“Sexy” isn’t a word you’d likely catch yourself uttering when it comes to the Toyota Corolla. “Solid,” sure. “Reliable,” absolutely. But it’s the ultimate in utilitarian design. At least that’s the way it’s been since the long-popular sedan first made its debut in 1966. But if the concept vehicle making its debut at this week’s Japan Mobility Show is any indication, the 13th generation Corolla will be a very different sort of beast. Here’s more from Headlight.News.
The Corolla Concept gives a very different take to a traditionally plain vanilla sedan.
Since making its debut 60 years ago, the Toyota Corolla has become the world’s best-selling automobile. But times are changing. Sedans no longer command the market. And Toyota appears to be betting it will need to make some major changes to keep Corolla from fading into oblivion, much like so many of its one-time competitors.
If the Corolla Concept that made its debut this week at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo is any indication, Toyota’s got some interesting ideas that could keep the sedan from growing stale.
“Corolla is a car for the majority, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily want the same answer” as before, Lance Scott, Toyota’s European head of design, said during a media background briefing.
An all-new concept
The next Corolla is expected to offer buyers a wide range of powertrain choices.
The Corolla Concept is a radical departure from anything we’ve seen before bearing the Corolla badge. But that’s in line with what we’ve been seeing with some other recent makeovers from the Japanese giant, starting with the latest-generation Prius.
The new show car adopts a decidedly sleeker, more aerodynamic design that gives the Corolla Concept a sexier more modern appearance, both inside and out.
The version on display features a sealed front grille that suggests it might be all-electric. And that fits into Toyota’s new powertrain strategy which is meant to give buyers a wide range of choices, from conventional gas and turbo packages to electrified hybrids, plug-ins and pure EVs.
A decidedly different appearance
The current Corolla is a plain vanilla sedan.
Corolla is “a car for everyone,” Toyota CEO Koji Sato said during a presentation at Tokyo’s Big Sight convention center. But the new Corolla Concept suggests Toyota is no longer going to aim for the lowest common denominator.
Much like thy did with Prius, Toyota designers put a premium on fuel-saving aerodynamics. But that didn’t mean coming up with an awkward shape as the company had done in the past. The Corolla Concept has a clean, sculptural look, with the sort of low cowl you most often see on EVs these days – and, indeed, the sealed grille and wide lightbar on the show car suggests this version might be using an all-electric drivetrain. A coupe-like roofline flows into an integrated ducktail-style spoiler, with a narrow rear lightbar matching the one up front.
The exterior design looks near production-ready, though there’s a little bit more fiction to some of the interior details, such as the backlit electronic shifter controls mounted atop a mushroom like center pedestal. A two-tone steering wheel appears to float above the clean and uncomplicated instrument panel. A widescreen digital display is positioned directly in the line of sight of the front passenger.
Toyota claims the Corolla Concept’s interior is roomier than the current sedan in virtually all dimensions.
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Multi-pathway powertrain strategy
“Let’s make good-looking cars that everyone will want to drive,” said Sato, “Whether it’s a battery EV, plug-in hybrid, hybrid, or internal combustion engine vehicle―whatever the power source.”
As noted, the Corolla Concept appears to be housing a battery-electric drivetrain, an impr
ession further backed up by the front charger port and a vertical display at the edge of the right front door that reads out the battery pack’s state-of-charge.
But Sato’s comment provides a clue to Toyota’s approach with the show car – and, likely, with the production Corolla. The automaker has long been reluctant to migrate entirely to EVs. Instead, it’s a proponent of what Chairman Akio Toyoda has dubbed a “multi-pathway strategy.” That, indeed, could mean the next Corolla will be offered with everything from gas engines to conventional and plug-in hybrids, as well as a pure EV drivetrain.
Insiders hint that Toyota is developing two new gas powertrains for Corolla, including a 1.5-liter package that will be offered in both naturally aspirated and turbo forms, as well as a 2.0-liter turbo option
Production plans
For now, Toyota isn’t talking about production. And that powertrain strategy could be one reason. “The Corolla is a global car, so it has to meet different powertrain requirements in different regions,” Chief Engineer Toru Fukushima said at a media briefing. Coming up with a flexible-enough platform means it is still a work-in-progress.
But that likely won’t be for long. The current Corolla has been in production since 2018 – and eternity by the standards of a company that seldom lets key products go for more than five, maybe six years without a major makeover.
We could hear more about the 13th generation Toyota Corolla sometime early next year, though its possible we may have to wait until 2027 before a replacement finally does roll into showrooms.
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