The current generation Toyota Corolla has been around since 2018. It eventually landed in the country in 2019, but as a whole, it’s already six years old. It’s no spring chicken given that most of its competitors has been renewed this decade.
Its perennial rival has been the Honda Civic, and that received a full model change for 2022. In other countries, it also faces stiff competition from the Nissan Sentra and Volkswagen Jetta, both of which feature clean sheet designs.
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But the wait for an all-new Corolla might not be too long anymore. Reports from Japan have hinted that we could see it make its world premiere sometime in 2025 for the 2026 model year. It was also mentioned that it could be revealed towards the later end of next year.
So, what to expect? It was previously mentioned that it could gain plug-in hybrid tech from BYD. However, there is still a question mark hovering over the internal combustion-powered lineup. That said, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Toyota goes for a downsized turbocharged option.
Toyota is currently putting the final touches on its new generation of fuel-fed engines. It consists of a 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter, both with four cylinders and getting help from turbochargers. With that in mind, it’s likely that the next-gen Corolla will use the prior than the latter, at least for the non-sporting versions.
It’s also worth pointing out that the 1.5-liter is also ready to accept a hybrid system. As whether or not it will also be turbocharged is still unknown.
Other possibilities? Looking at Toyota’s current design language, we could see some elements from redesigned Prius and heavily updated Camry to be applied to the Corolla. We’re also expecting a wide variety of body styles to be available, and there’s a good chance of the wagon still being available as it seems to be a popular model in its home market and in Europe.
As for the Corolla Cross, it seems that the current model will hang around for a little longer. It’s a much younger car compared to the current sedan, hatchback and wagon, although the Cross does ride on the same platform.
There’s a lot riding on the next-generation Toyota Corolla. While sedan sales aren’t what they used to be, the hatchback and wagon models continue to do well in most parts of the world. It’s also important that the company nails this platform as it will form the basis of other similarly sized models.
Given the reported launch date, it might be revealed at next year's Japan Mobility Show.
