The Toyota Corolla Cross is coming to Malaysia, that much we know. But what about the price? Where will it be made? What segment is it in exactly? Well, let us answer these or any burning questions you may have to the best of our knowledge.

Q: Which cars does the Toyota Corolla Cross compete against?

A: The Toyota Corolla Cross competes against the likes of the Honda HR-V, Subaru XV, and of course, the Proton X50 as well as the Proton X70. All of which are within a similar price bracket.

Q: Speaking of price, how much will the Toyota Corolla Cross be?

A: As prices have yet to be announced, this is speculation at the moment. And to get a better estimate, we must first determine where the Toyota Corolla Cross will be made. The manufacturing plant in Bukit Raja is said to be under a retooling process for a new SUV model – which we believe is the Toyota Corolla Cross.

Being a locally-assembled model, we can expect the price to be lower than the fully-imported Toyota C-HR that was last sold for RM 144,336. For the sake of reference, the Thailand-imported Toyota Corolla Altis is priced between RM 123,971 and RM 134,505 (OTR without insurance and SST).

So, we’re estimating the price of the Toyota Corolla Cross to be in the RM 120,000 to RM 130,000 range.

For the record, here's how the competitors are priced:

Q: Which segment does the Toyota Corolla Cross belong in though?

A: This is indeed a good question, of which we have no straight answer. The Toyota Corolla Cross is based on the C-segment Corolla Altis and so it should be a C-segment SUV. But what does that make the Toyota RAV4? C-plus-segment?

Our answer is – don’t get too worked up on the segment segregation as manufacturers fill in the niches. The Honda HR-V may technically be a B-segment SUV but make no mistake, these two models are definitely aimed at one another.

Q: So how big is the Toyota Corolla Cross?

A: It's slightly larger than the Honda HR-V in every dimension. Here's a side-by-side comparison:

Q: What powertrain will the Toyota Corolla Cross get?

A: Like the Toyota C-HR and Corolla Altis, the Corolla Cross features a 1.8-litre naturally aspirated 2ZR-FBE Dual VVT-i engine that makes 139 PS/172 Nm, mated to a CVT. This will be the most likely option.

UMW Toyota Motor previously hinted that a locally-assembled hybrid is in the works, so a hybrid variant of the Toyota Corolla Cross could be offered.

Q: And how many variants?

A: We’re expecting the Toyota Corolla Cross to mimic the Corolla Altis’ offering with 2 variants. The range-topper will likely feature Toyota Safety Sense – Toyota’s suite of ADAS.

Q: What makes the Toyota Corolla Cross different compared to the Corolla Altis and C-HR?

A: While all three are underpinned by the much-praised TNGA platform, the Corolla Cross gets torsion beam rear suspension as opposed to double wishbones. In theory, this would make the Corolla Cross less competent in corners but superior interior packaging.

Q: When will the Toyota Corolla Cross arrive?

A: At this point, nothing is confirmed due to the uncertainties of our Covid-19 situation in Malaysia. That being said, it is believed that the Toyota Corolla Cross will be launched sometime in Q2 2021. But as mentioned earlier, the uncertainties mean it could get delayed.