2025 Toyota Corolla ZR Hybrid review: Is small still beautiful? 

No one wants small cars anymore, but it appears that no one has told the Toyota Corolla. While not the sales force it once was, it still sits in the top 10 vehicles overall in 2025 with figures that would be the envy of many other brands. 

Nevertheless, popularity and excellence aren’t necessarily correlated. The current-generation Corolla has been out since 2018 and in that time plenty of other rivals have appeared, so how does the flagship ZR Hybrid stack up in 2025? 

Price and equipment 

Like the rest of the Toyota passenger car range, the standard Corolla – ie non-GR variants – has gone hybrid-only. While prices haven’t changed, it’s effectively increased the cost of entry as the cheaper petrol-only variants are no longer available. 

The range-topping ZR Hybrid nudges $40,000 before on-road costs but for any colour other than solid white you’ll need another $575, or $1350 if you wish to team these colours with a contrasting black roof as per our Silver Pearl test car. The only other choice is red or black leather interior accents. 

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For the ~$4000 premium over the SX the ZR adds high-grade LED headlights, 18-inch alloys (up from 16s), sports front bucket seats, an eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat with lumbar support, heated front seats, leather-accented and Ultrasuede upholstery, a larger 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, head-up display and an eight-speaker JBL-branded stereo. 

Nothing that couldn’t be lived without, but certainly some worthwhile equipment. You can find a full equipment rundown below. 

* plus on-road costs

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Toyota Corolla ZR Hybrid standard features 

• 18-inch alloy wheels 
• LED lighting (headlights, running lights, fog lights and taillights) 
• Heated door mirrors 
• Rain-sensing wipers 
• Leather steering wheel and gearshift 
• Sports front seats 
• Eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat 
• Two-stage heated front seats 
• Leather-accented and Ultrasuede upholstery 
• 12.3-inch digital instrument display 
• Head-up display 
• Keyless entry and start  
• Dual-zone climate control 
• 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment display 
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto 
• Wireless phone charger 
• AM/FM/DAB+ radio 
• Bluetooth connectivity 
• Eight-speaker JBL stereo 

Safety 

As of January 2025, the Toyota Corolla is unrated by ANCAP, its five-star rating from 2018 having expired. Prior to this, it earned scores of 96 per cent for adult occupant protection, 83 per cent for child occupant protection, 86 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 76 per cent for safety assistance. 

It has an impressive array of safety features outlined below and happily its active safety systems prove unintrusive in everyday driving, preventing the need for multiple button presses ahead of every drive. 

Safety features

• Seven airbags – front, front-side, curtain and driver’s knee 
• Lane trace assist 
• Lane departure warning 
• Auto-emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist (daytime) detection 
• Speed sign recognition 
• Auto high beam 
• Adaptive cruise control 
• Blind-spot monitoring 
• Safe exit assist 
• Rear cross-traffic alert 
• ISOFIX points on outboard rear seats 
• Front and rear parking sensors 
• Reversing camera 

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Interior, practicality and boot space 

Though relatively well-equipped, the inside of the Toyota Corolla ZR Hybrid is functional rather than particularly premium, especially when our test car is around $45,000 on the road. While there are softer surfaces in place of hard plastic, it’s the strange elephant skin-like material that Toyota seems to enjoy using.  

The front seats are supportive and comfortable, the driving position has plenty of adjustment, two-stage seat heating is welcome, the wireless charging pad gives you somewhere to tuck the phone and there are cup and bottle holders for refreshments. 

In the back the Corolla makes a strong case for itself over similarly priced light SUVs, with my 180cm frame easily able to sit behind my driving position with ample knee room, though the front seat rails do sit right where you want to put your feet. 

There is adequate under thigh support and while the top of the door frame is quite low, making it easy to knock your head when getting in, the bottom is also quite low meaning it should be easy for little’uns to see out. 

Cup/bottle holders in the doors are also a handy feature, in addition to another pair in the fold-down centre arm rest. Air vents are present, but there are no USB charging points.  

One ZR difference is the larger boot, its 333 litres a big improvement over the paltry 217 litres found in other variants. It’s now a useful space, but it comes at the expense of a space-saver spare, a hit-and-miss inflation kit your only hope in the event of a puncture. 

Performance and fuel economy 

The Toyota Corolla’s hybrid drivetrain is more effective than its relatively meagre outputs suggest. The 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine produces just 72kW/142Nm, but the electrical assistance makes all the difference, providing a smoothness and response – particularly at low speeds – that its ICE-only rivals can’t match. 

It’s a noisy operator, especially under large throttle openings, but on the flip side it’ll often be silent during urban duties or stop-start traffic, the whole system doing a masterful job of recuperating energy to keep the tiny battery topped up. 

Fuel economy is the other hybrid advantage, the Corolla Hybrid claiming just 4.0L/100km combined consumption and it’s a figure that’s eminently achievable, especially around town where the hybrid is most at home.  

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On the road 

The Toyota Corolla ZR Hybrid performs its on-road duties with a minimum of fuss. The steering is light and easy, the ride is pliant and generally comfortable, at low speeds in particular it has a smoothness and refinement rivals can’t achieve.  

Previous experience has proven there is a decent chassis underpinning the Corolla, but in Hybrid guise the powertrain does nothing to encourage enthusiastic driving. It prefers to hum along on light throttle openings, sipping fuel and recuperating energy. 

It’s still happy at higher speeds, though, with some road noise at triple figures the only real obstacle to smooth and easy long-distance progress.  

One odd quirk is the need to wait before selecting Drive after starting the car. It appears the hybrid system needs a moment to wake up as on quite a few occasions moving the gear lever after pressing the start button required the process to be repeated as the car wasn’t quite ready. One of those things you no doubt get used to as an owner.  

Service and warranty 

Like all new Toyotas, the Corolla ZR Hybrid is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty with seven years of powertrain and driveline coverage if you stick to the service schedule. 

Those services are required every 12 months or 15,000km and Toyota’s capped price schedule keeps the first five visits to a very reasonable $1250. Be aware, though, that beyond that period the cost increases substantially, the next five quoted at $2639.16. 

Toyota also doesn’t offer complimentary roadside assistance, charging $99-139 depending on the level of cover required. However, if you do get stuck, call the assistance number and you can sign up on the spot, albeit with a call-out fee. 

Verdict: should I buy a Toyota Corolla ZR Hybrid? 

Toyota does fitness for purpose very well and there’s a degree of ‘more than the sum of its parts’ to the Corolla ZR Hybrid, reflected in the scores at the top of this page. No aspect wows you in isolation, but as a package it delivers exactly what buyers in this segment are looking for. 

Reliability, a strong warranty offering, excellent fuel efficiency, reasonable space and an undemanding driving experience ticks plenty of boxes for those wanting a daily runabout. Strong resale, too.  

Flaws include the outdated infotainment – though in fairness it works perfectly adequately, especially if you’re an Apple CarPlay user – and a compromised luggage area, the heavily sloped rear end limiting its overall size even with the deletion of the spare tyre. 

The former will almost certainly be rectified with the new-generation Corolla that is likely to appear within the next 12 months or so; as such, the biggest question surrounding purchasing a Corolla is to buy now or wait for the next one? 

Given the ‘new generation’ Corolla is likely to be a heavily update version of the current car, if you’re not that fussed about a massive infotainment screen, there’s probably little harm in settling for the version you see here. 

Rivals 

Hyundai i30 N-Line 
Kia K4 
Mazda 3 

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Specifications