2022 Toyota Corolla Cross Review
2022 Toyota Corolla Cross
Base Price: $22,245
169 HP / 159 TQ
2.0 Liter 4 Cylinder
MPG: 28 as observed in mixed driving
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Guy who did stuff: Yousef Alvi
This is the new Toyota Corolla Cross. This is also one of the most confusing vehicles I have ever driven. Let’s go ahead and break it down:
The Great
Uhhhh….
Uhhhh…
Hand to heart…nothing is truly ‘great’ about this Corolla Cross. It feels like a ‘product’ in every sense of the word. Nothing stands out, nothing touches your senses, heart or soul. It’s just a piece of equipment that you use to transport your fleshy bits to and fro.
The Good
…Price I guess?
Price?
Welp, the price is at least attractive if nothing else. Starting at $22,245, the Corolla Cross undercuts the RAV4 by almost $4,000.
The Bad
Most everything
BUT
It’s so loud on the road it’s borderline deafening.
The suspension crashes over everything.
The drivetrain can only be described as depressing.
The seats are uncomfortable.
The rear seats offer barely acceptable levels of legroom
It looks dreary and uninspiring.
The Ugly
Most everything else but mostly the drivetrain
Nada
To hark back on the cursed drivetrain…it’s bad.
The 2.0 liter 4 cylinder sounds like a saw. It’s coarse, shrill and woefully unrefined. Pair that is a horrendous CVT, whose programming is designed to mimic a traditional automatic but is so dim witted that it just bounces the engine’s RPM all around the rev range, that it sounds like a child banging away on a musical keyboard.
Overall:
I have been blessed/lucky and fortunate to drive hundreds of cars throughout my automotive career. This 2022 Toyota Corolla Cross…is one of the worst I have ever driven. Honestly.
Is there a market for this? Are people going to buy this no matter what? Yes and yes. But the most infuriating part is that Toyota could have done a better job but they chose not to. They chose to build an appliance and they know that.
So if you’re in the market for a compact crossover…just look elsewhere.
