In the first major update since its South African launch in November 2021, the Toyota Corolla Cross is being refreshed with a facelift and interior tweaks.
The popular SUV, voted the 2022 South African Car of the Year, has been a sales hit for Toyota and is the brand’s second most popular car after the Hilux bakkie. The locally-built car is the country’s best selling SUV and found 21,861 new owners in 2024, nearly twice as many as the 12,646 units of its nearest competitor, the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro.
For 2025 the Corolla Cross is mechanically unchanged and retains the choice of 1.8l petrol and 1.8l hybrid models, all with CVT gearboxes and front wheel drive. As before, it is available in four equipment levels: Xi, XS, XR and GR-Sport.
The exterior refresh includes a new front bumper and restyled honeycomb grille, LED headlamps with sequential indicators, a colour-coded plastic rear skidplate, and a choice of two new colours: Oxide Bronze and the pictured Desert Gold.
The Xi and XS models ride on 17” alloy wheels, with XR and GR-Sport models wearing 18” hoops.
The GR Sport model is further spruced up with black garnishes on the roof, wheels and grille, and more styling pizzazz in the interior.
All versions come with ABS brakes, stability control, cruise control and brake assist, with the higher models also getting a blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, auto high beam and lane keeping assist.
Facelifted Toyota Corolla Cross revealed in SA
Mechanically unchanged, the country’s best selling SUV gets styling and equipment updates
Image: Supplied
In the first major update since its South African launch in November 2021, the Toyota Corolla Cross is being refreshed with a facelift and interior tweaks.
The popular SUV, voted the 2022 South African Car of the Year, has been a sales hit for Toyota and is the brand’s second most popular car after the Hilux bakkie. The locally-built car is the country’s best selling SUV and found 21,861 new owners in 2024, nearly twice as many as the 12,646 units of its nearest competitor, the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro.
For 2025 the Corolla Cross is mechanically unchanged and retains the choice of 1.8l petrol and 1.8l hybrid models, all with CVT gearboxes and front wheel drive. As before, it is available in four equipment levels: Xi, XS, XR and GR-Sport.
The exterior refresh includes a new front bumper and restyled honeycomb grille, LED headlamps with sequential indicators, a colour-coded plastic rear skidplate, and a choice of two new colours: Oxide Bronze and the pictured Desert Gold.
The Xi and XS models ride on 17” alloy wheels, with XR and GR-Sport models wearing 18” hoops.
The GR Sport model is further spruced up with black garnishes on the roof, wheels and grille, and more styling pizzazz in the interior.
All versions come with ABS brakes, stability control, cruise control and brake assist, with the higher models also getting a blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, auto high beam and lane keeping assist.
Image: Supplied
All models have three USB-C ports and Apple CarPlay and Android auto connectivity, the latter via cable in the cheaper models and wirelessly in the upper grades. A new 12.3” digital driver display is available with the XR and GR-S grades.
A powered tailgate has a below-bumper kick sensor for handsfree opening. A Panoramic View monitor provides a 360 degree top-down view of the vehicle, and an electronic handbrake replaces the foot brake. There are rear aircon ducts on selected models.
TimesLIVE is attending the media launch of the updated Corolla Cross next week, where more details will be revealed.
Prices, which include a three-year/100,000km warranty and six services/90,000km service plan, are:
Corolla Cross 1.8 Xi - R414,800
Corolla Cross 1.8 XS - R452,200
Corolla Cross 1.8 HEV XS - R494,400
Corolla Cross 1.8 XR - R501,500
Corolla Cross 1.8 GR-S - R518,200
Corolla Cross 1.8 HEV XR - R545,200
Corolla Cross 1.8 HEV GR-S - R561,700
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