This is it – later this week UMW Toyota Motor, the official distributor of Toyota vehicles in Malaysia, will be introducing the highly-anticipated Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid.

Bookings for Toyota’s electrified crossover was opened back in October 2021 with an estimated price of RM 137,000. The estimated price is on-the-road (without insurance). The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid is backed by a 5-year unlimited mileage warranty, in addition to the 8-year unlimited mileage warranty for the hybrid battery, inverter, and power management ECU.

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If that isn’t enough, UMWT is offering a 2-year extension on the hybrid system's warranty for an additional RM 2,950. 

The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, alongside its petrol siblings, are locally-assembled (CKD) at Toyota’s Bukit Raja facility.

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Powering this new crossover is a petrol-electric 1.8-litre 2ZR-FXE Atkinson cycle four-cylinder petrol engine mated to an electric motor that allows for a combined system output of 122 PS.

While the petrol-powered 1.8 G and 1.8 V variants (139 PS, 172 Nm) are paired to a CVT automatic gearbox, the Corolla Cross Hybrid is mated to an e-CVT automatic.

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Now, unlike a lot of other hybrids that sacrifices the spare wheel for the high-voltage (HV) battery pack, Toyota has placed the Corolla Cross Hybrid’s battery pack under the rear seats. Thus, the Corolla Cross’ boot space is 440 litres across the range, regardless of variant. All variants also get a space saver spare tyre. 

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Visually, the Corolla Cross Hybrid gets variant-specific Bi-LED headlights with blue accents, as well as a Hybrid emblem on the lower right corner of the tailgate and fenders. It is also worth mentioning that CKD variants of the Corolla Cross get roof rails as standard fitment – something that isn’t offered on the initial imported (CBU) batch.

Moving inside, the Corolla Cross Hybrid offers a drive mode selector, 7-inch multi info display (petrol variants get a smaller 4.2-inch display), electrochromic mirror, and hybrid-specific carpet mats.

Like the regular variants, it gets a 9-inch infotainment display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support. Audio is routed through a 6-speaker system. Also, regardless of variant, our Corolla Cross does not get the slick electric parking brake (EPB); we get a foot-operated parking brake instead.

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Safety-wise, the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid gets the full Toyota Safety Sense ADAS suite, encompassing features like Pre-Collision System (PCS), Lane Departure Alert (LDA) with Steering Assist, Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC), Lane Tracing Assist (LTA), Automatic High Beam (AHB), Blind Spot Monitor (BSM), and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA). It also offers 7 airbags for the occupants.

On top of the 4 colour choices shared with the petrol variants, namely Silver Metallic, Red Mica Metallic, Nebula Blue Metallic, and Platinum White Pearl, the Corolla Cross Hybrid is available with an exclusive fifth colour option – Celestite Grey Metallic.

The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid will be reaching Toyota showrooms starting 14-January.

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