Toyota’s 2026 Corolla Cross Looks Sharper, but Does It Drive Better?
Upgrades to the Corolla Cross target looks and functionality, but it could still use a little more grunt.
As an entry-level subcompact SUV, there's plenty to like about the versatile Toyota Corolla Cross. It’s practical, affordable, and when ordered as a hybrid, capable of delivering real fuel savings. And since its debut, Toyota has steadily added small but useful touches, everything from a standard roof rack to a universal garage door opener to carpeted floormats.
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For the 2026 model year, the Corolla Cross is being treated to its first significant update, with Toyota putting design front and center—both in terms of style and function—to counter some past criticisms about the SUV’s interior quality. The question is, do the changes go far enough to elevate the experience?
Shaving the Mustache
Taking stock of them from a head-on view, the two 2026 Toyota Corolla Cross variants almost look like different models. The hybrid version now wears a single, uninterrupted body-colored vertical panel that links the front fenders with a wide, flattened honeycomb grille section. Its black lower vents flare more aggressively, and the foglamps appear to sit farther apart.
The gas version, meanwhile, employs a slightly narrower, contrasting trapezoidal grille (Toyota calls it “rugged”), with closer-set foglamps and subtler corner ducts. Both models are fitted with redesigned headlights and taillights (now full LEDs with no more chrome buckets) plus available 18-inch wheels and a striking new Calvary Blue paint option. The Corolla Cross Hybrid goes a step further with an available two-tone look, pairing its body color with a black roof.
It’s a natural evolution of the styling differences Toyota has played up in past years. Some critics thought earlier hybrids were less attractive than their gas counterparts, so a revision was inevitable. That said, we’ll miss the gas model’s old metallic trim piece framing the grille—a quirky detail that gave the SUV a kind of Fu Manchu mustache.
Low-Key More Premium
Inside, the Corolla Cross gets an available 10.5-inch touchscreen that differs slightly from the one in the RAV4 and Corolla sedan. Instead of the familiar volume on/off knob along the lower left, slim buttons now sit dead center at the bottom edge. It’s a minor change—shorter drivers might find the reach a bit longer—but in practice we noticed no added strain. The touchscreen’s functionality is otherwise largely the same as that of the previous model.
The bigger story is the updated center console, which takes on an almost Audi-like look. Gone are the bland, round-topped shifter and clunky trim bits, along with the awkward cubby that hemmed in the wireless charger between silver grab handles. In its place is a lower-profile selector with a boxier, more ergonomic knob, framed by a clean strip of chrome that outlines the controls. The phone charger remains up under the dash, but it now sits slightly more open and accessible. If Toyota was aiming for minimal and modern, mission accomplished.
A new Portobello brown interior color adds a touch of warmth, and the Corolla Cross continues to impress with roomy front seats, great outward visibility, and a healthy roster of standard tech, including wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and Toyota’s Safety Sense 3.0 driver assist suite. The back half of the cabin, however, still needs work: legroom and kneeroom remain tight, rear materials feel cheaper, and opting for AWD eats into cargo space.
Practical Everyday Comfort
Behind the wheel, the front-wheel-drive model has a light, reassuring steering feel, and it’s simple to maneuver, but the experience is otherwise forgettable. The all-wheel-drive versions feel slower still (and are slower, by our testing), though they ride better thanks to a more sophisticated rear suspension.
As for the gas model, we didn’t encounter the clunky starter gear handoff to the continuously variable transmission that we’ve experienced previously. Under load, however, the 2.0-liter still sounds coarse and strained, if maybe a little quieter.
The hybrid's power delivery is much smoother. Its electric motors give it stronger low-end response and quieter operation, improving everyday drivability. It also adds real efficiency—more than 40 mpg combined. It’s not Prius good, but it’s pretty darn impressive for a subcompact crossover.
In the end, the 2026 Corolla Cross continues to favor comfort and practicality over fun-to-drive frivolity. It rides well over typical roadways, is easy to live with daily, and the hybrid version makes a strong case for itself. Just don’t expect much excitement—this is an SUV designed for commuting ease, not breakneck backroad thrills.
Rut Rambler
That’s not to say the Corolla Cross isn’t capable of doing some light, SUV-style work off-road. At the 2026 model’s media drive, Toyota let journalists loose on a zigzagging, rutted trail that rolled up and down the side of a brushy hill—an exercise meant to show off the SUV’s AWD system and 8.1 inches of ground clearance (8.0 in the Corolla Cross Hybrid).
The drive down the hill proved more impressive than the climb up it. Despite lacking hill descent control and riding on its factory street tires, the little crossover slipped very little as it picked its way down the loose surfaces. And while the views from atop the Sonoma Mountains stole the show, the Corolla Cross demonstrated it can handle more than just city streets.
Not a Thrill Ride, Doesn’t Need to Be
The 2026 Corolla Cross remains a practical and well-rounded subcompact SUV, with the midcycle refresh sharpening both its styling and interior design. Front passengers continue to enjoy roomy seating, great visibility, and a new modern, user-friendly center console, while the hybrid model delivers smoother power delivery and strong fuel efficiency that makes it the most compelling choice in the lineup.
That said, the Corolla Cross isn’t what you'd call a thrilling drive. Gas models feel underpowered and coarse under load, and AWD versions are slower than their front-wheel-drive counterparts. Rear seating remains tight, with this year’s changes only addressing one part of the otherwise cramped and basic cabin, and opting for AWD comes with a noticeable cargo-space penalty.
Still, Toyota packs in plenty of features for the price, including standard safety technology and other thoughtful touches. The 2026 Corolla Cross certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but for buyers prioritizing practicality, efficiency, and overall value, it’s still a capable and sensible option. You don’t get to be called the Corolla of SUVs for nothing.
My dad was a do-it-yourselfer, which is where my interest in cars began. To save money, he used to service his own vehicles, and I often got sent to the garage to hold a flashlight or fetch a tool for him while he was on his back under a car. Those formative experiences activated and fostered a curiosity in Japanese automobiles because that’s all my Mexican immigrant folks owned then. For as far back as I can remember, my family always had Hondas and Toyotas. There was a Mazda and a Subaru in there, too, a Datsun as well. My dad loved their fuel efficiency and build quality, so that’s how he spent and still chooses to spend his vehicle budget. Then, like a lot of young men in Southern California, fast modified cars entered the picture in my late teens and early 20s. Back then my best bud and I occasionally got into inadvisable high-speed shenanigans in his Honda. Coincidentally, that same dear friend got me my first job in publishing, where I wrote and copy edited for action sports lifestyle magazines. It was my first “real job” post college, and it gave me the experience to move just a couple years later to Auto Sound & Security magazine, my first gig in the car enthusiast space. From there, I was extremely fortunate to land staff positions at some highly regarded tuner media brands: Honda Tuning, UrbanRacer.com, and Super Street. I see myself as a Honda guy, and that’s mostly what I’ve owned, though not that many—I’ve had one each Civic, Accord, and, currently, an Acura RSX Type S. I also had a fourth-gen Toyota pickup when I met my wife, with its bulletproof single-cam 22R inline-four, way before the brand started calling its trucks Tacoma and Tundra. I’m seriously in lust with the motorsport of drifting, partly because it reminds me of my boarding and BMX days, partly because it’s uncorked vehicle performance, and partly because it has Japanese roots. I’ve never been much of a car modifier, but my DC5 is lowered, has a few bolt-ons, and the ECU is re-flashed. I love being behind the wheel of most vehicles, whether that’s road tripping or circuit flogging, although a lifetime exposed to traffic in the greater L.A. area has dulled that passion some. And unlike my dear ol’ dad, I am not a DIYer, because frankly I break everything I touch.
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