How much is Australia's top-selling passenger car? Toyota Corolla gets price bump and more tech for 2023

The updated 2023 version of Australia’s best-selling passenger car, the Toyota Corolla, rolls into showrooms this month, ushering in new safety tech, a beefier hybrid powertrain and higher prices.

As expected, Toyota has dropped the base manual Corolla Ascent, meaning the Corolla is now an automatic-only proposition.

With the loss of the manual, the entry price for a Corolla has jumped by $4235. The cheapest Corolla is now the 2.0-litre petrol-powered Ascent Sport hatchback that starts at $28,130 before on-road costs. That price represents a $2735 increase over the previous version.

In fact, every single model grade has gone up in price, with the increases ranging from $2425 for the petrol ZR, to $3785 for the Ascent Sport hybrid sedan. The range now tops out at $39,120 for the ZR hybrid sedan, which is a new model grade. Previously the ZR hybrid was only available in hatchback guise.

Prior to this 2023 model year update, pricing remained the same for the hatchback and sedan. Other small cars like the Mazda3 and Kia Cerato also follow this pricing strategy. But differences in specification between some hatch and sedan grades, like the addition of a sunroof for the ZR sedan, exaplin the price differences.

The price increase means the Corolla’s opening gambit is higher than the Kia Cerato ($25,990), Hyundai i30 ($23,720) and Subaru Impreza ($27,290).

If you compare pricing with an equivalent auto, the Corolla is only $80 dearer than an equivalent entry-level Mazda3.

The biggest change for the Corolla is the upgraded hybrid powertrain that pairs a 1.8-litre petrol engine with a new motor generator, power control unit and hybrid transaxle.

The outgoing Corolla hybrid made 90kW/142Nm, but the updated version delivers 13kW more and now pumps out 103kW.

The other powertrain option is the 2.0-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine delivering 126kW/202Nm for the hatch and 203Nm for the sedan.

Both the petrol and hybrid powertrains drive the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

The Corolla also gets a boost to safety tech, with motorcycle detection and intersection collision avoidance now fitted as part of the pre-collision safety system, as well as emergency steering assist. The cameras and radar systems have also been improved.

Blind spot monitoring is now standard on the hatchback grades, and the lane keeping aid has been enhanced to include a function that brings the car to a safe stop if it detects that the driver is unresponsive.

Toyota’s adaptive cruise control has also been improved.

The 8.0-inch multimedia system gets a boost, with a new layout, DAB+ digital radio standard across the range, and a new USB-C port.

Lower grades get a 7.0-inch digital instrument display, while the ZR gains a full 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.

New 16-inch wheels are offered on Ascent Sport and SX, which also get a tweaked front grille in hatch and sedan grades.

As well as an optional Convenience Pack for the Ascent Sport, the Cortolla comes with new colours including Sunstone Orange and Lunar Blue replacing the existing Peacock Black and Eclectic Blue.

2023 Toyota Corolla pricing before on-road costs