Cars & Motorbikes Toyota Corolla Hybrid

I'm up for a new (or newish second hand) car in around 12 months. My last two cars have been Corolla hatches - I've owned Toyota's for 30 years - and have been really impressed with the reliability, cheap to service/run, comfortable both around town and on the freeways, ample internal space (I call it the Tardis), easy to park and holds it's own in the looks department.

So, this time around I'm looking at a Corolla hybrid. Reviews for the 2017/18 options are rather impressive, but I do notice that 12-month-old vehicle is barely less than a driveway brand new. Around $30k new and $25-27k for 1-2 years old

Reviews by independent car bloggers indicate that you get around 100km/1 litre - around town is around 100km/4 litres - so damn economical, with no mechanical or body issues and comfortable to drive (with plenty of driver toys).

Does anyone own one and what do they really think?

 

I don’t have a Carolla hybrid but recently rented a new carolla whilst on holidays and it was getting around 100k per 4-5 litres. I would have though the hybrid would be more economical than the regular carolla? I have no knowledge of hybrids at all so I’ll also be interested in the responses you get to your post.

I had a rav from 2002-2015 bought when 2nd hand 6months old and it was a fabulous car. So cheap to run overall and I sold it for a good price as well. Had done well over 250,000 when sold so it was a great Toyota.

 

Junior is slated to get my current Corolla when she gets her "P's" in 12mths - will have around 250,000 on the clock and still runs exceptionally well as gets serviced every 10-15k. Only issues I've ever had are flat tyres (thanks NRMA) - battery replacement (thanks NRMA) - and I did need to have the coils replaced at around 200k.

The body's rather dinged and scratched (nothing serious) from country living - would only get around $2-3k for it - so might as well go to the youngster, as she won't get anything near as good for $2k on the open market

 

I ran a Prius C for three years and am looking to replace my X-Trail with the forthcoming RAV4 Hybrid when it becomes available. I got fuel consumption of around 5-5.5l/100km regardless of town, country, freeway driving. What I really loved was the total smoothness of the drive (contrast to what I've read about VAG DSG transmissions and their jerkiness when moving off) - when you move off from standstill the electric motor sets the car moving and the petrol engine, if required, is effectively bump started, though the cutting in and out of the engine isn't noticeable. When it comes to braking for economy read the road, brake lightly and the regenerative braking slows you up and charges the battery (spinoff is that you probably never need to replace pads or rotors).

 

Toyota are going to give Tesla a real run for their money in terms of volume market - can't believe how expensive the Prius' are. I did think about the RAV but don't need something that big.

My thought is that, once we move back to the city (2 years) we'll trade in hubby big diesel 4WD and buy a second car that is fully electric - we both like our own independence - one for round town hopping and the other for longer trips

 

No idea on the Hybrid @Lizzie but I'm a very happy Corolla owner here too. We bought it new in 2013 with the plan being to own it for at least 10 years.

We're nearly at year 5 now with zero issues.

 

And the braking recharges the battery - perfect for around town - but also have to think about when we go long distances. Don't want to go a mere 200km and then stop for several hours to recharge.

I think a combo, of one of each, would be perfect for us as the new property will have around 10kw of solar on the roof.

 

I drove a Ford Fusion (Mondeo) Hybrid around the USA for 3 weeks last year. Would highly recommend, we averaged 46 MPG / 5.1 L per 100km for a 3000km road trip through a mix of driving environments in what is a camry-sized car. It was just as fuel efficient (often more so) in LA traffic jams as it was out on the open road. All the energy efficiency is achieved via the regenerative braking, so a hybrid makes sense in a a city/suburban environment. Free-flowing highway driving there is no great benefit.

Unless you have a plugin hybrid, though not sure if any models are sold in Australia with this option yet. Just a normal hybrid but with a charge plug, so you can charge the battery from mains power and the first 30km or so of your trip can just run on battery, without the petrol engine kicking in. Very cost effective if your daily commute is within this range. Basically you end up with an EV for daily driving (at a lower price point) but still have the convenience of a petrol engine for those longer trips.

I can't wait until a) hybrids drop in price a bit more and b) manufacturers start selling more models in Australia.

 

I thought the price point was pretty good already - around $30k for a brand new top of the line Corolla - which is around $4k more than a non-hybrid version but if I'm saving myself $40/wk in fuel then break even is around 2 years.

Not like those Tesla's that around near $200k new

 

You generally lose a fair bit of coin buying the top of the range. We bought the bottom of the range and honestly want for nothing.

I'd look a bit further down the range and save yourself some coin. Honestly most of the upgrades aren't worth it.

 

I was actually looking around mid-range ... but just made the point to indicate it was a pretty good price already