How the 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid is better than ever

While it seems like just yesterday that the Toyota Corolla received the award-winning hybrid tech that its Prius, Highlander and Camry siblings have had for years, it’s about to get better still for the Corolla Hybrid in 2023 with the addition of three new Hybrid trims that all come equipped with electronic AWD. That makes the Corolla the only compact hybrid passenger car with AWD.

The current Hybrid LE FWD gets joined by LE AWD, SE AWD and sport XSE AWD models for this year, making it one of the most robust hybrid line-ups you can get anywhere.

Why “electronic AWD”? Well, instead of having a traditional driveshaft running to the rear wheels – taking up valuable interior space – an electric motor on the rear axle sends power to the rear wheels. In addition to giving you better traction in adverse conditions, the EV motor can help keep you more stable through corners and provide quicker starts from stop. You can actually watch the system working through a torque distribution display set within the gauge cluster and on the infotainment display.

In addition to that, all Corolla Hybrid models now get a reengineered drive motor and Lithium-Ion battery, for even more efficient progress.

In addition to the new electronic AWD tech, the Corolla Hybrid also gets the next-generation Toyota Multimedia system as standard. It’s faster than previous, gets a more responsive touchscreen display and over-the-air updates. Cloud navigation, meanwhile, can look to the cloud for any information regarding traffic issues ahead on your route before the traffic station even gets wind of it, making every trip that much more stress-free. Just a quick “Hey Toyota” command, meanwhile, will allow you to tell the Corolla Hybrid where you need to go, and it will upload your request directly to the navi. Add standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and you have a comprehensive update that brings the Corolla Hybrid to the top of the compact class.