Toyota Corolla Touring Sports Review 2023
The Toyota Corolla Touring Sports is a compact estate car that's one of the most economical cars around. With excellent fuel economy, low running costs, and loads of kit as standard, the Corolla Touring Sports is an excellent family lease car.
Rivals to the Corolla Touring Sports include the Ford Focus Estate, BMW 3 Series Touring, Skoda Octavia Estate, and Hyundai i30 Tourer.
Our Toyota Corolla Touring Sports review covers:
- Typical estate car styling with a long body and rounded rear end
- Well-built interior with a generous range of technology
- 596 or 581-litre boot
- Two self-charging hybrid engines are available
- Four trim levels
Pros:
- Impressive fuel economy
- Comfortable ride
- Loads of equipment as standard
Cons:
- Boring exterior styling
- Boot space is a bit small
- Technology is not as advanced as its rivals
The exterior of the Corolla Touring Sports is a bit bland; it's certainly not a bad design, but it won't get heads turning. At the front, there's a black front grille with a bar running from the Toyota badge to the headlights. Then, you've got a long body and a round rear end.
Where the Corolla Touring Sports lacks in looks, it makes up for in practicality. There's loads of space in the front for a pair of adults, and there's more legroom in the rear than the Skoda Octavia Estate. Add a third passenger, and it does get a bit tight, but you should be able to get comfortable with relative ease.
You get either 596 or 581 litres of space in the boot, depending on what engine you've selected. This is a little disappointing for a family estate and falls short of the luggage space in the Volkswagen Golf Estate and Skoda Octavia Estate. However, open the boot, and it's a square shape, which is handy for loading larger items, and it can be extended by folding the rear seats 60/40.
Climb inside the Corolla Touring Sports, and you'll find a neat and simple interior. The dashboard follows a traditional layout with regular climate control buttons and switches, and it all feels very well built like you'd expect for a Toyota. There's no denying the interior isn't as premium as the BMW 3 Series Touring, but it's more than good enough.
The Corolla Touring Sports comes with a generous range of technology. You get a 10.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system that has a DAB radio, sat-nav, Bluetooth, Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, and a 12.3-inch digital combimeter behind the steering wheel. Both screens show clear graphics and are responsive to touch but fall short of the cutting-edge tech found in the Audi A4 Avant or BMW 3 Series Touring.
Four trim levels are available for the Corolla Touring Sports: Icon, Design, GR Sport, and Excel.
Icon has 16-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, LED multi-reflector headlights, front and rear parking sensors, a 10.5-inch infotainment system, a 12.3-inch combimeter screen, and adaptive cruise control.
Design has 17-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass on the rear windows, LED dual-beam projector headlights, smart entry/push start, auto wipers, auto-retractable heated door mirrors, and blue ambient lighting.
GR Sport has 18-inch alloy wheels, GR sport badging, and dual-colour sports seats.
Excel has a head-up display, an adaptive high-beam system, a blind spot monitor with safe exit, rear cross-traffic alert, heated driver and front passenger seats, and power-adjustable lumbar support on the driver's seat.
The Corolla Touring Sports comes with two self-charging petrol hybrid engines, a 1.8 or 2.0-litre unit. The entry-level 1.8-litre unit comes with 140hp and does 0-62mph in 9.4 seconds, which is the same as the 1.5-litre unit in the Volkswagen Golf Estate and quicker than the 1.0-litre Ford Focus Estate.
For slightly more power, go for the 2.0-litre unit, which returns a power output of 196hp and reduces the 0-62mph time to 7.7 seconds. It's noticeably more powerful when you're behind the wheel, which makes it comfortable in pretty much all situations.
For both engines, you're looking at a fuel economy above 60mpg and emissions of 113g/km (1.8-litre) and 121g/km (2.0-litre).
The Corolla Touring Sports is a comfortable drive that returns decent performance, but as you'd expect, it's not much fun. If you're going to spend most of your time at low speeds, the Corolla Touring Sports is a breeze to drive, thanks to its hybrid engine. The electric motor manages on its own in stop-start traffic, meaning you can drive around town pretty much in silence.
It has light steering despite the size of the car and is relatively easy to navigate through a tight car park thanks to rear parking sensors as standard. The suspension system is fantastic and deals with potholes and bumps in the road with ease.
Get up to motorway speeds, and the same can be said. There's a decent amount of kick when you accelerate, and the suspension is comfortable.
On a country road, the Corolla Touring Sports feels out of its comfort zone. It's less keen in the corners than the Ford Focus Estate and won't give you anywhere near as much fun. Even if you've gone for the GR Sport trim, it still leaves much to be desired.
Prices for the new Toyota Corolla Touring Sports start from £30,874.00 OTR* or to lease from £330.46 per month.
Looking to get behind the wheel of the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports? Nationwide Vehicle Contracts is one of the UK's largest car leasing brokers and offers a range of leasing deals to suit your every need.
Leasing may be cheaper than an outright purchase, thanks to a low initial deposit and fixed monthly rentals.
*' On the road' price correct at time of publication and includes one year's road fund license, DVLA first registration fee and number plate fee. Prices are subject to change; always check with your nearest retailer.
