2023 Toyota Corolla Cross GX 2.0L Petrol Review

What happens when you take the lofty body style of an SUV and cross it with a hatchback Toyota Corolla? Why, you get the rather aptly named Toyota Corolla Cross! The Corolla Cross in many ways is a sign of the times, as it aims to take the Corolla’s signature affordability and reliability and wraps it all up in a more practical SUV body. We jumped behind the very cheapest model of the range – the 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross GX 2.0 petrol, to see whether it has what it takes to be another small-SUV worthy of your shopping list.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room. This specific Corolla Cross might be the cheapest model in the lineup, but it also misses out on the Japanese brand’s oh-so popular hybrid drivetrain. With buyers flocking to Toyota’s hybrids in a world of ever rising fuel prices, does it make sense to buy a non-hybrid Toyota Corolla Cross in base spec? Time to find out.

Price & Equipment: 8.5/10

There are three Corolla Cross grades in Australia and here we’re testing the very entry point to the range: the GX 2.0-litre petrol, which is priced from $33,000 plus on-road costs (around $37,000 drive away).

Standard equipment on the entry-level Corolla Cross includes 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights with halogen daytime running lights, keyless entry and start, heated and auto-folding mirrors, single-zone climate control, a urethane steering wheel with audio and cruise controls, cloth upholstery, electric lumbar adjustment for the driver, automatic windows, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto, a six-speaker sound system, a 7.0-inch digital driver’s display and 12 months of complimentary access to Toyota Connected Services.

Safety equipment consists of eight airbags (including a front centre unit), auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian, cyclist and intersection assist, lane keeping assistance with lane trace assist, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, driver attention monitoring, speed sign recognition, auto high beam and a reversing camera. The Corolla Cross’ range-wide strong safety credentials earned it a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2022.

The only no-cost colours for the Corolla Cross are ‘Glacier White’ and ‘Jungle Khaki’ with ‘Frosted White’, ‘Atomic Rush’ (red), ‘Eclipse Black’, ‘Lunar Blue’, ‘Moondust Grey’ and ‘Stunning Silver’ costing $575 extra.

We consider the Kia Seltos Sport ($35,390 drive away nationwide) and Mazda CX-30 G20 Evolve (around $37,500 drive away) to be the Corolla Cross GX’s main rivals and they both make the Corolla Cross seem expensive. Not only is the Seltos Sport around $2,000 less expensive than the Corolla Cross GX, but it adds features like a leather steering wheel, a larger 10.25-inch touchscreen with inbuilt satellite navigation and digital radio, roof rails, a larger 10.25-inch digital driver’s display and a full-sized alloy spare wheel. The Corolla Cross has stronger safety credentials, LED headlights and keyless entry and start, but still looks sparse next to the Kia.

The CX-30 Evolve is priced quite similarly to the Corolla Cross GX, but features stronger safety credentials thanks to features like a heads-up display, all-LED lighting, reverse automatic braking and parking sensors. It also has more speakers, dual-zone climate control and larger 18-inch wheels. Even though the Corolla Cross has great safety kit, we still think it should have more equipment for the money like a leather steering wheel, roof rails, parking sensors and satellite navigation.

Performance & Economy: 7.0/10

Under the bonnet of the 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross GX lives a petrol engine, without any electric assistance – though each model grade offers the same engine underneath the hybrid models. That engine is a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine pushing out 126kW of power at 6600rpm, and 202Nm between 4400 and 4900rpm. The regular Corolla hatchback and sedan use the same engine.

The engine’s power is sent to the front wheels through an automatic continuously variable transmission (CVT) transmission. The transmission has a traditional “launch gear”, meaning that it feels perfectly like a decent torque converter auto when setting off from zero. In manual mode, the transmission creates 10 stepped gear ratios for drivers can select through. We wouldn’t bother though, leaving the transmission in drive is best. It has the smarts to work out what the driver’s intentions are.

Heading out of town, the engine does sound strained at higher revs when accelerating, showing that it’s best to back off and drive in a more sedate manner. Luckily, when cruising, the CVT keeps the revs nice and low, with the engine sometimes ticking over 1000rpm when cruising. A 0-100km/h sprint time of around 9.2 seconds is nothing to be sneezed at however, keeping the base Corolla Cross competitive with other vehicles in the class.

Toyota quotes fuel consumption at 6.0L/100km on the combined cycle with CO2 emissions of 136g/km. Around town, the Corolla Cross used a respectable 9.5L/100km of fuel and on the open road, this figure fell into the mid 6L/100km mark. The Toyota Corolla Cross GX petrol can run on regular 91 RON fuel and comes with a 47-litre fuel tank.

Ride & Handling: 8.0/10

The GX might be the opening to the 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross range, but we’re please to report it drives anything but poorly, with fluid and responsive handling making it a brilliant city companion. The good news continues out of town too, with the Corolla Cross offering just enough driver appeal to keep things fun through corners, with a nicely absorbent ride to match. The quality Bridgestone tyres offer tons of grip no matter the surface conditions and add to the Toyota’s quality feel. Wind and road noise are kept well at bay, and the Corolla Cross feels like a refined beast on the open road.

The Corolla Cross packs a very impressive suite of active driving tech with the adaptive cruise control and Lane Trace Assist working better than most systems in the class. The Corolla Cross, even in base GX spec can facilitate semi-autonomous highway driving capability, even changing lanes by itself when asked to by indicating left or right. Blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert both work well and the great visibility all-round, due to the Corolla Cross’ boxy body, means it’s super easy to navigate dense traffic or tricky parking manoeuvres.

We’re a little mystified by the lack of parking sensors on the base GX Corolla Cross. Sure, Toyota does throw in a reversing camera with adaptive guidelines, but an audible warning when parking is handy.

Interior & Practicality: 7.5/10

The interior of the 2023 Toyota Corolla Gross GX is a little bit of a mixed bag. Inside, it feels like a base model with a rental car vibe thanks to the polyurethane steering wheel, bland seat fabrics, hard door panels and rock hard upper dashboard plastics. Add a row of blanked out switches on the centre dash, and the base Corolla Cross feels like it’s missed out on a lot of equipment. Sadly, the design isn’t the most flamboyant, either, having borrowed a lot from the regular Corolla that was released in 2018.

On the flipside, the grey dark colours and clean design aren’t likely to polarise anyone, and will stand the test of time. Like any Toyota, you can just tell this interior has been built to last, even if it isn’t the last word in design or flair.

Up front, the seats are accommodating of all body shapes and are decently comfortable. With solid contouring and vast adjustment in the driver’s position, tall and short drivers will be able to find a position which suits them. Storage is good too, with the interior having a slightly more upright feel than the standard Corolla hatch or sedan. Think larger door bins and a taller, and pretty deep cubby in the centre stack. Sadly, there is no wireless charger on the base Corolla Cross.

Toyota has updated the Corolla Cross’ infotainment, with the 8.0-inch glossy screen sitting proudly on top of the dash. Sure, it might have some thick bezels but it is a wonderfully slick system which makes Toyota’s older units feel decidedly pre-historic.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto both worked really well without any problems and the the six-speaker stereo sound system offers really decent sound quality for a non premium sound system.

We’re big fans of the physical climate controls located right under the screen, too. They’re easy to use, intuitive and most importantly, they’re such a welcome inclusion in a world where climate controls are forever migrating onto touchscreens.

Heading into the back seats reveals a spacious environment with decent legroom and headroom for rear passengers. Throw in a supportive bench and a well-contoured seatback, and the Corolla Cross is one of the better small-SUVs for accommodating rear-seat passengers. There’s also a pair of air vents, a single map pocket behind the front passenger seat and door bins with bottle holders.

The boot of the Corolla Cross GX petrol comes with a useful 436-litres of capacity with the rear seats up. Not a bad result, on par with a Seltos’ 433-litres, and certainly much more capacious than a Mazda CX-30’s 317-litres. The boot is relatively square, but with the rear seats folded there’s a large hump between the boot floor and the backs of the folded rear seats, which is not great when transporting larger items.

A temporary space-saver spare wheel sits under the boot floor, and you get the impression the boot could have been even larger if the thick foam spacing were removed. There’s certainly some room for improvement here. Literally, and with some changes, the Corolla Cross could have class-leading boot space.

Service & Warranty: 9.0/10

Like other new Toyota products, the 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross GX 2.0-litre petrol is equipped with a five-year/unlimited km warranty with no roadside assistance. If it’s serviced at a Toyota dealer during the whole warranty period, you get an extra two years of mechanical warranty from Toyota. Five years/75,000km of servicing costs $1,250 ($250 per service).

Mazda features the same five years of warranty as Toyota – though you can’t extend it like Toyota – and Kia gives you seven years from the get go. Mazda also includes five years of roadside assistance with its cars, while Kia gives you up to eight years in total if the car is serviced at a Kia dealership. Five years of servicing the Seltos costs $2,072 ($414 per service) and the CX-30 costs $1,981 ($396 per service) – the Mazda is to a lesser 50,000km though, thanks to its shorter 10,000km service intervals (5,000km less than the Seltos and Corolla Cross).

The 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross GX 2.0L Petrol DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.0/10

In a world where buyers tend to flock to better equipped models, base models can often feel forgotten. Here, in base GX spec and without even metallic paint, the Corolla Cross we tested proved that it has what it takes to be a solidly built, no nonsense small SUV that’s bang up to date with the latest safety and driver assistance tech.

It’s also relatively easy on the hip pocket, with a realistic price tag and dirt-cheap servicing costs. In many ways it harks back to what made Toyota so popular in the first place – making solid, affordable cars, which might not set the heart on fire, but keep the head very content.

Sure, the interior feels spartan thanks and it should have rear parking sensors as standard, but in all honestly, there is very little fundamentally wrong with the rest of the Corolla Cross. We’d still spend an additional $2,500 to upgrade to a hybrid drivetrain in our Corolla Cross. Doing so will halve the fuel consumption bill and improve the driving experience with a more responsive drivetrain. If funds permit, and you can wait in line for a while, a hybrid Corolla Cross might just be the best small SUV on the market.