GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: New Toyota Corolla leaked

UPDATE 06/03/2018, 3:09pm: An unofficial image of what's believed to be the new Toyota Corolla has surfaced online in a Facebook post ahead of its global debut tonight at the 2018 Geneva motor show.

Called the Toyota Auris in Europe, the new hybrid version is pictured and shows off an expressive new front end design. As previously reported, the new Toyota Corolla might get a more potent 2.0-litre (126kW) petrol engine the company has been developing.

The Corolla Hybrid model pictured could also get the new 2.0-litre petrol-electric powerplant, which will be more powerful and more efficient. Stay tuned for more.

26/02/2018: Not content with staging the world debut of its born-again Supra coupe in concept form, Toyota has confirmed it will also reveal its next-generation Corolla hatchback for the first time at the 2018 Geneva motor show next Tuesday (March 6).

Toyota Australia has confirmed the all-new 2019 Corolla hatch – known in Europe as the Auris – will go on sale here this year and this side-profile teaser shot shows it will look sportier than ever.

As also indicated by these fresh spy shots, the low-slung new Corolla hatch will feature a fastback rear hatch design and, naturally, its maker says it will “reinforce Toyota's emphasis on developing cars that feature a more dynamic exterior design”.

No other details have been announced about the Auris, as the Corolla hatch is called in Europe, but the new Corolla will ride on the new TNGA modular platform that Toyota has put under the Prius and Camry already.

That means it should bring improvements to performance, efficiency and refinement, to go with its sleeker new look.

Inside, meantime, expect a more prominent infotainment screen and new controls intended to elevate perceived quality -- a shortcoming on the current car released in 2012.

Under the bonnet, power should still come from Toyota's 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, as well as a new-generation petrol-electric hybrid system with new CVT auto.

For now, Toyota will launch only the hatchback version of the replacement for Australia’s best-selling car -- as opposed to the nation’s most popular new vehicle outright, the same brand’s HiLux ute.

However, spy shots of a new Corolla sedan testing in Michigan last March indicate the four-door version won’t be far behind, although it may not be all-new like the hatch.

Dubbed the Corolla iM in the US since Toyota axed the Scion brand there less than three years ago, the small four-door will be manufactured in a range of plants, including a new joint-venture Alabama factory with Mazda. Australia’s next Corolla hatch, meantime, should continue to come from Japan.

Along with the Corolla and Supra, Toyota says it will also use the Geneva show to “showcase the design and engineering it is exploring to maximise the potential of future battery electric vehicles, fuel-cell electric vehicles, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence”.