2025 Toyota Corolla

The bright cabin has an airy feel when finished in lighter hues. The control layout impresses and materials are fairly good for the money thanks to extensive use of grained vinyl on the dash and front door panels on most trim levels. 

How fast is the Toyota Corolla?

The base Corolla’s 2.0-liter inline-4 is rated at a decent 169 hp, but the CVT can exacerbate its gruff nature. The engine simply has to spend too much time in the upper reaches of the rev range to extract power, and, accordingly, it lets too much snarl into the cabin. 

The Corolla Hybrid is a better bet overall, even if it offers just 121 hp. It’s more refined and it can motor along in all-electric mode under low-load situations, making it feel even more refined. 

No matter what’s underhood, the Corolla has a comfortable ride that may be slightly firmer than you expect if you haven’t shopped for a small Toyota recently. Combine that composed suspension with quick, light steering and the Corolla has a nimble, almost sporty personality. It’s kind of, sort of fun. 

GR Corolla impressions

Forget about everything we’ve said about regular Corollas if you’re shopping for the GR Corolla. This one has spent plenty of time with Toyota’s comically named Gazoo Racing engineers, and it’s downright brilliant to drive. Its little 1.6-liter turbo-3 zips out 300 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, for a 0-60 mph run of five seconds or better. The 6-speed manual gearbox’s clutch can take some getting used to, but it has a snick-snick feel and tight spacing that makes it a genuine delight to operate. We’ve yet to drive the new 8-speed automatic transmission, but it's optimized to anticipate power needs, and Toyota says it provides quicker lap times. We’ll update this space when we have some seat time with it.

For 2025, the GR Corolla gets handling improvements, too. It adds front and rear rebound springs to reduce inner wheel lift during hard cornering, and features revised rear coils and stabilizer bars to further improve tire contact in the curves. A higher trailing arm mounting point also reduces rear squat during acceleration and improves stability in turns, according to Toyota.

Drivers can decide how much power they want going rearward to give the GR Corolla a more rear-biased feel based on driving modes (the splits range from 50:50 to 30:70, but Toyota says the Track mode's even split provides the quickest track times). We haven't driven the 2025 model, but the grip was already astounding, with credit due to both the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires and the limited-slip differentials. You’ll also find race-grade dampers and firm springs that give the GR Corolla a hard ride in normal cruising and little lean in corners at speed.  

The rear seats have reasonable legroom, but the sloping roofline in sedans means surprisingly limited headroom. The bench is somewhat low to the ground in all versions, while hybrids have weak padding due in part to a battery pack that sits below.

Sedans have a somewhat trim 13.1 cubic-foot trunk, while hatchbacks check in with an additional five or so cubes of space even though they’re shorter overall. 

The Corolla’s cabin has a nicely assembled feel and most versions have synthetic leather on the dash and front door panels, but no model will rival a luxury car for trim. 

Outward vision is better in sedans than hatchbacks, which have hefty rear roof pillars. 

The Corolla’s 3-year/36,000-mile warranty is nothing special, however.

Which Toyota Corolla should I buy?

We’d spend up for the hybrid powertrain, which runs $1,350 more but may pay for itself fairly quickly if you drive a lot. The $28,385 XLE model comes with synthetic leather seats, a digital instrument cluster, and a sunroof, plus nicer interior trim. It’s probably worthwhile.

Be aware that Toyota only offers all-wheel drive on a few hybrid sedan trims (as well as the GR Corolla); a set of winter tires and spare wheels will cost you less. 

Hatchbacks start just south of $24,765 in sporty(ish) SE trim, making them a decent buy, too. But don’t look for a hybrid hatch. 

How much is a fully loaded Toyota Corolla?

The Corolla GR kicks off at $39,995, which seems like a lot for something with a Corolla badge until you consider that these are basically rally cars eligible for a license plate. We’d spend up for the mid-level Premium trim at $42,575 since it adds traction-enhancing limited-slip differentials and heated seats, two items that could come in handy in winter. The top GR Corolla Premium Plus costs $46,650 and adds a carbon-fiber roof, a head-up display, heated synthetic leather and synthetic suede upholstery, a heated steering wheel, and an additional radiator. The new automatic transmission adds $2,000 for all models, so the price can top $49,000.

The 2025 GR Corolla ratings are not yet available. The 2024 model checked in at just 21/28/24 mpg with the manual transmission. Expect the same for 2025, and the new automatic may be slightly more fuel efficient. The GR Corolla needs premium fuel—but it’s not a car you buy if you’re after fuel economy, anyway.