Used 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross

It’s such an obvious idea, a subcompact SUV based on the Corolla compact sedan. It’s kind of surprising that Toyota waited until 2022 to make it a reality. Yet that’s how young the Corolla Cross SUV is.

At least the company has had time to get the fundamentals right. Fuel economy is impressive, and there’s plenty of standard technology. The Corolla Cross has also been named a Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), all while earning a maximum 5-Star overall score from crash tests performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The biggest news this year regarding the whole lineup is that a gasoline/electric hybrid variant is now available. But we’ll stick with the combustion-only version here. The 2023 Corolla Cross Hybrid is reviewed separately.

The same easy demeanor found in many Toyota vehicles is the main attribute when sitting behind the wheel of a 2023 Corolla Cross compact SUV. The effort required is minimal.

It rides higher than its sedan stablemate, giving that elevated driving position loved by so many. And the ride quality is more than acceptable.

When fitted with all-wheel drive, the rear suspension has a multi-link setup instead of the standard torsion beam arrangement. This should provide even smoother progress.

The combination of so-so engine and slow-responding continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) will dull the glint in any enthusiast’s eye. The restart action of the fuel-saving engine off/on feature could also be sweeter, but most prospective owners won’t care about such gripes.

The dashboard of the 2023 Corolla Cross SUV is tidy and functional. And the seats are adequately comfortable. The base L trim relies too heavily on unattractive plastics, however.

There are four cup holders — six in the XLE. This top trim also has a rear center armrest and a cargo cover — things that really ought to be standard across the range.

The rear seats split and fold in a 60/40 fashion. Rear legroom measures 32 inches, and the luggage area is 25.5 cubic feet — all-wheel drive reduces that by a fraction more than a cubic foot. If either aspect is important, the Kia Seltos has 38 inches of rear legroom and 26.6 cubic feet of cargo space.

2023 Subcompact SUV Roominess

Conservative enough to please most of the people most of the time, the 2023 Corolla Cross SUV is about 5 inches shorter than the RAV4 and a couple of inches lower. So it’s large enough to be practical, yet also easy to park.

All three trims have black grilles, while the top XLE variant emphasizes its classiness with a metallic paint surround. The base L has steel wheels with plastic covers, disappointingly. The LE comes with alloys, and this trim also gets roof rails.

CONNECTED SERVICES
These include functions like remote start/lock/unlock, vehicle health report, and SOS assistance, controlled by a smartphone app or even a smartwatch. Some subscriptions are free for 12 months, and Wi-Fi comes with a 3-month subscription, plus a new Integrated Streaming feature for Apple Music and Amazon Music. Not all trims offer all services, however.

MULTI-INFORMATION DISPLAY
This is a 7-inch driver information screen that, sadly, is offered solely in the priciest XLE trim. It’s a nice piece of tech, though.

What the L trim lacks in swish features, it makes up for with safety equipment and technology.

This includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, automatic high beams, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, lane-tracing assistance, and — new this year — blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert.

The infotainment system is also a beneficiary of changes made for 2023, making Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration wireless and adding a couple of USB-C ports. The rest of the setup includes a 7-inch touchscreen, Amazon Alexa compatibility, satellite radio, and Bluetooth for two phones.

Elsewhere, this most basic yet most affordable new Corolla Cross SUV has 17-inch steel wheels, LED headlights, manual air conditioning, and cloth upholstery.

Potential buyers of the 2023 Corolla Cross small SUV may well be tempted to spend another $2.5K or so for the LE trim, which comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry/ignition, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, 8-inch infotainment touchscreen, and wireless phone charging.

The even posher XLE has LED daytime running lights/fog lights, 18-inch alloy wheels, front/rear parking sensors with automatic braking, dual-zone climate control, simulated leather seating surfaces, heated front seats, a 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, self-dimming rearview mirror, and a cargo cover.

Apart from all-wheel drive, the biggest option is a 9-speaker JBL audio system, which is available in the LE and XLE. The XLE also offers a moonroof/powered tailgate package.

Non-hybrid versions of the 2023 Corolla Cross SUV have a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine making 169 horsepower and 150 lb-ft of torque. An automatic transmission of the continuously variable kind directs energy to the front wheels in standard form (FWD), or all four if all-wheel drive (AWD) is selected from the options list.

Regular gasoline is fine. These fuel economy estimates supplied by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are from last year, but we don’t expect any changes for this year.

2.0-liter inline-4
169 horsepower @ 6,600 rpm
150 lb-ft of torque @ 4,400-4,800 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 31/33 mpg (FWD), 29/32 mpg (AWD)