2026 Toyota Corolla sedan facelift leaked in China with Prius-style front end, coming to Malaysia?

Amidst all the goings on with variants like the Corolla Cross and GR Corolla, it’s easy to forget that the regular 12th-generation Toyota Corolla has been around for seven years now. That would ordinarily make it ripe for a replacement, but it looks to be soldiering on for a while more yet, because the sedan is finally receiving its first proper facelift.

Photos obtained by ChinaEV Home from a filing with China’s ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT) show the sedan with an all-new front end, taking a page from the latest Prius and Camry. Here, you’ll find Toyota’s latest “hammerhead” design lined framed by C-shaped headlights, while L-shaped bumper corners with integrated fog lights lead into the slimmer centre air intake.

Elsewhere, the car sports new, intricately-designed two-tone alloy wheels that look suspiciously similar to the rollers on the facelifted sixth-generation Lexus ES from 2015. Also added is a black triangle at the trailing edge of the rear quarter light windows to visually lengthen the glasshouse, while at the rear, some red trim has been added to connect the (now smoked) inverted L-shaped taillights.

By and large, however, the rest of the car looks to be unchanged, saved for black trim to replace the previous chrome. However, we do expect some updates to the interior, similar to what the Camry received for its XV80 heavy facelift. Engine options will likely remain the same, which in China includes 1.2 litre 9NR-FTS four-cylinder and 1.5 litre M15B-FTS three-pot naturally-aspirated engines, plus a 1.8 litre hybrid.

This revision for the FAW Toyota-built Corolla sedan is important for us, given that among all the variants sold in China (which also include the Allion and the GAC-built Levin), this is the one that’s offered in Malaysia. As such, we can expect this model to be launched here sometime next year, still with the sole 139 PS/172 Nm 2ZR-FE 1.8 litre petrol option.

GALLERY: 2023 Toyota Corolla sedan in Malaysia