Should You Buy a 2025 Toyota Corolla?

• The 2025 Toyota Corolla starts at $25,730, freight and delivery charges included.

• Excellent fuel economy, solid and holds its value, GR Corolla a hoot to drive.

• Small trunk (hatchback), lack of storage spaces up front, Stiff ride (GR Corolla).

There isn’t much left to be said regarding the Toyota Corolla’s position as a leader in the compact-car segment. It enjoys a strong reputation for reliability, resale value and user-friendliness, and battles its two arch-rivals every year to grab the top rung on the passenger-car sales charts. However, those numbers have been diminishing in recent times, as the 2025 Toyota Corolla represents the seventh model year of the current-generation sedan launched for 2020, and the eighth for the hatchback launched for 2019.

One could argue that the Corolla is such a good car that it doesn’t need constant updates, but truthfully, it may be time for a new generation, if only to give current owners a reason to trade in theirs. That may partially explain why sales are down. In fact, after the first quarter of 2025, sales are down 20 percent year-over-year, while Hyundai Elantra sales are up 21 percent and Honda Civic sales are up 10 percent. Toyota will have to address the situation soon, but a new generation likely won’t arrive before the 2027 model year.

In the meantime, the 2025 Toyota Corolla is once again available in four-door sedan and five-door hatchback body styles. The sedan is offered in L, LE, SE and XSE trim levels, with a few upgrade packages along the way up. The hatchback is available in base, SE and XSE variants, in addition to the hot-to-trot GR Corolla. The Toyota Corolla Cross is a subcompact crossover that we treat as a different model altogether, though it does share some components with the sedan and hatchback.

The base powerplant in the Corolla is a 2.0L inline-four that develops 169 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque, send to the front wheels via a continuously variable automatic transmission. Interestingly, the sedan can also be ordered with a hybrid system consisting of a 1.8L four, a 93-horsepower electric motor, a 0.85 kWh battery pack and an electronically controlled automatic, for a combined output of 138 horsepower and 105 pound-feet. The Corolla Hybrid AWD adds a small motor at the rear, which produces 40 horsepower, but doesn’t increase the car’s overall output figure.

At the other end of the spectrum, the GR Corolla uses a turbocharged 1.6L I3 engine that spits out 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, managed by either a six-speed manual transmission or an eight-speed automatic with paddle shifters. AWD is standard.

Fuel economy ratings are as follows:

The Corolla L sedan and base Corolla hatchback feature include 15-inch wheels, cloth seats, a height-adjustable driver’s seat, keyless entry, a six-speaker stereo, an infotainment system with an eight-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, lane departure alert and automatic high beams, among other items.

Moving up the trim level lineup, available features include heated front and rear seats, a sunroof, LED exterior lighting, 16- to 18-inch alloy wheels, a windshield wiper de-icer, a JBL sound system, a 10.5-inch touchscreen (sedan only), wireless phone charging, Toyota connected services with a trial period, automatic climate control (dual-zone for hatchback), a seven-inch digital driver instrument cluster, an eight-way power driver’s seat, simulated leather and cloth seats, an intelligent key and blind-spot monitoring. The SE and XSE trims also get a multi-link rear suspension instead of a torsion bar setup. The GR Corolla gets some exclusivities such as a 12.3-inch digital driver instrument cluster, head-up display, unique fabric and suede interior trim and park sonar.

The 2025 Toyota Corolla sedan starts at $25,730 including freight and delivery charges, while the hybrid powertrain is available from $28,850. The Corolla hatchback starts at $26,135 and the GR Corolla opens the bidding at $50,275. Toyota Canada also announces an $899 dealer fee on its website.

Compact car competition includes the Honda Civic, the Hyundai Elantra, the Kia K4, the Mazda3, the Nissan Sentra, the Subaru Impreza, the Volkswagen Golf and the Volkswagen Jetta. The subcompact Kia Niro can also be considered an adversary to the Corolla Hybrid. Specifically, the GR Corolla measures up against the Honda Civic Type R, the Subaru WRX and the Volkswagen Golf R.

Why You Should Buy a 2025 Toyota Corolla

• The Corolla is comfortable, its cabin benefits from a straightforward control layout, and it offers decent ride quality that makes the daily commute uneventful. Pretty much what a compact car should be.
• Fuel economy is good with the base powertrain, which is connected to what Toyota calls its Direct Shift CVT. The latter incorporates a fixed launch gear just like in a conventional gearbox, resulting in prompt launches and good throttle tip-in.

• The hybrid system provides effortless fuel economy, and the available all-wheel drivetrain is a bonus for the winter season. During our latest test aboard a Corolla Hybrid XSE AWD, we managed an excellent average of 4.8 L/100 km, even lower than the official ratings.
• The Toyota Corolla enjoys the reputation for being bulletproof, which reflects in its resale value.
• The GR Corolla with its 300-horsepower engine and AWD is a hoot to drive. It’s got plenty of character, something that can’t be said about the rest of the Corolla lineup.

Why You Shouldn’t Buy a 2025 Toyota Corolla

• While the sedan’s cabin volume is average in the segment and its trunk volume is below average at 371 litres, the hatchback rides on a shorter wheelbase and rear-seat occupants will feel it with diminished legroom. Shoulder room front and rear is also among the worst in the compact category, while the hatchback’s cargo area is small at 504 litres with the rear seatbacks in place. Toyota doesn’t even publish a figure with the seatbacks folded, which is an obvious clue that it isn’t competitive. In short, the Corolla hatchback is sportier in appearance than the sedan, but not more versatile.
• There’s very little storage space on the center console. Once we set a couple of bottles in the cupholders, there’s no room left to empty our pockets when we’re travelling for longer periods of time.

• The JBL audio system includes nine speakers in the sedan and eight in the hatchback. It sounds pretty good, but it’s bass-heavy and shakes the door panels, even if we tone it down in the audio settings. Not a big deal.
• The hybrid powertrain is great for saving fuel and its sport mode does liven up the throttle response, but under hard acceleration, the engine is unpleasantly noisy, and performance isn’t its forte. That said, if we’re always driving with the pedal to the metal, a hybrid might not be the best choice in the first place.
• The GR Corolla is undoubtedly fun, but its ride is pretty stiff and it’s not a comfortable daily driver. It’s obviously not a surprise, but we just thought we’d point it out in case.

Final Word

The 2025 Toyota Corolla is appealing as an affordable, solid and trouble-free car. The hybrid variants’ entry price is also the lowest in the compact-car category. It has many rational qualities and its shortcomings aren’t dealbreakers, aside from not being the most spacious vehicle in its segment.

The Corolla may not be an exciting car to drive—unless we’re talking about the hot-blooded GR Corolla—but it’s comfortable, user-friendly and fuel-efficient. A smart choice and an excellent value, even if the car is getting a little long in the tooth.

2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid XSE AWD

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