COROLLA CROSS GOES HYBRID ONLY

  Launched here in 2022 the Toyota Corolla Cross is – as the name suggests – an SUV crossover version of the everlasting Corolla sedan/hatchback.’ It’s the largest of Toyota’s three-model range of compact SUVs above the smaller Yaris Cross and the sportier C-HR. The original Corolla Cross was available with the choice of petrol or petrol/electric hybrid powertrains but, in line with Toyota’s recent decision to discontinue petrol-only variants where a hybrid alternative is available, the petrol versions are now being phased out. Although existing stocks of the petrol… Read more

KLUGER NOW COMES WITH A HYBRID DRIVETRAIN

Toyota Kluger is a semi-luxury family SUV that will celebrate 21 years on the Australian market later this year. Like most other model updates Kluger has grown in size progressively through its life and the latest (fourth) generation, launched here in mid-2021, and is no exception coming in at just under five metres in length. Note that the Kluger name is only used in Japan and Australia. It’s the Highlander in all other markets but that name had already been taken by Hyundai for some of its top-spec variants. Kluger… Read more

TOYOTA FORTUNER FILLS A GAP

You don’t hear much about the Toyota Fortuner. Launched in 2015, Fortuner is the SUV equivalent of the Hilux utility. Like the Kluger it comes with seven seats, but it’s aimed at a quite different buyer. Depending on your perspective, it’s either the quiet achiever or the under-achiever, with about half the sales of Prado. For Toyota, its raison d’etre is or perhaps was to provide a diesel option to Kluger as well as an affordable alternative for those who can’t afford a Land Cruiser. But now that the US-engineered… Read more

TOYOTA CROSSES OVER WITH ITS LATEST SUV

After a long period when Toyota’s smallest SUV, the RAV4, grew into a mid-sized model leaving the compact field open to numerous competitors from other brands, it now has three vehicles in contention, Yaris Cross, C-HR and now, the subject of this week’s review, the Corolla Cross. Although it sits on the same platform as the Corolla hatch, the Cross has a totally different body as befitting an SUV. The styling is quite conservative but that’s unlikely to deter the typical Toyota buyer who prefers function over fashion. There are… Read more

A CASE OF CARRY ON, COROLLA

  When the first Corolla made landfall in Australia in 1966, few people would have predicted half a century later the tiny vehicle, through sedan, hatch and wagon, becoming the world’s most popular car. Former Toyota Australia executive Rex Gilham, one of the men responsible for bringing Corollas Down Under says just 15 cars were in the first shipment in November 1966, the first vehicles to be exported from Japan. These went on sale in 1967. A year later, first locally produced models left Australian Motor Industries’ plant in Port… Read more

TOYOTA COROLLA CROSS ATMOS HYBRID FWD

You could in all likelihood be looking at the successor to the evergreen Corolla hatch and sedan as the market continues its move away from traditional styles. Corolla Cross joins the Yaris Cross, C-HR, RAV4, Kluger, Fortuner, Land Cruiser Prado and Land Cruiser 300 Series in Toyota’s ever-growing line-up of SUVs. And, like many of the aforementioned models, it is available with a fuel saving hybrid petrol-electric powertrain — one that importantly recharges itself. It’s the right-size and the timing couldn’t be better, but it’s going to cost you almost… Read more

TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 300 SERIES

The Toyota LandCruiser 300 is the replacement for the 200 Series which had been around for many years, over several generations in Australia. Toyota says that it has so many improvements over its predecessors that it deserved the new title of 300. Despite being available since mid-2021 new Toyota LandCruiser 300s are still relatively rare on our roads largely because of supply issues. Many enthusiasts who were aware of the arrival of the LC300 got in early and put down deposits to avoid delivery delays. Toyota lists the driveway price… Read more