2021 Toyota Corolla Cross debuts in Thailand

Another month, another crossover from the Toyota stables!

Of late, Toyota's been pretty aggressive about its SUV/crossover game, in the ASEAN markets at least. Just this year, we've seen the new Toyota Venza/Harrier, the new Yaris Cross, RAV4 Prime, updated Fortuner and Hilux models, as well as the updated Sienna MPV. And now, Toyota has once again brought to the fore one of its most renowned nameplates in the world, in the form of the new 2021 Corolla Cross.

As the name suggests, the Corolla Cross is a crossover version of the Corolla and in Toyota's current line-up, sits between the coupe-like CH-R compact crossover and the RAV4 SUV (in terms of size). Based on the same TNGA-C platform as the CH-R and Corolla, the Corolla Cross and CH-R even share the same wheelbase. Therefore, the Corolla Cross can be seen as a more practical, slightly bigger alternative to the CH-R. To explain its size in the Indian context, at 4,460mm in length, the Corolla Cross is comparable to the Hyundai Tucson (4,475mm).

In Thailand, the Corolla Cross will go on sale with two powertrain options. Customers can either choose the 1.8-litre petrol motor (2ZR-FBE) paired to a CVT automatic gearbox (139bhp/175Nm) or a 1.8-litre petrol hybrid (2ZR-FXE) that makes 98bhp & 142Nm. The hybrid powerplant comes paired with an e-CVT gearbox, therefore no manual option is offered at the moment.

Though the Corolla Cross will first debut in the ASEAN markets, it's unlikely to come to India. India is likely to continue with the Suzuki-Toyota cross-badged products, with the Vitara Brezza rebadged as the Urban Cruiser most likely to be the next offering from Toyota in India.

Read more:

Toyota Yaris J launched at Rs. 9.12 lakh on Government e-Marketplace

New Suzuki ACross hybrid SUV is a rebadged Toyota RAV4 for Europe