2024 Toyota Corolla Cross

We can imagine the Corolla Cross being popular in college parking lots as first-year students drive in for their classes. Or standing outside daycare centers as young parents pick up their children. For these light-duty tasks, the Corolla Cross does just fine. It’s not a game-changer; it’s not going to make its owners suddenly more attractive, but it will get them to the stores and back. Most of the time, that’s all we really need.

In size and price, the Corolla Cross slots beneath the RAV4 in Toyota’s venerable SUV lineup, and it ranks in the top half of our subcompact SUV rankings along with the Kia Seltos, Honda HR-V, and Subaru Crosstrek.

The Corolla Cross Hybrid is reviewed separately.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of subcompact SUVs, including the Toyota Corolla Cross.

The Corolla Cross is still relatively fresh, having debuted for the 2022 model year. So, just the wireless phone charging system in the top two trims has been upgraded this year.

Looking at the strongest rivals, the Honda HR-V is priced from $24.1K, with the Kia Seltos a few hundred bucks above that. The Subaru Crosstrek and Mazda CX-30 begin at $25K, although they come with all-wheel drive as standard. For reference, the Corolla Cross Hybrid starts at about $28K.

Before buying a new Corolla Cross SUV, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should be paying. Like many Toyota vehicles, the Corolla Cross maintains its value better than most subcompact SUVs. Recouping more money when you sell a vehicle can mean a bigger down payment and lower monthly payments on your next one.

The Corolla Cross is motivated by 169 horsepower from a 4-cylinder engine. It takes more than nine seconds to accelerate (if that’s the right word) from a standstill to 60 mph. The Mazda CX-30 has 191 horsepower and reaches 60 mph in about eight seconds, which is hardly fast, but still one of the sprightlier members of its class. This combination of a so-so engine and slow-responding continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) will dull the glint in any enthusiast’s eye. And we think the restart action of the fuel-saving engine off/on feature could be sweeter. But most prospective owners won’t care about such gripes.

The same easy demeanor found in many Toyota vehicles is the main attribute when sitting behind the wheel of a 2024 Corolla Cross subcompact SUV. We’ve found that the effort required is minimal. It rides higher than its sedan namesake, giving that elevated driving position loved by so many. And the ride quality is more than acceptable. When all-wheel drive is fitted, the rear suspension has a more sophisticated multilink setup instead of the standard torsion beam arrangement, bringing ride and handling advantages.

Fuel Economy

That shortage of muscle does have an upside. With standard front-wheel drive, the Corolla Cross achieves 32 mpg in combined city/highway driving. Factor in AWD, and that figure drops by three miles per gallon. That’s the same as the Mazda CX-30 (non-turbo, AWD). Honda HR-V owners will have slightly higher fuel bills, getting 27 mpg combined (AWD). Learn more about the Toyota Corolla Cross fuel economy at the EPA website.

The dashboard of the 2024 Corolla Cross SUV is tidy and functional. And the seats are adequately comfortable. The base L trim relies too heavily on unattractive plastics, however. There are four cup holders, or six in the XLE. This top trim also has a rear center armrest and a cargo cover, things that really ought to be standard across the range. Rear legroom is below average for the segment at 32 inches, but that’s about the only measurement in which the Corolla Cross falls a bit short. We’ve found the front quarters plenty roomy, offering more cargo room than most competitors. There’s up to 26.5 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats in place and a cavernous 66.8 cubic feet with the rear seatbacks collapsed.

Conservative enough to please most of the people most of the time, the 2024 Corolla Cross SUV is about five inches shorter than the RAV4 and a couple of inches lower. So it’s large enough to be practical yet easy to park. It also offers 8.1 inches of ground clearance, more than most subcompact SUVs. All three trims have black grilles, while the top XLE variant emphasizes its classiness with a metallic paint surround.

Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto
As well as the convenience of integrating a phone with the infotainment system, the wireless aspect means not having to remove said phone from a pocket or purse. This is standard throughout the lineup.

Safety
Standard safety features include forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, pedestrian and motorcycle detection, intersection assistance, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and adaptive cruise control.

Connected services
These include functions like remote start/lock/unlock, vehicle health reports, and SOS assistance, and can be controlled by a smartphone app or even a smartwatch. Some subscriptions are free for 12 months, and Wi-Fi comes with a 3-month subscription, plus an Integrated Streaming feature for Apple Music and Amazon Music. Not all trims offer all services, however.

All-wheel drive
All-wheel drive is great when the weather gets rough, and it’s available as an option with every Corolla Cross trim level.

Rear Seat Reminder
If you open and close a rear door before getting on your way, the Corolla Cross can remind you to check back there when you reach your destination. It’s handy for remembering a gym bag but invaluable for reminding of much more precious cargo.

Multi-information display
This is a 7-inch driver information screen that, sadly, is offered solely in the priciest XLE trim. It’s a nice piece of tech, though.

The Corolla Cross SUV has a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, making 169 horsepower and 150 lb-ft of torque. An automatic transmission of the continuously variable kind directs energy to the front wheels in standard form or all four if all-wheel drive is selected from the options list.

3-year/36,000-Mile Warranty

Toyota’s new-vehicle warranty lasts three years or 36,000 miles, whichever happens first. Powertrains are covered for five years or 60,000 miles. These terms are typical among mainstream manufacturers. Toyota also provides free maintenance for the first two years or 25,000 miles.

Safety Ratings

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded the Corolla Cross a spot on its Top Safety Pick list for 2024.