Toyota Corolla Cross vs C-HR

Is this Paseo vs Tercel all over again?

In the late ’90s, you could walk down to your local Toyota showroom and pick from two different subcompact coupes and a handful of sedans. Today, Toyota has two subcompact crossovers to pick from instead. The C-HR and Corolla Cross are similar on the spec sheet and the window sticker, but very different in how they go about their business. Here’s how the two stack up, and for bargain shoppers, both of our testers were base-spec models, not the usual loaded rides.

Styling

The Corolla Cross is the newcomer, joining the C-HR as a much more conventional-looking crossover. It’s still better looking than the RAV4, with fewer of the RAV’s overdone surfaces and just enough character in the creases coming from the front and rear fenders, but it can’t stack up to the C-HR as far as funkiness. The C-HR’s quasi-coupe design that hides the rear door handles gives buyers an affordable entry point to the crossover coupe style that is otherwise reserved for luxury model shoppers.

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Inside, the two have similar design themes, mainly the near-identical infotainment screen stack, steering wheel, and gauges, but C-HR continues its embrace of quirk with teardrop shapes from the headliner to the (adjustable) cupholders. The C-HR is undeniably cooler, and Toyota has shown before (with vehicles like the Solara) that there are buyers who want its wares with some pizzaz.

Practicality

The spec sheet shows that the dimensions of these two are nearly the same. The biggest difference is in overall length, and even that’s only a hand’s width difference. Climb in, though, and the differences feel huge.

The C-HR feels cramped inside, though still less claustrophobic than a Corolla sedan or hatch, with good front headroom and rear quarters that are adequate, if slightly tight, for average-sized occupants.

Corolla Cross, though, feels absolutely cavernous. Credit the upright roof, tall greenhouse, and, on this base model the lack of tinted glass, for making the Corolla Cross feel roomier than almost anything a size class up. It’s impressive enough for an aside: Even for your tester, who has made an entire social media account based on being too large to fit in most vehicles, this thing is huge. It’s the only Toyota car or CUV where I’m comfortable, and that held firm over 1,200 km of holiday road slogging.

A sharp roofline cuts into C-HR’s cargo area, but buyers of nearly every model have long shown a willingness to sacrifice space in favour of style. There is still a generous 538 L and a near-flat floor with the seats folded. Boxy Corolla Cross holds even more at 722L with front-drive, though in order to add more overall space Toyota has sacrificed a flat floor. Instead, there’s a large step up when the seats are folded. Given the two options, though, we’d say the extra everyday space is worth the step.

Performance

Both of these crossovers come with a 2.0L four-cylinder, the C-HR getting 144 hp and 139 lb-ft and its bigger sibling 169 and 151. Both are typical Toyota smooth and move the vehicles well, though the C-HR especially is far from brisk. Corolla Cross is ultimately the more engaging powertrain because it offers more power and is actually a few hundred kilos lighter. The Corolla Cross offers AWD, raising the curb weight slightly, but both of our testers were front-drivers equipped with winter rubber. If you absolutely need AWD, then the CC is your only choice, but if you’re shopping for an affordable Toyota crossover we think you’d be better served with FWD for price and economy and by adding a set of snow tires for traction.

Both are also offered only with a CVT, and while this would normally be a con instead of a pro, Toyota’s CVT uses an actual first gear before using the CVT’s pulleys to change ratios. The small extra detail does a great job of banishing the rubber band sluggishness endemic to the CVT when you’re pulling away from a stop and improving the experience overall.

Features

Despite a starting price just a few hundred dollars more, the Corolla Cross gets a big upgrade in standard kit. Both use the same infotainment interface, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (C-HR’s screen is slightly larger), but Corolla Cross has heated front seats as well as heated mirrors, both handy in the cold. Impressively, Corolla Cross also offers one-touch up/down on all four windows. That’s a feature missing even from many $80k crossovers and SUVs.

Both get LED headlights and radar cruise control as well as pedestrian detection and lane departure alert with steering assist, but the Cross adds lane trace assist, cyclist detection, and has a much better rear camera.

We have to mention the strangest missing feature on the Corolla Cross, and that’s the lack of a rear wiper on L trim. We’re not sure why Toyota chose this, but it wasn’t a problem in our testing (airflow helped keep the back glass clear on slushy highways) and it’s better than the old days when to get the base trim you had to take crank windows, no radio, and no AC.

Fuel Economy

Despite similar sizes and powertrains, the Corolla Cross offers 7.6 L/100 km city and 7.0 highway, much better than the C-HR’s 8.7 and 7.5. In real-world driving we saw around 8.0 in both, though our time in the Corolla Cross was largely in colder and much windier highway driving. These are both vehicles with small tanks, but with our observed fuel economy, the 47L tank of the Cross, and what may have been a pessimistic low fuel light, we ended up having to top the tank every 350 km or so. This would be better in summer, but at least it will give you plenty of chances to clean the rear glass.

Value

C-HR LE starts from $24,150, with the Corolla Cross L at just $24,890. With it tough to find even compact sedans coming in for less, these two both offer good value. We’d lean toward the extra few dollars for the Cross to get the heated seats and loads of space. If you want all-wheel drive, Corolla Cross adds it for just $1,400.

Verdict

It’s not a surprise that both of these Toyotas offer solid vehicles and good value for money. They aren’t high on tech goodies, but they do come with some of the most important safety tech despite being base models. We think that the decision will come down to three things: style, capacity, and all-wheel drive. If you want style, then the C-HR is the funky winner. If you want capacity, then the Corolla Cross, unlike the sedan and hatch that wear the same name, offers plenty. If you want all-wheel drive, then you’ll have to pick the Corolla Cross. We want the size and don’t need the funkiness, plus we like heated seats, so our recommendation is the Corolla Cross.