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Identifying the First-Gen Ford MustangWhat Makes the Toyota Corolla Great
The Toyota Corolla offers an attractive mix of practicality and excitement with a highly efficient hybrid or potent turbocharged GR among its options.
Covering All the Bases
The 2025 Toyota Corolla is a lot like the Toyota Corolla of past years: affordable, reliable, competent in all the right places. As basic commuters go, the Corolla has always and continues to make a compelling case for itself. Yet even as the Corolla happily occupies the vast grey background of the American roadway the 2025 model has plenty to offer to distinguish itself from the compact car crowd. Below we’ll dive into what makes the Toyota Corolla an excellent choice whether you’re just looking to get from A to B or you’re interested in a spicy urban runabout with styling to match.
Powertrain Options Galore
One major advantage the Toyota Corolla offers is a broad selection of powertrain options. The base engine is a 2.0L four-cylinder making an adequate 169 horsepower and netting 34 mpg combined. A CVT (continuously variable transmission) sends power directly to the front-wheels and, while efficient, this basic set up is only just enough for the Corolla to get out of its own way.
An optional hybrid powertrain is equally poky. Its 1.8L four-cylinder is paired with two electric motors and good for 138 horsepower. Compensating for the lack of oomph is a laudatory 53 city and 46 highway mpg and available all-wheel drive. The base engine and hybrid versions are decent everyday drivers for commuting and grocery runs. If you feel these options leave you pining for more power, you’re in luck.
The GR Corolla (the GR stands for Gazoo Racing) is the hot-hatch version of the Corolla and as such gets a much different powertrain, major suspension tune, and more aggressive styling to wrap the package together. The GR Corolla is powered by a turbocharged 1.6L three-cylinder making 300 horsepower. Here you have the option of an eight-speed automatic or six-speed manual sending power to all four wheels. Front and rear limited-slip differentials are now standard for 2025.
The all-wheel drive system features torque vectoring with modes that can split power 60/40 front to rear, give and even 50/50 split, or a rearward bias of 30/70. A zero to sixty time of five seconds round means the GR Corolla is competent in a straight line, but it’s in the corners where the GR comes alive, aided by Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. All this comes at a price, both sticker and in fuel economy as the GR musters no better than 24 mpg combined.
Cool Looks Abound
While the Corolla has been known for its conservative styling for decades, the most recent version is notably more fashion conscious. The wide grille and distinctive headlights of the base Corolla are just the beginning as Toyota offers additional visual accoutrements starting with the Nightshade Edition. This trim, offered across Toyota’s lineup, comes with dark accenting to the grille, mirror caps, and other exterior trim pieces as well as bronze or black wheels.
The FX trim, new for 2025, is another visual package, this time incorporating a rear spoiler and its own set of unique wheels, 18s in a satin finish. The roof also comes in black, along with black badging and trim.
For the Corolla’s most aggressive look you’ll have to turn back to the GR once again. To match the raucous three-cylinder there’s a triple exhaust in back, a carbon fiber roof to shed a bit of weight (and look cool), and most notably there’s the bulging hood complete with hood vents.
Sterling Safety Equipment
The Corolla is, primarily, a practical vehicle and as such Toyota has equipped it with their suite of advanced safety features, known as Toyota’s Safety Sense 3.0, as standard. This includes forward automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane-keep assist, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, rear seat alerts, pedestrian/cyclist detection, automatic high beams, traffic-sign recognition, and a rearview camera. The Corolla also received a five-star crash test rating from the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).
A Corolla for Every Budget
The Corolla has long been a go-to for the budget-minded buyer and is therefore offered in an array of price points. The entry-level Corolla LE comes well-equipped at just $22,175. The SE notches up to $23,603 while the Nightshade Edition climbs to $24,630. The snazzy FX trim runs $26,500 while the top trim XSE comes in at $26,930 to $27,890 depending on options. The Hybrid LE and SE average around $2,500 more than their gas-counter parts while the XLE hybrid tops out at $27,990.
The performance-oriented GR Corolla is a bit of a different breed, and that includes the sticker price. The Core (base) GR Corolla starts at $39,995 and climbs to $42,575 for the Premium and tops out at $46,650 for the Premium Plus (it’s here that you find the GR’s special hood, carbon fiber roof, rear spoiler, and a heads-up display).
