Sitting in a quiet corner of FAW Toyota’s Auto Guangzhou booth is the facelifted 12th-generation Toyota Corolla sedan – surprising given this is the most popular version of what is still the best-selling vehicle of all time. The lack of attention to this car belies the significant changes that have been made, aimed at keeping it fresh after a whopping seven years on the market.
As seen in a previous leak, the Corolla receives an all-new front end that takes a page from the latest Prius and Camry, sporting Toyota’s latest “hammerhead” design lined framed by C-shaped headlights. Lower down, you’ll find L-shaped bumper corners with integrated fog lights leading into the slimmer centre air intake.
The cross-spoke alloy wheels are also new, looking suspiciously similar to the rollers on the facelifted sixth-generation Lexus ES from 2015 – they even have the same 17-inch diameter. Also added is a black triangle at the trailing edge of the rear quarter light windows to visually lengthen the glasshouse, while at the rear, an illuminated red strip has been added to connect the (now smoked) inverted L-shaped taillights.
Even bigger changes are to be found inside. There’s a far more modern dashboard and door card design incorporating full-width air vents and another row of centre vents underneath. Below this you’ll find a wider centre console with dual smartphone holders (one of which houses a Qi wireless charger), as is now in fashion in China.
The Corolla continues to employ an 8.8-inch digital instrument display, but the centre touchscreen is now a floating unit measuring a massive (by Toyota standards at least) 12.9 inches across, running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip. Controversially, the physical air-con switchgear has been replaced by in-touchscreen controls; it remains to be seen if this will be carried over to global markets where the car’s typical buyer profile is usually much more conservative.
It’s all change under the bonnet as well. Out go the Chinese-market 1.2 litre 9NR-FTS four-cylinder and 1.5 litre M15B-FTS three-pot engines, in favour of a 171 PS 2.0 litre M20E-FTS naturally-aspirated mill that’s likely mated to a CVT. There’s also a hybrid model that uses a 98 PS 1.8 litre Atkinson-cycle engine and dual electric motors, along with a new nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery. Toyota claims this variant is capable of a combined fuel consumption of 4.13 litres per 100 km and a range of 1,041 km.
Could we see the facelifted Corolla in global markets such as Malaysia? Such a far-reaching upgrade is certainly necessary, given the 12th generation’s age and the fact that the out-there next-gen model still seems a ways away from reaching production. However, we will probably receive a less fancy infotainment system and a different engine – likely the same 139 PS/172 Nm 2ZR-FE 1.8-litre Dual VVT-i mill as before.
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FL or no FL, please bring in the 2.0L DFE.
Toyota to use next-generation 1.5L, 2.0L turbo powertrains for hybrid, PHEV, sports car applications,
Where is it going to be a reality to compete with new generation vehicles?
Considering South East Asia got the FAW version of Corolla rather than the GAC version (two version of Corolla available in China), this facelift has resonable SEA prospects
2018 launched this TNGA Corolla,
2022 launched 2nd Gen TNGA, used for New Prius
new 223 PS 2.0L PHEV, 196 PS 2.0L HEV
2025 recently showcase new Corolla Concept
Reality now 2025 facelift a TNGA Corolla with 2.0 and 1.8 HEV
What a fantastic & elegant design, hopefully it will landed in Malaysia soon…
Coming to Australia?
Coming to Thailand?
Coming to Indonesia?
Word can’t express how much disappointment I am with all the aircond buttons gone. Shame on Toyota.
“however, we will probably receive a less fancy infotainment system and a different engine” is exactly what’s wrong with toyota in malaysia. we almost always get a sub par offering or “developing nation” only models. :(
Ugly interior as usual
Toyota Malaysia, we kindly request that you do not initiate the removal of physical aircond buttons in our region. With respect.
I don’t mind it personally, there is voice activation and BYD’s implementation should become the standard (below). You can swipe ANYWHERE on the screen to do the following
– Temperature: Swipe three fingers up to increase the temperature or down to decrease it.
– Fan speed: Swipe three fingers to the right to increase the fan speed or to the left to decrease it
Also to be fair, you also have to take your eyes off the road to change anything else that is not temp/fan with physical buttons.
I agree that buttons are easier, maybe because I’m old school too but it is a cost and to many an aesthetic thing. My two children (new drivers <21) do not have any qualms about adjusting anything and everything on a screen.
You got the point, many classic cars give inferior screen with slow processors and chips.
It’s lag, delayed, boring and not friendly.
classic cars gives buttons and knobs for certain functions such as – aircon temp, audio volume, gear reverse, etc – which has zero delay precisely because they dont rely on screen to operate.
UMWT tend to use the same engine for decades and just change the shell which they will increase price.
Bring a 2.0 version or HEV version, sell it between 120k and 140k, doesn’t matter if it has a fancy dashboard or not; it will sell. Just UMW don’t shortchange us with lower specs; our Thailand counterpart got the better ones. Fix the price point, and the sales will come.