The Toyota Prius has been Toyota’s best selling hybrid model since it was introduced in 1997 but does its destroyer wear the badge name Corolla?
The Toyota Prius has slowly gotten a bad rep in the wild for hogging left lanes, changing lanes without signaling, and overall using its hybrid capabilities to snipe others in traffic because they can. Prius drivers love the Prius but everyone else loathes them. But, what if I told you, you can get all the mpgs of a Prius but in something as unassuming as a Toyota Corolla? Well, now you can as per Toyota in an official press release they dropped earlier today (Nov. 28, 2018) the Toyota Corolla now comes with the same exact hybrid drivetrain as in the Prius.
Electrifying design meets electrified power in first-ever #Corolla #Hybrid https://t.co/0duUIP0duw pic.twitter.com/psjlvrFSAQ
— Toyota USA (@Toyota) November 28, 2018
The 2ZR-FXE has been doing work underneath the hoods of various Toyota applications since 2010 when its sibling, the Toyota Auris, got the same hybrid powertrain. Tuned specifically to be as efficient as possible the 2ZR-FXE was a natural fit for anything utilizing Toyota new TNGA platform, which now underpins the Toyota Corolla. Total combined power is 121 HP, just like the Prius.
The Toyota Prius benefits from wind-cheating aerodynamics, something that the Toyota Corolla wasn’t exactly designed for from the get-go. It is, after all, just a compact sedan. So, to further assist the Corolla, there are specific Corolla Hybrid features not found on the regular Corolla.
First, it’ll be easy to spot Corolla hybrids from a side profile because they’ll be sporting fuel-sipping spec tires on a 15-inch wheel. In layman’s terms, they’ll have a large sidewall which should bode well for passenger comfort but not so much for sporty driving.
Additionally, Toyota swapped the instrument panel for one that assists the driver into driving as economically as possible. What you find in the Prius, you’ll probably find in the Corolla.
And if you’re worried no one will know you’re saving the planet of deadly CO2, Toyota has smartly put on hybrid badges on the trunk and fenders. Also, the Toyota badges front and rear have a blue border, differentiating Hybrid Corollas from non-hybrid Corollas.
I’m liking the Corolla Hybrid a lot, truly a car for all seasons and is exactly what a small family, couple, or commuter might need, something that can seat five with fuel sipping credentials AKA the pinnacle of Toyota.
Well done, Toyota.
Source: Toyota
