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The Toyota Corolla has been a value-leader for decades, does the 2025 model continue its legacy? We look at interior quality, trims, and more in our review.
2025 Toyota Corolla – pressroom.toyota.com | Shop 2025 Toyota Corolla on Carsforsale.com
What’s New for the 2025 Toyota Corolla?
The Toyota Corolla is one of the most well-known cars. You could walk out of your front door in the morning and have a Toyota Corolla practically fall out of the sky onto your driveway. There’s got to be a reason folks default to a Corolla when they need basic automotive transportation, as they have done for 50 years or more. The 2025 edition is the perfect chance to refresh ourselves on why this is the case.
If your internal concept of what a Corolla is supposed to be consists of a featureless box on four wheels, we need to remind you that even the cheap stuff comes loaded with features nowadays. That said, we recommend you open your mind. Because the Corolla of 2025 is just as good of a value as its ancestors from decades ago.
Carsforsale.com Score
8/10
Powertrain
Score
7.75/10
Interior
Score
8.25/10
Technology
Score
8.25/10
Value
Score
8/10
The Breakdown
Still Excellent Value for Money
Exciting new FX Trim
Competitive Fuel Economy
Average Interior Features
Polarizing Facelifted Looks
Bewildering Lineup of options and trims
The Corolla continues its economic namesake
2025 Corolla Specs
- 169 horsepower from base engine
- 151 lb-ft of torque from base engine
- 6 available trims
- 13.1 cu-ft of cargo capacity
- CVT Gearbox standard, eCVT for hybrids
- 3 yr/36,000-mile basic, 5 yr/60,000-mile powertrain warranty
- Available all-wheel drive
2025 Corolla Powertrain 7.75/10
The Corolla has never been a “sporty” sedan (outside of the GR Corolla variants). That said, a vehicle this small and light can take liberties with how much or how little horsepower its engine makes. With a curb weight of just under 3,000 lbs in its most basic trim, 169 horsepower out of a two-liter four-cylinder is enough to be competent on the highway. Granted, the 138-horsepower found in the hybrid really is on the slow side.
Then again, the fuel economy is such that you don’t mind how slow it is. We’re talking 35 combined MPGs from the ICE variant and 49 MPGs for its battery-ICE hybrid cousins. This is all in the Corolla’s front-wheel drive configuration, and the optional AWD will shift these performance and fuel economy figures a bit for better or worse. Let’s be real; the Corolla could be powered by a hamster wheel for most people care about. So long as the practicality and reliability stay on point, the Corolla will still be a top choice.
2025 Corolla Interior 8.25/10
Being in production since 2019, it feels like we’ve seen the same Corolla interior for over half a decade by this juncture. But to its credit, it’s a very well-thought-out and deceptively comfortable place to spend a road trip. But on further looks, we find there are indeed some changes inside the Corolla’s cabin. The familiar eight-inch center infotainment screen is gone. In its place is an updated 12.3-inch touchscreen display with iOS and Android connectivity, an all-around sharper image, and a crispier response time. This isn’t included on the all-new FX trim, which nets a 10.5-inch screen.
Furthermore, the dashboard has been updated with softer-touch materials and premium-feeling, soft-touch seat coverings in the upper trims, which are new for 2025. That goes with customizable ambient cabin lighting and an updated HVAC and climate control system to better adapt to changes in seasons and climate. Rear legroom is decent for a sedan of this size, roughly 34.8 in the sedan and 29.9 inches for the hatchback, owing to its larger cargo capacity.
Speaking of cargo, the trunk of the Corolla sedan can store 13.1 cubic feet of stuff inside it, and the hatchback can accommodate 17.8 cubic feet. When laid out like this, it’s hard to call the 2025 Corolla’s interior anything besides well-thought-out and practical. This is all the more reason why Honda and Nissan routinely fail to usurp Toyota as the world’s most popular economy car.
2025 Corolla Tech and Features 8.25/10
All these trinkets lend very well to making the updated Corolla look and feel more premium than ever before. This is reflected in the exterior too, thanks to a revised front fascia with new, slimmer LED headlights, a larger grille, and sleeker side profiles for a more aggressive and stylish look. It’s all done while not looking so angry that it looks like a sports car that writes checks that it can’t cash
On the safety and driver assistant side, the Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 suite of driver aide software is on par with the competition. It’s nice to see such tech integrated into an average econobox and not just high-end luxury products as you’d expect.
If you’re looking for a solid all-around daily driver, you can buy brand new for a reasonable car note; you can’t do much better right now. Truthfully, only a handful of economy sedans built today even come close.
2025 Corolla Trims and Pricing
LE – $23,310
As the entry point to the Corolla family, the LE manages to not feel this way. You get the same new touch screen you get in higher trims, the same driver assistance suite, and updated exterior features as more expensive trims. Just a few optional extras removed and the old eight-inch nav display, plus smaller 16-inch wheels as standard. For $24,760 you can add in the hybrid powertrain.
SE – $24,765
For the extra money, you get a nicer sport-tuned suspension, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with paddle shifters, and a sport mode button, which you don’t find in lower trims. It’s all tied together with bold 18-inch dark gray alloy wheels for an exclusive look. Toyota also offers the SE as a sedan for $25,750 and a hybrid option for $27,200.
Nightshade – $25,765
You don’t get much new hardware over lower trims with the Corolla Nightshade Edition. But you do get a unique black exterior trim package with a trunk-mounted spoiler, plus 18-inch bronze-painted alloy wheels for a unique look exclusive to this trim.
FX – $27,000 (estimated)
Inspired in part by similar trim packages from 80s Corollas, the FX sedan gives you the lowered suspension of the SE but with its own special body kit, nav screen, and seven-inch digital gauge cluster to stand out from the rest of the lineup.
XSE – $28,065
All the features of the lower SE trim with added trinkets like heated front seats, body color-matched door mirrors, and the blind spot warning plus rear cross-traffic warning feature of the Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 suite unlocked. In short, it’s the most tech-heavy Corolla ever to hit North American streets. For $29,025 you can grab the XSE sedan.
XLE Hybrid – $29,125
The top trim hybrid comes in sedan-only form with 16-inch alloy wheels, leather trimmed steering wheel, heated 8-way power seats, and the same Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 as the XSE.
2025 Toyota Corolla Overall Value 8/10
Say what you will about it being boring, drab, and not very fast, even its sportiest trim. But here’s the truth: nobody who drives a Corolla cares about any of this. If they did, they’d drive a Honda Civic or Nissan Altima instead.
No 100,000-mile warranties here. Just a 3 year/36,000-mile basic and a 5 year/60,000-mile powertrain. With competition heating up in the warranty and service areas, we hope that Jeep will eventually provide the 2-year complimentary service offered from its competitors such as Toyota.
CarsForSale.com Overall Score 8/10
2025 Toyota Corolla Upper Exterior – toyota.com | Shop 2025 Toyota Corolla on Carsforsale.com
A lack of any pizzazz keeps the modern Corolla from being more memorable, but it’s hard to envision the snappier equivalent Hyundai Elantra or Honda Civic lasting as long as their rival from Toyota. Not to say you’d be a fool to buy a non-Toyota-made economy car at the moment, but you’d also be taking the safe and practical option by making a choice millions before and millions after will all take. There’s a reason this is the case, you know.
2025 Toyota Corolla FAQ
How much is the new Corolla?
The 2025 Toyota Corolla starts at $23,310
Where are Toyota Corolla’s made?
Toyota builds Corollas for the North American market at its factory in Blue Springs, Mississippi.
What is the M gear on a Toyota Corolla?
M gear is a “manual” drive setting for the transmission. In this mode, drivers can push the shifter to the plus position to shift up and minus position to shift down.
