► Toyota’s small estate driven in the UK
► Hugely efficient hybrid powertrain
► Appeals beyond the taxi trade
The Toyota Corolla Touring Sports seems to be the UK’s favourite taxi. Certainly in my neck of the woods. It’s been around in its present form since 2018 when it replaced the Auris – a Corolla in all but name – via a minor facelift in 2022. If you’re wondering what a Touring Sports is when it’s at home, that’s the name Toyota has marketed various estate cars under for over 10 years.
Despite being from a Japanese brand, the Corolla Touring Sports might be one of the most British cars on sale in the UK. It’s built in Burnaston, Derbyshire, and its engines are made in Deeside, Wales. There are two options, both self-charging hybrids. The emphasis is firmly on efficiency rather than speed, then. It’s not the most practical of small estates, either.
To find out if the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports appeals beyond taxi ranks, I spent a few days trying it out. I’m also running a Corolla Commercial long-termer for Parkers – it’s basically identical, minus the back seat. If you want to know how we conduct road tests at CAR, you can find out on our explainer page.
At a glance
Pros: Very fuel efficient, extremely comfortable, a doddle to drive
Cons: Not fun in any way, tight back seat space, outdated infotainment
What’s new?
The Corolla Touring Sports is built around Toyota’s modular TGNA platform (the same concept as Volkswagen’s MQB). As you’d expect, it’s quite a lot longer than the Corolla hatchback, a good chunk of it in the wheelbase, which is identical to that of the saloon occasionally sold here. At 4650mm long, it splits the difference between the old Auris and Avensis estates.
At launch, just the 1.8-litre hybrid powertrain was available; a 2.0-litre hybrid joined the range later. Both got a power boost in the facelift, represents a massive step beyond the Auris and Avensis, neither of which were particularly competitive in their class. The Corolla Touring Sports is much closer to the mark.
What’s it like to drive?
The Corolla hatchback may be enjoying some success in the British Touring Car Championship, but don’t go thinking this is a sporty car in any way. The Corolla Touring Sports very much prioritises comfort and efficiency over handling prowess.
In Normal mode, the overly light steering and super-soft suspension make you feel detached from the car. Combine that with reduced grip from low rolling resistance tyres and the Corolla can feel uncertain of itself on turn-in and usually pushes wide. Switching into Sport mode tightens everything up considerably, producing much more accurate handling. It’s still a very long way from fun, but you can at least confidently get a shift on.
That super-soft suspension will be one of the reasons the Corolla Touring Sports is so popular as a taxi. It does a remarkable job of smoothing out the worst road surfaces, yet body control remains perfectly good, even in Normal mode. And the car was resolutely stable during a long motorway drive in hideous weather. It’s really rather relaxing to do big miles in.
It goes without saying the 2.0-litre version is the punchier performer, but the 1.8 we have more experience of is perfectly adequate for most situations. The hybrid boost makes it feel quicker than the on-paper numbers suggest, you don’t notice the hybrid cutting in and out, the CVT is largely unannoying.
Until you clog the throttle, at which point the revs spike and the engine becomes very vocal as the transmission sorts itself out, usually only when you back off. There’s a similar rev spike when the engine switches into generator mode, as well.
There’s no real rhyme or reason to when the regen braking cuts in, though we assume it’s connected to how much charge there is in the battery. Even with the gear lever in B (regen mode), there’s no way of knowing if you’re going to get all the regen braking or none at all. That makes it difficult to judge braking points for corners and to slow to a stop smoothly. But when it works it’s possible to slow from motorway speeds to a near stop without touching the brake pedal.
What’s the interior like?
Joy of joys, the Corolla Touring Sports still a set of proper physical controls for setting the aircon. The strip of thin silver buttons isn’t the most user-friendly, but we’ll take what we can get these days. It takes a matter of moments to get to grips with the rest of the dashboard layout, the lane departure and speed limit warnings are easily deactivated from the steering wheel.
The infotainment system is housed in a relatively small 10.5-inch touchscreen. The graphics are hopelessly outdated but the ‘screen responds snappily, and the menus are easy to navigate around. The digital instrument panel provides lots of useful information – I left it on the fuel economy read-out.
As you’d expect of a Toyota, the whole interior feels extremely robust. High-spec models have some plush materials in obvious places, otherwise the plastics are quite hard without being nasty. Add in the plain design and greyscale colour scheme and the ambiance is business-like – not unwelcoming but hardly inspiring.
It’s pretty roomy up front – I’m a smidge under five-foot-ten and have no complaints about the head, leg and shoulder room. The longer wheelbase means there’s more space in the back than the hatchback offers, and headroom is pretty good. Legroom? Not so much, surprisingly for a car so commonly seen on taxi ranks. Anyone much more than six feet tall won’t want to be in the back for long, especially if someone of similar height is in the front. Three adults are a real squeeze across the bench, as well.
In the boot, there’s 596 litres of space in 1.8-litre models, 581 litres in 2.0-litre cars. That’s at the upper end of the scale for small estates. It’s a usefully square space with a low loading lip and flat floor; there’s extra space under the floor if no spare wheel is fitted. Dropping the back seats creates 1606/1591 litres of space.
What are the specs?
There are two engines available in the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports: a 1.8-litre and a 2.0-litre, both naturally aspirated four-cylinder units backed up by a self-charging hybrid system and CVT transmission.
The 1.8 produces 138bhp and 105lb/ft, and gets from 0-62mph in 9.4 seconds. The 2.0 has 193bhp and 140lb/ft, which translate to 0-62mph in 7.7 seconds. According to the WLTP numbers, both can average over 60mpg and emit just over 100g/km of CO2.
My experience shows the 1.8 can achieve well over 50mpg come what may, over 60mpg if you’re careful and use Eco mode. There’s enough power in the battery for a few miles of EV range which the trip computer tells me covers more than half of most town journeys.
Trims and rivals
There are currently four Toyota Corolla Touring Sports trim levels available: Icon, Design, GR Sport and Excel. They all have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, adaptive cruise control, satnav, wireless phone charging, front and rear parking sensors and heated front seats.
Design adds a power tailgate, rear privacy glass and folding door mirrors, GR Sport matches Design spec and adds sportier styling, and Excel gains a head-up display, Alcantara trim, adaptive headlights, blind sport monitoring and rear cross traffic alert. All Corollas are covered by Toyota’s industry-leading 10-year warranty.
The Corolla’s rivals include the Ford Focus, Skoda Octavia and Volkswagen Golf estates, plus the Kia Ceed SW and Peugeot 308 SW. The Ford remains the best to drive, and the Octavia is the best all-rounder.
2024 Toyota Corolla Touring Sports: verdict
Being a favourite of taxi drivers may not do much for a car’s image, but you shouldn’t dismiss the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports on that basis. Cabbies gravitate towards cars that are easy to drive, comfortable, practical, efficient and reliable, and the Corolla is certainly all of that.
It’s a set of virtues that appeal well beyond the private hire industry. Yes, it’s not as engaging to drive as the Ford Focus, or as spacious and practical as the Skoda Octavia. But it’s entirely undemanding to drive and own, which is a really appealing prospect if you want a car that fits with your existing habits and lifestyle. There’s no adaptation necessary.
Specs for Toyota Corolla Touring Sports Icon 1.8 Hybrid