The Toyota Corolla Cross stands out with quality build, family appeal, and wallet-friendly value — plus it’s a breeze to drive.
I have always been a bit of a cynic when it comes to NEVs… for those not up to date with the latest marketing buzzwords, these are New Energy Vehicles, ranging from pure electric to those with hybrid propulsion systems combining internal combustion engines with electric motors and batteries.
When the first NEV, Toyota’s Prius hybrid, hit the market, I was underwhelmed.
I wrote back then that, if you really wanted to save the planet by reducing your carbon footprint, you’d do more by taking the then R400 000 cost of the Prius and buying thousands of tree saplings with the money.
Those trees would be pretty tall now and would be doing a good job of removing CO2 from the atmosphere and converting it into lovely, free oxygen.
I believed then, and I still do (to an extent), that NEVs are more about marketing than science. At the same time, I do not dismiss the dangers of climate change.
The highest global population of Priuses at one stage was in and around Los Angeles, where all the Hollywood A-listers liked to be seen in one in public to burnish their “green” credentials. (Never mind there was also a gas-guzzling supercar or Ford F-150 truck also in that Beverly Hills garage…)
Yet the NEV game has moved on to where the newest hybrids make extremely appealing family cars, because when they are used in their most frequent role, in the city, they can save piles of cash.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in Toyota’s Corolla Cross Hybrid, the country’s best-selling NEV.
Driving it in an urban setting for a week, I saw an amazing fuel consumption of 4.8 litres per 100km. That’s not far off Toyota’s claim of 4.3L/100km.
That’s down to an electric propulsion system which, although part-time (it cancels at speeds above 40km/h or heavy throttle openings) drives the car for much of those start-stop city journeys.
The small battery is recharged by the 1.8 litre petrol engine, as well as by regenerative braking systems, which recover the energy from decelerating.
As with the Prius and other hybrid cars, the onboard info display will tell you how good or awful your green driving style is.
This is clever because it plays on the innate competitive nature of humans and will see you carefully modulating your right foot to get a better “score.”
That is right up my alley these days, as the lure of performance driving has waned in favour of seeing how little fuel I can get a specific car to consume.
The slight fly in the ointment is that the 1.8 litre petrol engine is no muscle demon, and the CVT transmission dulls the driving experience a bit.
The Corolla Cross Hybrid is no one-off tech-spectacle. It is an all-round competent, stylish and, because it’s a Toyota, reliable daily driver.
Not only that, but you can also have a comfortable cruise to the coast for the end-of-year holidays.
The boot is not enormous, nor is the rear seat leg-room – both are adequate, though, and very competitive in the smallish SUV class.
Even in the lower-spec versions, the Corolla Cross, as a model, is well-equipped in terms of both creature comforts and safety systems.
It comes standard with a full infotainment system, including the ability to run both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Perhaps the reason the Corolla Cross – in both hybrid and “normal” forms – is doing so well is that it is a Toyota.
It won’t break, and there are dealers around every corner.
