Toyota’s British built hatchback takes on the Golf class with hybrid power
The Toyota Corolla is one of the longest-running and best-selling nameplates in the industry.It has been on sale here since 1966, though it went away for a bit in 2008. ‘Corolla’ had become synonymous with boring cars, so Toyota replaced it with the Toyota Auris, which was equally grey.Along with chairman Akio Toyoda’s “no more boring cars” edict, Toyota realised that it wasn’t the name that was the issue, so when this generation launched in 2019, it brought back the Corolla name, and went to quite a bit of trouble to make it compete at the sharp end of the hatchback class for looks, handling and fuel efficiency.Five years later, 12th-generation Corollas are everywhere in the UK, and it’s easy to forget what a sharp-looking, handsome car it is, looking rather trim in a world of SUVs. For that reason, the 2023 facelift didn’t mess with the looks too much, though it did introduce a few worthwhile technical updates.Should the British-built hatchback be on your shortlist? Read on to find out.
