Toyota Corolla Cross Atmos 2026 review

Three years is a long time in motoring. Just consider the fortunes of the Toyota Corolla Cross, launched in late 2022, a model that garnered an 8/10 rating at launch (from yours truly) and has sustained the same regard in every garage review since.

Neat, clever, practical, inoffensive. Utterly predictable and almost surprise free, the Corolla Cross seemed primed for sales dominance.

And at 4.46 metres in length, its segment-straddling ‘smedium’ (small-to-medium) size appeared primed to lure buyers from two key volume-selling SUV segments.

And yet now, three years later and newly facelifted, the Corolla Cross hasn’t proven to be the sales smash it might’ve appeared on paper.

Why? Perhaps less so due to singular merit, and perhaps more so due to the tsunami wave of brands and models that continue to swamp not just its own segment, but others where buyers might choose to cross shop.

Case in point? Now, in late 2025, Corolla Cross contends with no fewer than 21 different name plates in the sub-$45K small-SUV category where the car industry (via VFacts) classifies it.

And at the last audit, it sits just sixth in the sales race behind Hyundai Kona, MG ZS, GWM Haval Jolion, Chery Tiggo 4 and Mazda CX-30…

But hold up. With three of the five available Corolla Cross variants sailing north of that $45K price cap, nicer versions make for logical competitors in the plus-$45K small SUV segment…against 24 other nameplates.

Further, Corolla Cross’s segment-straddling size and steeper priced lobs it squarely against another 30 nameplates in sub-$60K medium SUVs, including its stablemate the RAV4. For the record, year-to-August 2025, the still-popular-if-seven-year-old RAV4 (32,564 units) has outsold Corolla Cross (8090 units) four to one.

What’s new? A fresh front fascia and headlights with light strip motif, revised rear bar, plus new wheel designs and badging outside. Inside, a revised centre console and seat trim materials and a minor tech lift. However, spec tweaks do come with a pricing bump.

Fancier features, fancier pricing: is the 2025 updated Corolla Cross a better buying recommendation. Or does the stiff headwind make it a less compelling choice in the growing ocean of options?

What are the Corolla Cross Atmos’s features and options for the price?

On test here is the high-spec Atmos variant in front-wheel drive, which lists for $47,990, before on-road costs. Our test example, in $580 cost optional Ash Slate paintwork, is priced from around $53,170 driveaway.

The Atmos trim can also be had in AWD for a $3000 upcharge ($50,990 list), which will be joined soon by an identically priced GR Sport variant that adds little more than a lick of sporty stylisms.

Those on thriftier budgets can enter the Corolla Cross line-up from $37,440 list for base GX, while a mid-tier GXL clocks on at $41,190, before on-road costs.

At the time of review, Toyota Australia warns of “expected wait times” on GXL (and forthcoming GR Sport) variants with potentially “different specifications and/or different price points” for both, while advising customers to check with dealers for updates.

Rivals for our Atmos FWD? Price high to low, the Toyota contends with Chery Tiggo 4 Hybrid Ultimate ($34,990 driveaway), Haval Jolion Ultra HEV (38,990 D/A), the top-selling Hyundai Kona in Hybrid Elite trim ($42,900 D/A), Honda HR-V e:HEV L ($42,900 D/A) and Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid S ($46,090 list), to name five of…a great many.

And RAV4? The most closely priced-variants are the mid-spec XSE FWD ($49,585 list) or the lower-grade GXL with AWD ($48,810), both with more powerful 2.5L hybrid powertrains than offered in Corolla Cross.

Standard features of the Atmos spec include:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Heated, power-folding mirrors
• LED headlights
• Kick-sensor powered tailgate
• Partial-leather seat trim
• Eight-way power driver’s seat
• Heat and ventilated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• 12.0-inch digital driver’s display
• 10.5-inch sat-nav media touchscreen
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• One-year Toyota Connected Services subscription
• Nine-speaker JBL audio
• Dual-zone climate control
• Wireless phone charger
• 3x USB-C outlets
• Panoramic glass roof
• 17-inch space saver spare wheel

How does the Corolla Cross drive?

Buyers hoping for conspicuous changes under the skin for this facelift are in for disappointment. The Corolla Cross slogs along with its naturally aspirated 2.0-litre-based self-charging hybrid system, with the same 112kW/188Nm engine outputs and 146kW combined power figures as before.

That’s not to say it’s bad and hasn’t necessarily improved. Often unsung is Toyota’s tendency to polish rough edges throughout a model lifecycle, and while the bones of the M20A-FXS powertrain mightn’t cut many edges, this fifth-generation hybrid is quite fit and healthy in its current form.

Acceleration is reasonably punchy (we timed it at 7.5sec 0-100km/h) and drivability is nice and linear, even if, in typical Toyota hybrid form, the engine can flare away with a raucous thrum at times — especially loaded up with four adults — with the constantly variable transmission reluctant to match engine rpm to road speed.

It’s not perfect. Climbing into and out of the system’s powerband is smooth and the switchover points between ICE and electric propulsion is mostly imperceptible, though this powertrain has an oh-so-slight granular palpitation at constant highway speeds, complete with faint nipping shunts, presumably as EV drive clocks on and off.

Similarly, it’s not entirely happy under adaptive cruise control, where the powertrain faintly nudges drive torque on and off in a rocking motion in attempts to keep the SUV running consistently at the desired road speed.

This is Toyota’s small-capacity self-charging hybrid system at its most refined yet, even if some slight coarseness creeps in around the edges. That said, it’s measurably smoother and more polite than a good many rival series-parallel designs out there.

The on-road lowlight? Fuel consumption? We’re accustomed to seeing four-litre consumption even from larger-capacity RAV4 powertrains, but our tester — its second time through the Chasing Cars garage — simply refuses to drop below 5.3L per hundred.

The highlights? Ride and handling balance. The Corolla Cross was and remains a supremely comfortable urban runabout, anchored mainly through a lovely suspension compliance that just avoids being too mushy.

Its 18s can get caught on occasion slapping over some deeper/sharper bits of road acne, but its ability to filter out all manner of bumps is wonderfully accomplished.

Its polite nature also makes the Corolla Cross a fine touring machine for soaking up long open-road kays, powertrain grumbles notwithstanding.

However, its structure doesn’t quite suppress ambient road noise as well as it might — it’s not bad, if not nearly as serene on the ears as the best in class like the Nissan Qashqai.

There’s just enough body control — and a wonderfully innate natural balance — to lean the Corolla Cross dynamic character more towards Corolla (funnily enough) than RAV4.

It’s sprightly and connected, if never really drumming up enough engagement to be properly fun. Perhaps the GR Sport, with its revised suspension and 19s, will add suitable sportiness to the SUV’s recipe.

And this is from the front-driven Corolla Cross, fitted with more rudimentary torsion beam rear axle than the most sophisticated multi-link rear axle of the all-wheel drive versions.

The point? You don’t miss out (much) in ride and handling chops by opting for the front driver. And nor does it lack real-world traction either, at least in most conditions.

That said, the ($3000 pricier) AWD will absolutely pay dividends to regional buyers who habitually drive on broken surfaces. Not because the Corolla Cross has off-road chops to speak of, but because the safety in traction all-paw drive presents in less than ideal conditions.

While safety is covered off below, the panoramic view monitor system — with its 360-degree coverage and transparent chassis viewpoint —deserves a shout out for making parking in even the tightest areas a doddle.

What is the Corolla Cross Atmos’s interior and tech like?

The flagship Atmos interior treatment is…largely unremarkable. Save for the revised centre console — which brings a ring of mood lighting and two phone pads, only one of which charges your phone — this face-lift is a dead-ringer for the AWD Atmos we reviewed two years ago.

As mid-life interior makeovers go, it’s a lazy one.

That said, the Corolla Cross was and remains straightforward, presentable, uncomplicated and easy to navigate, despite its fundamentally bland mid-grey theme. It’s a welcoming place to spend drive time, be it peak hour or interstate road trips.

The worst of it is, surprisingly, entry. There’s a triangular protrusion right where the dash fascia meets the driver’s door trim, and taller drivers will bash their left knee against it at least once a week. Ouch!

Thankfully, the rest of row one is more ergonomically sound and roomier than its ‘Corolla’ namesake might suggest.

Materials, though, are workmanlike: the ‘leather appointed’ trim isn’t particularly tactile, there’s an abundance of hard plastics for this flagship variant’s price point, and it features the curious blend of seat heating and cooling with partial cloth trim.

Even the new stuff — again, just the centre console — appears parts-binned from 2005. And the tech does feel much newer. The presentable, carryover 12.3-inch driver’s screen brings the only meaningful colour to the cabin theme and it makes the modest carryover 10.5-inch media screen look a bit old hat.

Content is a mixed bag. The transparent chassis 360-degree camera proved surprisingly useful when kerb-spotting while parking in tight places, but the so-called premium JBL audio system’s sound quality is mediocre at best. And the shrill hands-free phone audio is woeful.

Second-row room is average, partly because front footwells force taller front occupants to set the front pews rearward on their rails. The upshot is that Corolla Cross is a four-adult proposition at best, and for shorter trips in order to avoid discomfort.

Row two is also minted in grey-on-grey, the door cards almost completely ballistics grade hard plastic, and the wavy stitching of some of the hardy seat trim is low-rent.

Boot space is a decent 425 litres with usable proportions and the 17-inch spare wheel is, for a touring national, downright essential for long road trips.

But the kick-sensor tailgate, slow to open while barking beeps at high volume in typical Toyota style, might drive you and your neighbours bonkers before too long.

Is the Corolla Cross Atmos a safe car?

With so little changed to this facelift, it’s no surprise that this MY25 version carries over its five-star ANCAP rating from more lenient times, in 2022. It covers all variants bar the upcoming GR Sport.

The Corolla Cross scored 85 and 88 percent respectively for adult and child occupant safety protection, 87 for vulnerable road user protection and 83 for safety assist.

Safety features include:

• Eight airbags
• Forward autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and daytime cyclist detection
• Turning assist
• Lane departure mitigation 
• Lane change assist
• Blind Sport monitoring w/ safe exit warning
• Rear cross traffic alert
• 360-degree camera
• Road sign assist
• Auto high beam assist

Because the Corolla Cross omits driver monitoring and audible overspeed warning (rather than speed sign recognition) system, it doesn’t constantly bing and bong at the driver as Kias, Hyundais, Mitsubishis and a long list of Chinese-branded SUVs do. And thus, no systems need to be switched off before every trip for occupants’ sanity. 

And yet it’s still five-star ANCAP certified. Nice.

Our only inconclusive observation was that the activation of forward collision warning — let alone forwards AEB — is so late that it could appear dysfunctional short of a genuine emergency stop situation. 

What are the Corolla Cross Atmos’s ownership costs?

The front-drive Corolla Cross comes with a thrifty 4.2L/100km combined fuel consumption claim, which is amongst the best in class and typically impressive for the brand that leans so heavily on its hybrid credentials.

The problem is that our test car refused to drop from around 5.4L/100km during our week of, frankly, relaxed and cruisey driving. One litre per hundred mightn’t sound like much…but 28 percent thirstier than claimed is far from being on the money.

Less questionable is Toyota’s famously cheap servicing. Five years of coverage costs just $1275 — cheap as chips — with decent intervals of 12 months and 15,000km between visits.

The increasingly mundane five-year (unlimited-kilometre) warranty can be extended through to a more competitive seven years if you service the vehicle on time.

The honest verdict on the Corolla Cross Atmos

Let’s call the Corolla Cross facelift what it is: a very minor update that ‘sidegrades’ — rather than upgrades — aesthetics so that the model looks refreshed, complete with an obligatory price bump. In Atmos form, at least, there’s nothing meaningfully new to write about…bar tweaked appearances.

Further, small, front-driven mainstream SUVs asking well in $50K on-road warranty a fancier fit-out: where’s the passenger seat electric adjustment, the head-up display, the soft-touch door cards inserts, third-zone climate, etcetera?

Rivals trounce Corolla Cross on value, and it’s reflected in the sales stats.

From powertrain to interior tech, there’s nothing new, nor anything all that outstanding. And where the top end of the Corolla Cross sits, price wise and against an ocean of competitors, staying anchored to 2022 appears to be dangerous waters. On this alone, it must be taken down a peg from its steadfast 8/10 rating providence.

And yet…the Corolla Cross remains such an easy-to-use, fuss-free, low-maintenance and downright likeable device. It’s perfect motoring for when motoring is the last thing you want to think about, doing anything else that life demands.