Toyota Thailand has launched the new Corolla Cross small SUV/crossover, which might come to Singapore, says Borneo Motors

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THAILAND

An interesting new Toyota has just shown up for sale in Thailand, and could soon be making its way to Singapore.

Looking like a mash-up of a Corolla Altis and RAV4, with a tiny bit of C-HR thrown in, the Corolla Cross is the latest car to wade into the Battle of the Crossovers as Toyota attempts to win over an even bigger share of the mainstream car-buying audience.

As its name suggests, the car is a SUV’ed version of the Corolla, putting it one level below the larger RAV4 and roughly along the same level as the C-HR. It might do well to think of the Corolla Cross as the more sensible and much less dramatic looking sibling to the C-HR, as both cars share the same platform.

It’s 4,460mm long, 1,825mm wide, and the standard version of the car is powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine that has 140 horsepower. Three other variants with varying levels of equipment are hybrids, combining a 98hp, 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder petrol engine to an electric motor that purportedly adds an additional 72hp. 

All versions of the Corolla Cross use transmit power to the front wheels through continuously variable transmissions, though the 1.8-litre petrol version at least gets a sequential shift feature to mimic a seven-speed gearbox.

The top of the range Corolla Hybrid Premium Safety is a very well-specified car, featuring LED lights, front power adjustable seats, a foot-operated tailgate, blind-spot monitors, rear cross-traffic alert along with lane departure warning and pre-collision warning systems. It’s been confirmed that the nine-inch infotainment touchscreen on the upper end models work with Apple CarPlay.

However, like practically all crossover SUVs these days, the car really isn’t made for serious off road driving, but highway comfort and load carrying ability.  

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As of now the only place you can buy the new Toyota Corolla Cross is Thailand, though there is a good chance that it will make its way to Singapore eventually. Local Toyota dealer Borneo Motors has advised that it is already exploring the possibility of importing the Corolla Cross for sale here.

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There is also talk that a left-hand drive version of the Corolla Cross will be made available in America in 2021, which certainly raises hopes for it to appear in the rest of Southeast Asia before then. 

The small crossover segment in Singapore was initially dominated by the Honda HR-V, which arrived here in 2015. In the meantime, competitors like the new Kia Seltos, Hyundai Kona and Mazda CX-30 have been making inroads into this very broad sector. While Toyota’s own CH-R was initially a strong seller, the numbers have tapered off somewhat and the Corolla Cross could be just what the brand needs here in Singapore to get a boost in sales figures. 

If it does eventually come to Singapore, we expect the hybrid version to sell in the region of $115,000 with COE based on current COE prices.