Say hello to…
…the Toyota Corolla which has recent been updated with new, more efficient and more powerful, hybrid engines plus new upgraded technology inside the car. The Corolla has also been facelifted with new headlights and grille. The small family car is available as a hatch and estate with either a 1.8 or 2.0-litre engine. Toyota offers all versions of the Corolla in four trim levels:
- Icon
- Design
- GR Sport
- Excel
Standard equipment on the Icon, includes adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, road sign assist, auto high beam, 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors with auto brake, 10.5-inch infotainment system, satnav, Bluetooth, Apple Carplay, Android Auto, wireless phone charger, connected app, dual zone climate control, heated front seats, split-fold rear seats, USB socket and 16-inch alloys.
Design trim adds auto wipers, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, synthetic leather upholstery, LED headlights and 17-inch alloys.
GR Sport specification adds sports seats, GR badging, upgraded headlights and 18-inch alloys.
Excel adds blind spot monitor, head-up display, additional USB socket, leather upholstery and headlight levelling.
Is The Toyota Corolla Suitable For My Fleet
The Toyota Corolla is simply one of those cars that does just about everything well. And while this sounds like faint praise, it is far from it. The Corolla is both a good family hatchback and a good motorway car. It’s efficient (we saw more than 50mpg on mostly motorway miles), quick and well equipped too. If there’s a weak spot it’s the boot which isn’t quite up to the class best but it’s still fine for 95% of the time. It’s also very well built and supports Toyota’s reputation for ultimate reliability.
And because it doesn’t need plugging in it’s really easy to live with.
Leasing A Toyota Corolla
Intelligent Car Leasing is offering the Corolla with the 2.0-litre hybrid engine and in top Excel trim for £394 a month on a 3+36 contract with 10,000 miles a year.
Running costs, according to Gensen Reports, will be £31 a month and due to the 103g/km CO2 figure, the Class 1A NIC bill each month will be £82.
Driving A Toyota Corolla
Usability is the name of the game for the facelifted Corolla. Toyota hasn’t changed the way its small family hatch drives – which is far better than you’d expect. It’s still comfortable and relaxing on longer journeys and easy to position in tighter cities and country lanes.
While the new hybrid engines are more efficient they still use a CVT automatic gearbox. This type of gearbox is fine under gentle use but can be harsh in terms of noise when you want to accelerate quicker. In real-world use, and despite the rather good handling, you don’t push hard in a Corolla so it’s not a huge issue for the majority of the time.
The other major upgrade to the Corolla is with the infotainment system and, unfortunately, the increased number of functions mean it is more complex to use. Simple tasks such as resetting the trip computer are now far deeper in the menu system than they need to be as is the function to turn off the lane keeping and speed limit warnings.
However, the greater level of connectivity and improved screen clarity are bonuses.
FleetandLeasing.com Verdict On The Toyota Corolla
A strong choice for those that can’t or won’t pick a car you can plug in.
Toyota Corolla
- Model: Corolla 5dr hatchback 2.0 Excel
- Power: 196hp
- Torque: 190Nm
- Max speed: 112mph
- 0-62mph: 7.4s
- Official fuel figure: 61.4mpg
- Test fuel figure: 51.2mpg
- CO2 emissions: 103g/km
- BIK tax band 2022/23: 25%
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