Look At What They Did To The Poor Toyota Corolla – Gizmodo Australia

While were all busy twiddling our thumbs waiting for that GR-turned Corolla hot hatch to show up, we will instead reportedly be served a different mutation of the car with the all-new 2021 Toyota Corolla Cross.
Yeah, Toyota turned the Corolla into a crossover, insomuch that they took a name that sells and put it on something shaped like a best-seller in a different segment.
Its only available in Thailand, for now, but Autoblog reports its destined for the U.S. market at some point as well. It was previously rumoured to be assembled in the new Toyota-Mazda factory in Mexico.
The Corolla Cross itself is in fact essentially just a CH-R. Its one inch wider, two inches taller, three inches longer, but rides on the same TNGA-C platform. Its technically the same basic platform architecture under the current Corolla, Prius, and Lexus UX as well. Plenty of other names out there. Corolla Cross sounds like a weird skin worm.
Thailand gets four trims, with a base Sport model with a 1.8-litre four-cylinder with 140 horsepower and 59 kg-ft of torque hooked up to a CVT. The Hybrid Smart, Hybrid Premium, and Hybrid Premium Safety trims pair a 72 HP and 54 kg-ft of torque electric motor with a 1.8-litre four-cylinder tuned to 98 HP and 48 kg-ft of torque. Theyre all front-wheel drive.
Pretty safe bet wed also hopefully get a more powerful drivetrain in the U.S., but the CH-Rs 144-HP 2.0-litre four-cylinder already makes as much power as Thailands Corolla Cross Sport. Maybe we thats all well get, and perhaps thats all a car like this needs!
But I dont get it. Im pretty sure people will buy it because its a Toyota that competes with the new Kia Seltos, Mazda CX-30, Honda HR-V, and is perhaps the sober sibling to Toyotas own more-flamboyantly styled CH-R. Name be damned. Crossolla was right there, though. Corollover. Maybe not that one.

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