Toyota Corolla Hybrid 2016 review

The 11th generation of the much-loved Corolla hatch launched in 2012, then in June 2015 an updated version went on sale with a new look before the hybrid arrived in June this year.

The Corolla needed the sexier styling to comepete with its good looking rivals rivals. There's the Hyundai i30  which is handsome but starting to show its age while the Mazda3 is frankly beautiful.

The updated car was lengthened by 55mm to give it a sleeker look and now at 4330mm its 30mm shorter than the i30, but still shorter than the Mazda3 by 130mm.

At 1365kg the Corolla hybrid weighs 50kg more than the heaviest petrol Corolla – not a bad feat considering that batteries, the electric motor and cabling isn’t exactly light.

The hybrid’s interior almost mirrors the cabin of the regular Corolla. The main differences are the chunky old school shifter in the petrol car has been swapped for one that’s more of a tiny toggle and the hybrid doesn’t have a tacho – there’s a gauge that tells you when you’re charging or using your motor or engine instead.

Apart from that it’s the same high-quality feel, stylish cabin.

The Corolla Hybrid costs $26,990, that’s pretty expensive considering the range starts at $19,790, but look at it this way it’s a very affordable Lexus. Huh? OK the Lexus CT 200h hybrid hatchback shares the same platform and hybrid system as the Corolla Hybrid but it costs $37,990. Sure you miss out on some nice leathery Lexus trimmings and yes some of you will now go hunting for a Lexus, but most of you will see that the Toyota is a relative bargain now in comparison.

Making it even more of a good deal is that the hybrid Corolla gets a stack of the standard features of the ZR variant above it. There’s proximity unlocking, dual-zone climate control, auto-levelling LED headlights, 6.1-inch touch screen with sat nav with traffic updates and the Toyota Link media system and reversing camera, 16-inch alloy wheels and a space saver spare.

The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t have much petrol-electric competition in Australia. Honda axed its Civic and CR-Z hybrids, there is a Mazda3 hybrid but it’s not sold here and Hyundai’s Ioniq hybrid hatch isn’t expected to arrive until 2017.

If it’s about fuel efficiency the Hyundai i30 Active diesel for $25,890 is your best alternative.

Just so we’re clear, the Corolla Hybrid isn’t a plug-in hybrid that charge through a power point. This is a self-charging car with a 73kW/142Nm 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and a 60kW/207Nm electric motor. When you step on the brakes the motor runs backwards and generates electricity which is sent back to the batteries which are under the floor behind the front seats. The combined power output is 100kW.

There’s one transmission available – it’s a CVT, which is smooth and great for fuel efficiency.

OK the point of hybrids is to burn less fossil fuels and with the motor lightening the load on the petrol engine and also allowing the car to run purely on electricity at times. Toyota says you should see an average combined fuel figure of 4.1L/100km. The fuel tank capacity is 45 litres and Toyota says that should get you 1100km – in theory, buy maybe don’t test this in the Outback.

My wife couldn’t hear a thing, well she said she could a little bit, but I could tell it was to shut me up.

After more than 500km of city, highway and country driving without even trying to conserve fuel, but leaving the stop-start system on my average was 5.1L/100km.

The Corolla Hybrid has a five-star ANCAP rating. While it has the expected safety equipment such as traction and stability control, it would be good to see more advanced technology such as AEB as offered by rival brands.