2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
I'm only 2 weeks into ownership of a Corolla LE Hybrid. We don't need all the fancy stuff for a car that we figured would be our daily driver. Having said that I don't really miss some of the upmarket features. Certainly power seats are nice, but I can get enough adjustment with the manual seat just fine. I am 5'11", 240 lbs and my wife is 5'4" and we both find very comfortable … seating positions. Again haven't taken the car on any long trips, but I have had quite a bit of seat time waiting on my wife during her shopping outings and I haven't been uncomfortable. Ingress and egress is not that difficult either for an old guy with stiff joints. It doesn't sit up quite like my Outback but it shouldn't, so this is not a comparison. Bottom line it's a class leader in the comfort department. It is a bit noisy as road noise intrudes a bit more than I'm used to in Toyota's and I've owned several, but I attribute that to the tires more than anything - Yokohama LRR's. The doors shut with a good quality sounding thud. The fit and finish is first rate and I am extremely picky. I have found nothing to fault. One thing to note is we didn't have an opportunity to see an actual car before we ordered ours. The Toyota website does not have good pictures of the interiors of the Corolla, especially the light gray interior, which ours has. It shows the seats in two tone which is accurate, it does not show that the bottom half of the dash and the upper doors are trimmed in light gray. We are very pleased with the interior, but to see what the interior actually looks like, click on the Macadamia color and you will see how the light gray interior will truly look, except of course for the color. The back seat has enough room for me to sit behind the driver's seat adjusted for me,although we don't usually have anyone in the back seat. The back seat folds down to give even more cargo room to the very spacious trunk.
Now about the driving experience. I read reviews before we bought about how the car is slow. My driving has been a combination of city, rural and four lane roads so I have a good idea how the car performs all around. It is quick off the line, surprisingly quick - not Mustang GT quick but more than 138 horsepower quick. Now admittedly it starts lacking juice around 45-50, but the electric motor assist keeps the acceleration going up to highway speeds. Understand that my car is not fully broken in, so I have not really put my foot in it so it's performance has not been fully tested for maximum thrust but it definitely gets out of it's own way.
What we all want to know is what kind of mileage do I get. I didn't drive it today, but yesterday it indicated 55.0mpg combination city/highway. I've had it 2 weeks and 500 miles and just filled it up from 1/4 tank. So judge for yourself.
The wireless Android Auto works very well. There are times that it won't automatically connect, but that's usually because I have interrupted the pairing process. Sometime when you put it in gear before the pairing is completed - especially reverse, I think there is just too much going on with the backup camera, etc, and pairing gets pushed out of the queue. But it has never failed to connect manually. Once connected it has never dropped and I use Maps, Waze, Amazon Music or Spotify every time I'm in the car.
Don't really know much else to say about our little blue bug except my wife and I really like it. This is not the first hybrid we've owned, but things sure have changed since 2015 - all for the better. We've always had good luck with Toyota and Joe Davis at Mechanicsville Toyota served us well. I'll update when we get some more time and mileage on the car.
edmundsTESTEDThe Edmunds Vehicle Testing Team evaluates a fresh batch of vehicles every week, pairing objective assessments at our test track with real-world driving on city streets, freeways and winding roads. The data we gather results in our Expert Ratings. They’re based on 30-plus scores that cover every aspect of the automotive experience.