2022 Toyota Corolla vs. Corolla Cross: What's the Difference?

• Platform and Styling
• Powertrain and Fuel Economy
• Pricing and Features

Say you’re considering a new Toyota Corolla, but aren’t quite sure what you’re looking at when, on paper, you’re given options for the Corolla, Corolla Hybrid, the Corolla hatchback, and something called a Corolla Cross. What are these Corollas, and how do they differ? Here’s the high-level overview: The newly expanded Corolla family—for years it was only available as a sedan—now includes that traditional four-door, a Hybrid (also based on the four-door), a sporty hatchback, and now a crossover dubbed the Corolla Cross, all utilizing a similar component set and common engines. Below, we’ll outline how these car and crossover Corollas stack up.

Platform and Styling

This one’s simple: Every current Corolla, regardless of its engine, body style, etc., utilizes the same TNGA architecture. While the rear suspension can differ depending on which Corolla you’re looking at—front-wheel-drive Corolla Cross SUVs get a simple twist-beam rear axle, while every other Corolla uses a multilink rear end—the bones are the same. The Corolla Cross and hatchback model ride on the shorter of the Corolla family’s two wheelbases—103.9 inches—while the sedans sit on a longer 106.3-inch wheelbase.

Toyota dials the sporty dial up or down depending on the Corolla, with the entry-level sedans (especially the Hybrid) and the Corolla Cross falling on the softer, less focused side of the handling spectrum, while the XSE sedan, hatchbacks, and particularly the new-for-2023 GR Corolla hatchback falling on the (much) sportier end.

Interestingly, no matter which Corolla you peer inside, the dashboard is virtually the same. Even the Corolla Cross crossover uses the same primary dashboard components, right down to the partially digitized gauge cluster used in the Corolla Hybrid and nicer Corolla sedan trims, as well as the same 8-inch touchscreen. There are minor differences between the models when it comes to the center console, and the rest of the interior is styled similarly across models save for necessary changes to accommodate the hatchback’s shorter rear doors, for example, or the Cross’s taller roof.

Externally, the Corolla sedan, Hybrid, and hatchback wear similar front-end designs, with mouthy, trim-level-specific grille designs and bumpers flanked by similar barbed LED headlights. Out back, the hatch wears unique taillights and, of course, has a hatchback opening instead of a trunk. The Corolla Cross might be the most conventionally styled of the trio, with proto-RAV4 design cues watered down into simple, wide headlights and taillights and generally forgettable detailing, all of which shares nothing with other Corollas.

While entry-level sedans come with 15-16-inch steel wheels with hubcaps and 16- and 18-inch aluminum wheels are available, the Corolla Hybrid wears only 15-inch lightweight aluminum wheels with aerodynamic hubcaps. The sportier hatchback comes only with 16- or 18-inch aluminum wheels, while the Corolla Cross is offered with 17-inch steelies with hubcaps or 17- or 18-inch aluminum wheel options.

Powertrain and Fuel Economy

Toyota offers several engines and transmissions across the Corolla range. Sedan models come standard with a long-serving 1.8-liter I-4 making an unexciting 139 hp and 126 lb-ft of torque, which comes mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Sportier Corolla XSE sedan models share their larger 2.0-liter I-4 (169 hp and 151 lb-ft of torque) with the hatchbacks and the Corolla Cross SUV. While a CVT comes standard across the board on the Cross, it’s optional with the 2.0-liter engine on the sedan and hatch, which also offer a six-speed manual transmission.

The Corolla Hybrid deviates from these choices by way of its 1.8-liter I-4, dual electric motors, and planetary-type continuously variable automatic transmission yanked right out of the Prius hatchback. The combination is weak—just 121 hp and 105 lb-ft of torque—but ultra-efficient, delivering 52 mpg combined, per the EPA. Every Corolla is front-wheel drive, while the Corolla Cross can be had with front- or all-wheel drive.

Dimensions

Every Corolla falls into the compact size class, though somewhat surprisingly, the Corolla Cross isn’t the largest of the trio. Those honors go to the sedan, which measures 182.3 inches long (compared to 175.6 inches for the Cross), though at 70.1 inches wide and 56.5 inches tall, the sedan is 1.8 inches narrower and 8.3 inches shorter than the Corolla Cross. The hatchback is the smallest, at 172.0 inches long, 70.5 inches wide, and 57.1 inches tall. As mentioned previously, a big reason for the sedan’s length is it sits on a longer 106.3-inch wheelbase, compared to the 103.9-inch setup used by the hatchback and Corolla Cross.

None of the Corollas are particularly roomy for their class, with the Corolla sedan’s rear seat being beaten handily in legroom and general spaciousness by the Honda Civic. The hatchback is slightly tighter still (at 29.9 inches of rear legroom), and the Corolla Cross is roughly the same, albeit with 2.1 inches more legroom and 2.5 inches more headroom afforded by the taller roof.

Corolla sedans get 13.1 cubic feet of trunk space—a figure unaffected on the Corolla Hybrid, which situates its hybrid battery pack beneath the rear seats—while the hatchbacks up the ante with 17.8 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats. The Corolla Cross (pictured above), unsurprisingly, fits the most junk in its trunk, thanks to its taller body and extra length relative to the hatchback, serving up 26.5 cubic feet behind its rear seats. In every Corolla, you can fold down the rear seats for more room, though on the sedan this merely opens up a pass-through into the cabin, while on the hatchback and Cross, it directly expands the cargo floor to just behind the front seats.

Pricing and Features

Every Corolla comes with a decent array of standard features, from LED headlights, to a 60/40 split-folding rear seat, to a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Baseline Corolla L sedans and Cross models receive little extraneous adornment, with single-zone air conditioning, a smaller 7.0-inch touchscreen, and settling for 15-inch steel wheels with hubcaps on the sedan, while the Cross gets 17-inchers.

Every other Corolla beyond these lowly Ls upgrades to a larger 8.0-inch touchscreen, automatic climate control, and nicer finishes. The big news is that, on the safety front, every Corolla comes standard with Toyota Safety Sense 2.0, a suite of active safety features that includes automated emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high beams. Extra safety features such as blind-spot monitoring are available in affordable packages on all but the L, or included outright on nicer trim levels.

Nomenclature

For an idea of how Toyota approaches trim levels on its cars, it’s helpful to know the letters “L” and “S.” In short, any trim level with an L in its name is intended as a more traditional, classically “Toyota” variant, such as the Corolla L, LE, and nicer XLE. Think of the L as denoting “luxury,” even if only in theme and aspiration, not substance. Meanwhile, the S versions (SE, XSE) are sportier; the Corolla hatchback is only offered in these S guises. The decidedly un-sporty Corolla Cross, on the other hand, is firmly tethered to the L theme, with L, LE, and XLE variants but no SE or XSE. Corolla sedans are the only models offered in both L, LE, XLE and SE and XSE trims. See below for a look at the 2022 Corolla’s trim levels and body styles, and for how much each one costs:

*Add $1,300 to each Corolla Cross price for all-wheel drive (AWD).

Keyword: 2022 Toyota Corolla vs. Corolla Cross: What's the Difference?