FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2018 Toyota Corolla Hatch Hybrid
A compact little hatch which compromises leg room.
By Tace Clifford
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BabyDrive Verdict
The Toyota Corolla Hybrid uses both the electric motor and traditional engine, and having recently driven the Toyota Camry Hybrid I was eager to see how good the much smaller Corolla is as a BabyDrive!!
Having learnt from driving the Toyota Camry Hybrid how quiet hybrids are when they start, I was still shocked by the Corolla!
Driving back from car pick ups my husband and I swap cars half way, so we get to test both cars on the motorway drive. I started off in the Skoda Karoq, we pull over, hop out and exchange oppinions and swap cars. Hubby gets in the Skoda Karoq and I get in the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Hubby starts to pull away but I can not get the Camry to turn on … starting to panic that I would be stuck half way home, with a car I can't start I began beeping the horn, waving my arms and shouting for him to stop! He put down his window, smiled and said, “It's a hybrid, it's silent and it's already turned on.” And then drove off laughing!!
I may sound like an idiot but every person that drove in the both the hybrid Toyota Corolla and Camry with me was visibly shocked by how quiet it was and was surprised when pulled off for the same reason. Even Hudson our excellent videographer got a shock when filming because it was just not what we are all used to, but it is the sound, or lack of, of the future… and I LOVE it!
The petrol engine didn't kick in until I was doing about 40km/h or if I was accelerating quickly at lower speeds. So you could do a lot of pootling around town or school runs without really using any fuel. I drove my daughter around the block to sleep and sat with just the battery motor running while she slept without using fuel! You will literally save yourself money and the planet using this car! The transition between the battery motor and petrol engine is not as smooth in the Corolla as it was in the Camry but is not as disturbing as the auto engine cut out on a regular car.
There is a great visual in the media screen that shows you the power going to and from the battery and engine, so you can see what you are using while you are driving or stopped which I found fascinating.
The Camry's media system has more modern looking graphics than in most Toyotas but it still did not have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and was quite basic and difficult to use. It also didn't have sat-nav built in.
In the back of the Corolla, space is very tight! There are Isofix points in the two outer seats, within plastic guides, and top tethers in the back of all three seat backs. They were quite simple to connect and disconnect and easy to reach through the boot. I found it really difficult to even get the child seats through the back door openings and when I did I could only fit two child seats in the back, I found there wasn't enough space for a third child seat.
The Corolla is a small car and with rear-facing child seats installed, the legroom was tight. We found a 180cm passenger could not fit in front of a rear facing child seat, and I found there was 22cm of knee room. This also affected getting bub in and out of the car and I found swinging a big toddler into a forward facing child seat difficult as the door opening size and room to bend down and get her in was just too compact. It could also be the case for posting bub into a rear facing seat too.
Storage in the Corolla was minimal throughout, which you expect to find in such a compact little car, in the rear doors there were no door bins just a cup holder and little handle well. I did find the cup holders rather handy for bub's sippy cup!
The rest of the storage is small but there are two practically sized cup holders in the front and back, the glovebox is usable and the central console box is a bit small, there is a tiny shelf for your phone and sunglasses in front of the gear lever too as there is no glasses case in the ceiling and I found the front door bins will only hold a 600ml bottle.
In the boot of the Corolla, space was limited too. I found I could only fit a single or compact stroller in there, and that the tandem and double strollers wouldn't fit.
When empty, I could get 9 shopping bags in there. To put it into perspective, that is two less than the Mazda3, one less than the Kia Cerato Sport and Hyundai i30 which are all comparable in size but not hybrids so come nowhere near in terms of fuel efficiency.
The boot floor has a soft covering and is flat, suitable for an emergency nappy change.
I found the Toyota Corolla Hybrid a nippy little car to drive, it is quiet, smooth and comfortable but most of all I was fascinated by the hybrid motor! It is such a nice feeling to not be burning money or polluting the environment when driving my daughter to sleep and sitting while she sleeps for an hour and I have the engine running and the air-conditioning on.
The Toyota Corolla Hybrid scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2018 and has seven airbags as standard.
BabyDrive Indepth
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
So… How big is the boot of the Toyota Corolla Hybrid?
Not very!! When it is empty I could fit 9 shopping bags in the boot. In comparison that is two less than the Mazda3, one less than the Kia Cerato Sport and Hyundai i30 which are all comparable in size.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller and Britax Flexx tandem stroller wouldn't fit in the boot at all.
The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller fitted with one shopping bag beside it.
The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fitted with 4 shopping bags beside it.
The parcel shelf is solid in the Corolla if you removed it you could fit a small dog in the boot. The boot floor is nice and flat and has a thin carpet covering so I could do an emergency nappy change!
Storage in the cabin was compact too. In the front, there are two cup holders in the central console, they held a reusable and disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water bottle fitted in them too. The central console storage box was very small and the lid doubles as your armrest.
In front of the gear lever is a rubber small phone tray with a USB and AUX in the dash beside it, but your wires have to hang down in the footwell which is rather annoying and there is no glasses case in the ceiling so my sunglasses had to go in there too, which isn't ideal as it could scratch the lenses.
The glove box is quite usable, it did hold my wallet and iPad.
The door bins in the front are small and would only hold a 600ml bottle and there are no wells in the door handles in the front either.
In the back, there are no door bins but instead, there are little cup holders in the doors and a well in each handle. I found the little holders really useful for my daughter's water cup, although she couldn't reach it from her child seat!
There is only one map pocket in the back of the Corolla; it is solid and would hold an iPad.
In a fold-down armrest in the central seatback are two good sized cup holders. They would hold a re-usable or disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water bottle fits in them too.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
So… How noisy is the Toyota Corolla Hybrid?
Like the Toyota Camry hybrid, the Toyota Corolla hybrid is silent when it starts, apart from a very slight whining sound from the motor as you pull away! It's quite unnerving at first and takes a bit to get used to. The Corolla's transition between the electric motor and petrol engine wasn't as smooth as it was in the Camry and the petrol engine was louder but not baby disturbing. I enjoyed driving my daughter around our suburb to get her to sleep knowing I wasn't burning through fuel and even better when I parked up or an hour while she slept and had the aircon running, I wasn't polluting and there wasn't a noisy engine running! I did find on the motorway the road surface noise was quite loud though.
The reversing camera image in the Corolla is large and clear, but I found no way to mute the sensors.
There is lane departure warning and lane keep assist in the Corolla and there is a button on the right side of your steering wheel turns them on and off. This beeps to alert you when you drift out of lane which can disturb your sleeping passengers and it forcefully pulls you back into the lane too.
The cruise control buttons are on the right side on the steering wheel. They are simple to use but I did find the Corolla's cruise control was very accurate on motorways but not at 60km/h on undulating roads.
There is also the distance to empty displayed on the screen in front of the steering wheel and a digital display of the speed limit on the road you are on and it flashes up red when you exceed the speed limit.
The media system is not easy to navigate; it does have more modern graphics than most Toyotas but the system still feels basic and it doesn't have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and it doesn't have inbuilt sat-nav either! I found it difficult to connect my phone but I did get it connected eventually.
Toyota media systems tend to have the screen is divided up but where you would normally have your map screen on the right-hand side it is your music playing instead in the cheapest Corolla Hybrid I tested as it doesn't come with sat-nav.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
You can lock the doors and windows from the control panel on the driver's door.
The windows and doors are quite quiet when you open and close them. I found you can come to a stop with the engine still running and get out of the car without sounding any alarms. The indicators are lovely and quiet in the Corolla too.
Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!! SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)
There is a seatbelt removal alarm and light alerts you on the dashboard too.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
So… How many child seats fit on the Toyota Corolla Hybrid?
Just getting the child seats through the rear doors was a difficulty because the child seats are enormous and the door openings and cabin space are small! We found we couldn't even have a forward facing Britax Platinum Pro child seat with no child in it behind a 184cm driver in the front, although I could sit in front of it being 162cm, so that gives you an idea of the cabin size!
There are three top tether points, within plastic guides, across all three seat backs and are easily accessible through the boot.
The two outer rear seats have ISOFix points in them that are within plastic guides. They are nice and easy to connect to when installing the child seats.
When I did squeeze the child seats in, I could only fit two into the Corolla in the outer seats. I fitted the Britax infant capsule and the Britax Platinum Pro forward facing.
Posting bub into their child seat from inside and outside the car was a little bit tricky. The low roofline and compact interior and door space made it very snug, especially posting a large toddler into their child seat! You would have the same with a bub into a rear-facing child seat.
There is room to post bub from inside the car but again it is very snug for space back there.
Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
There is room to feed bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed. The seats are upholstered with a woven fabric with a fish scale detail in the central panels. The woven seat upholstery does make cleaning the seats harder and removing child crumbs, spills and detritus than plain leather would.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
So… How comfortable is the Toyota Corolla Hybrid? And how good is the Toyota Corolla Hybrid to drive?
In the front of the Corolla, the seats are quite comfortable. They do feel narrower across your back than most cars' seats, which I enjoyed being 162cm but larger drivers may not. The seats have simple, manual adjustment.
I found I could have a ponytail when sitting in the front seat, even though the headrests are not adjustable.
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are quite comfortable and I had good headroom and I'm 162cm.
The central seat is slightly raised and there is a tiny hump in the footwell in the middle but it was not too bad to rest your feet on or to straddle. The seats are comfortable but you can feel the hard central backrest because of the fold-down armrest with cup holders.
For the first year of Tulsi’s life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The steering wheel was fully adjustable in/out and up/down with manual adjustment.
There are four small air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; two central ones under the media screen and one at either end of the dashboard. The Corolla doesn't have any aircon vents in the back, it is so small inside that they are not too necessary. It does have dual climate controls that are nice and simple to use while driving.
Visibility in the Corolla is tricky with two child seats installed you really can't see much at all out of the back or sides. The rear side windows really slope up at the back too so rear-facing passengers visibility is limited.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Corolla was quite simple to park as it is small and reversing camera image is good!
There are lit vanity mirrors in both visors in the front but the visors are not extendable and there is no glasses case in the ceiling.
The interior light in the rear ceiling is well positioned so I could reach it from the driver's seat while driving!
I have found Tulsi does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.
Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.
There are handles above both rear doors but they are positioned to hold a baby toy for rear-facing passengers but not forward facing, they are too far back.
The general aesthetics of the Corolla are it is simple and clean and pleasant, it has a lot of shiny black plastic, I think the technical term is high-gloss finish, which I m not a fan of but it feels quite modern.
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
So… How safe is the Toyota Corolla Hybrid?
The Toyota Corolla Hybrid was given a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2018. It scored 96% for adult occupancy protection, 83% for child occupant protection, 86% for vulnerable road user protection and 76% for safety assist.
In the child occupancy testing, it scored 14.91 out of 16 for dynamic front testing, 8/8 for dynamic side testing, 12/12 for child seat installation, 6/13 for onboard features.
In the frontal offset test, protection of the head of the 6-year-old dummy and neck of both the 6 and 10-year-old dummies was ‘adequate', while the protection offered to all other body regions was ‘good'.
Protection of both child dummies in the side impact test was ‘good', with maximum points scored.
The Toyota Corolla has seven airbags as standard; there is a driver’s knee airbag as well as dual frontal airbags and front side chest airbags and side head-protecting curtain airbags for the front and the rear side passengers.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!
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About Tace Clifford
Tace Clifford founded BabyDrive in 2017 after discovering a huge information gap in mainstream car reviews that left new parents and expanding families in the dark when it came to one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives.
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2 Comments
Hi there, thanks for your review of the Toyota Corolla! I was wondering if you would be able to advise if you believe 3 seats could potentially fit across the back? We are thinking a Infasecure Quattro Mini Swirl (42cm W), Infasecure Versatile (40cm W) + Mothers Choice Levi Booster (44cm W).
Hi there, thanks for your review of the Toyota Corolla! I was wondering if you would be able to advise if you believe 3 seats could potentially fit across the back? We are thinking a Infasecure Quattro Mini Swirl (42cm W), Infasecure Versatile (40cm W) + Mothers Choice Levi Booster (44cm W).
Hello, did you succeed with the three seats?