo volume. It is rated at 21.3 cu. ft. of cargo volume with the rear seats up and a very healthy 61.8 cu. ft. with them down. With its 28” height, 38.5” width at the rear hatch, and 62” depth, an honest to goodness 40.4 cu. ft. of useable volume – a rectangular box of those dimensions, can actually fit inside that rear hatch is indeed a very desirable feature. 2024 AWD Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Safety Because the base trim S does not include the BSM, RCTA, and Safe Exit Assist (SEA), I would forgo that trim altogether. To receive those three safety additions, the extra $1,320 for the SE trim also adds privacy glass, roof rails, a rear wiper, a leather wrapped wheel, paddle shifters, and a Qi wireless charger. The roof rails and paddle shifters are completely superfluous for most future owners, but Toyota drew the line and there is no changing it. Buy the SE instead of the S if the Corolla Cross Hybrid is on your own short list plain and simple. And like all recently released Toyota’s, the Corolla Cross Hybrid arrives with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0. Toyota’s TNGA-C platform and Safety Sense 3.0 for the 2024 Toyota Corolla Cross as linked provides first order driver and passenger safety with an IIHS Top Safety Pick. It missed the Plus rating with an Average vs Good score on the Moderate overlap front and updated Side Collison test. TSS 3.0 includes the following and is standard across all trims: Pre-Collision with Motorcyclist, Bicyclist, and Pedestrian Detection Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist Dynamic Radar Cruise Control Lane Tracing Assist Road Sign Assist Automatic High Beams So what does the 2024 AWD Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid have to do with a 2012 Toyota Prius V? 2012 Toyota Prius V Despite the diminutive 134 hp total output and 0 to 60 time of 10.5 sec., it was one of the most efficient people and cargo haulers ever built. Considering the Press drive of the 2012 Prius V, one insider story really stuck with me. Some 12-years later, the cargo volume and platform design is just as pertinent as it was back then. Does this sound familiar? The largest box you could load into the Prius V is 33" width - the top of the hatch opening is where the limiting dimension was, 29.5" height, and 77" length (within the cargo area to the back of the front seats with the rear seats down and ability to close the hatch). It is not a cargo delivery van but it was darn close! 2012 Toyota Prius V Cargo Volume measurements The maximum size rectangular box that could fit in a Prius V was 42.5 cu. ft. Compare that to the 40.4 cu. ft. of cargo volume the 2024 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid offers. My knees were easily 2+ inches from the back of the rear seats thanks to its massive for the day, 109.4" wheelbase. Another feature of the Prius v that did not make it to the Corolla Cross was the sliding fore and aft rear seats adjustment and the recline feature. Boy, if the Corolla Cross Hybrid just used the 2023/2024 Prius’ 108.3” wheelbase as its platform, it would have room to spare. Of course, it would be a RAV4 Hybrid if they did. Another comparison to consider was the 2012 Prius V’s pricing. The prices listed below incl. the 2012, $760 D&H charge. Prius-V Two - $27,310 Prius-V Three - $28,075 Prius-V Five - $30,900 The 2024 AWD Corolla Cross Hybrid retail prices incl. the $1,350 D&H charge for comparison are listed below: S - $29,570 SE - $30,890 Nightshade - $31,815 XSE - $32,755 Even the AWD Corolla Cross Hybrid with the fuel robbing 18s compares well to the Prius V Speed vs FE highway efficiency years later. For an average of just $2,500 more, you can purchase a 12-year newer, much safer, more modern, better equipped, much higher performing, and more efficient AWD CUV with similar cargo volume. Using an inflation calculator, the Prius V-3 would cost just over $38,900 today. The Corolla Cross Hybrid in SE trim in this comparison costs just $30,890. Yeah, l like that a lot. 2024 AWD Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Conclusions The short wheelbase limits the vehicle for adult rear passenger use. Adults can fit but it will not be comfortable by any stretch. Where it would shine however is a younger couple with or without young children. Baby Boomers or Gen X’ers with children who have already moved out would also find the Corolla Cross Hybrid a great addition to their drives. Or anyone that needs the cargo volume of small crossover but still want the efficiency of a Prius. Well almost that efficiency anyway. 2024 AWD Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid in Nightshade Trim If only I could purchase one without the all-electric RWD system, roof racks, and Paddle shifters for $3k off the SE’s retail, it would reach my drive too.
