Toyota Corolla sedan 2020 Review

It feels bizarre to write this, but I had a lot fun driving the new Toyota Corolla SX Hybrid sedan.

Yes, fun -- a word usually diametrically at odds with the Corolla badge and the sedan in particular. After all, it’s a vehicle that has often been described as whitegoods on wheels.

Not anymore. With a new platform architecture (Toyota calls it TNGA) that boast a savvy new suspension system, a 60 per cent stiffer body, lower centre of gravity and beefed up anti-roll bars front and rear, this is one rockn 'Rolla.

As I write this, I'm still a little bemused as to how rewarding it is to coax this car through corners. Granted, the Corolla sedan is coming off a low benchmark, with previous generations delivering the sort of excitement typically associated with watching paint dry, but the manner in which the 2020 Toyota Corolla sedan tracks through corners is almost Mazda3-like.

And even those of us who are not keen drivers benefit from this. A more responsive car is a safer car. Good handling is crucial if you have to perform an emergency swerve and recover, for example..

Importantly, we can vouch up front there’s no comfort trade-off either. The new 2020 Toyota Corolla sedan has a longer wheelbase than the Corolla hatch (2700mm vs 2640mm) which helps smooth things out a little.

The new Toyota Corolla ticks a lot of boxes. For the record, the four door is 255mm longer overall than its five-door hatch sibling, measuring 4630mm long.

Inside it's got loads of useful features, like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto across the range, displayed on a decent 8-inch touchscreen display. Adaptive radar cruise control is also standard on all models.

Wireless phone charging is standard on mid and high-spec variants and warranty provisions and aftersales care are good. The new Corolla sedan is covered by a five-year warranty and capped price servicing for the same duration is pegged at $175 per annual (or 15,000km) service.

As well as revealing a newfound and very welcome dynamic attitude, the 2020 Corolla sedan delivers the option of hybrid powertrain for the first time.

There's also a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated (125kW/200Nm) petrol engine which has a bit more go than the hybrid, but it's not as refined nor as fuel efficient. That said, the automatic CVT it uses (continuously variable transmission) is one of the better units out there, with a mechanical first gear that makes take-offs feel more conventional.

Here's the Corolla sedan Australian pricing:

Ascent Sport petrol manual – $23,335
Ascent Sport petrol CVT – $24,835
Ascent Sport hybrid CVT – $26,335
SX petrol CVT – $28,235
SX hybrid CVT – $29,735
ZR petrol CVT – $33,635

For more details on the nitty-gritty, check out our Toyota Corolla sedan price and spec story here.

It's the new to the Corolla sedan 1.8-litre petrol-electric hybrid powertrain (90kW/142Nm) that's of most interest to this writer.

Toyota is selling a lot of hybrids and at just $1500 over its pure petrol equivalent, the step up to the Toyota Corolla SX Hybrid is pretty good value in my book. Yes, $1500 will buy you a lot of fuel, but it won't reduce your tailpipe CO2 emissions.

Making use of Toyota's fourth-generation petrol-electric setup, the Corolla sedan hybrid models are super smooth in operation, switching between EV and petrol/hybrid models almost imperceptibly.

While there’s not a lot of get up and go, the hybrid Corolla sedan is remarkably frugal. Claimed fuel economy is 3.5L/100, which makes it the second-most efficient Toyota vehicle available in this country.

Expecting that figure to be completely unattainable, I decided to test its relevance during the first 100km segment of our recent local launch drive. This took in a variety of scenarios, starting with gridlocked freeway. Then after about 10km of soul-destroying traffic mayhem, things started moving a little better through the outskirts of Melbourne at 60km/h. Traffic lights every kilometre still made the going slow.

The upside is congested traffic situations are ideal for the hybrid car. In the first leg of our real world test, the Toyota Corolla SX Hybrid sedan was registering an amazing 2.6L/100km after 30 minutes of urban driving.

Then we hit the Eastern Freeway and zig-zagged our way towards the Yarra Valley through rolling hills. Even at 100km/h, the SX Hybrid’s engine ticks over at just 1000-1500rpm on a flat road. On slight descents, it shuts off the petrol engine and transitions seamlessly into EV mode.

And our final reading after almost 98km of varying driving, including flowing, twisting 80km/h country roads with plenty of ascending? How about 3.3L/100km!

The vehicle's fuel gauge barely quivered and the trip computer suggested I still had almost 900km range left. Think about that for a second: 1000km of range from a 43 litre tank of fuel. Not too shabby.

While the hybrid tech is exactly the same as the hatch, the main reason the sedan is more efficient than the hatch (3.5 vs 4.2L/100km, claimed) is due to the awful-looking – but aerodynamic – alloy wheel rims. Tyres with low rolling resistance help as does a slightly lower weight, down by 15kg compared to the hatch.

I used to be a bit sceptical of Toyota's “self-charging” hybrid systems (Toyota’s description, not ours!) but they're now at a level that's significantly more refined and effective than earlier iterations. The nickel-hydride battery pack also comes with a 10-year warranty.

For the number crunchers out there, getting to an exact power output for the 1.8-litre hybrid powertrain is not easy. The petrol engine bangs out a claimed 72kW/142Nm, while the twin electric AC synchronous permanent magnet motors are rated at 53kW and 163Nm.

The hybrid Corolla can coaxed along from standstill to around 50km/h in pure EV mode, but you have to be very light on the throttle. After that, power deliver is, well, nothing to write home about. It’s fair to say the focus is on economy.

Combined power output is claimed to be 90kW and torque is claimed at 142Nm as well. Clearly, there's some dark arts going in during the power measuring process. I would expect much higher torque from the combined power sources.

During the rest of the national media launch drive of the Toyota Corolla SX Hybrid sedan I found the adaptive cruise control, now standard on all models, worked very well.

This was in contrast to the lane keep assistant which is best described as ineffectual. It struggles to identify even the clearest of lane markings and when it does, steering response is modest at best. The Honda Civic does it better.

There are other criticisms too. The Toyota Corolla SX Hybrid sedan’s lack of air vents for rear seat passengers is bit sloppy, and no height adjust on the front passenger seat makes it tougher for taller types to get comfy.

Non-adjustable rear seat headrests affect rearward vision and while the 60:40 split folding rear seats open up more boot space, the pass-through portal has intruding curved edges, which detract a little from the otherwise impressively executed vehicle.

Still, the big 470 litre boot is not far off the Camry's 490-520-litres, although that's mostly due to the inclusion of a space-saver spare tyre. Only the Corolla Ascent Sport petrol model gets a full-sized spare.

Up front, the 2020 Corolla sedan’s redesigned cabin is a clone of the Corolla hatchback. This is no bad thing, given it incorporates a modern dashboard design, two USB ports and a central bin with sliding armrest. The steering wheel buttons are sensibly placed and intuitive too.

Door pockets with bottle holders outboard and twin cup holders inboard and the wireless phone charge pad are pretty much it for incidental storage options. There is nowhere to idly fling a wallet or purse.

The back seat features two ISOFIX child seat anchorage points, three top-tether hooks and a fold out armrest with twin cup holders. Head and leg room is pretty good back there and although the seats look and feel a bit cheap, comfort levels are adequate.

As far as the hatch/sedan sales split goes, the sedan is expected to make up 25 per cent of all Corolla sales in Australia. There's no real stinkers or standouts in the range – all model-grades have appeal. Even the entry-level model Ascent Sport is a decent vehicle, while the range-topping ZR with its fancy wheels and primo sports seats makes a real visual and tactile statement.

We found it odd that no range-topping ZR hybrid is offered. Toyota Australia says it could happen in future, especially if overall hybrid sales mirror those of the Corolla hatch, which is now sitting at about 30 per cent.

For generations the Toyota Corolla sedan has been the unloved child in the family and has traditionally been a completely forgettable car. Safe, reliable and affordable, and that's about it.

The new Corolla sedan is still all of those things but now it’seasier on the eye inside and out, boasts significantly better fuel-efficiency and tops off the package it presents with much better dynamics.

There are cheaper small sedans out there, including the Kia Cerato, but with a sedan model that pulls more weight, the new Corolla range will almost certainly retain its title of Australia's best-selling passenger car when the value equation is examined .

Like the hatch, which took many pundits by surprise, the new Toyota Corolla sedan is a significantly improved machine and easy to recommended.

How much does the 2020 Toyota Corolla SX hybrid sedan cost?
Price: $29,735 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 72kW/142Nm
Transmission: 10-speed continuously variable
Fuel: 3.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 81g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP (2018)