Toyota Accidentally Confirmed a Subaru WRX Rivaling GR Corolla

After releasing the 272-horsepower GR Yaris to the world, Toyota is looking to expand its family of go-fast cars. The likely candidate? The Corolla.

The first bit of news comes from a Tweet by Toyota USA (see photo below). In it, they’ve revealed that while U.S. won’t be getting the GR Yaris, they’ll have a “hot hatch to call its own.” Now, given that there are only two hatchback models available in the U.S.—the Yaris (a re-badged Mazda2) and the Corolla, the money’s on Toyota building a hot hatch based on their compact model.

Further fanning the flame is the fact that Toyota’s moved to trademark the name, “GR Corolla.” Now, while the move may just be precautionary—to protect their IPs and all, but Gazoo Racing Chief Designer Toshio Kanei did confirm that high-performance version of the Corolla is in the works (he mentioned this during the launch of the Corolla GR Sport’s launch in Geneva last year).

Now, purists will be glad to know that Kanei-san also said that the GR Corolla will likely rely on the GR Yaris’s powertrain. With that, it’ll get a 1.6-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder making 272 horsepower and 370 Nm of torque. Furthermore, it’ll likely get the GR-FOUR all-wheel drive system as well which can vary power delivery between front and rear wheels using a multi-plate clutch. Putting all these tidbits together, and it seems that Toyota’s aiming squarely for the same segment occupied by the likes of the Subaru WRX and the Volkswagen Golf GTI.

While most see a market release date of 2023 (part of the current-generation Corolla’s swansong), Kanei-san did say that thanks to the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), development time is relatively short. This means that Toyota may actually find a way to fast forward the development of the GR Corolla for a potential 2022 or even 2021 release date.

Should Toyota Motor PH Bring in the Corolla Altis GR Sport?

With the application of the Toyota New Global Architecture or TNGA in the all-new 2020 Corolla Altis, Toyota’s compact sedan has finally turned a sportier leaf. Naturally, this makes it a candidate for a hotted-up version, and here it is: the Corolla Altis GR Sport.

Unfortunately, those looking for some true performance enhancements, you’ll be disappointed. That being said, at least this Gazoo Racing treatment does manage to up the excitement with the Corolla Altis GR Sport’s special aero package. Not only does it visually lower the compact sedan, but the brushed silver accents on the grille and bumper give it a more menacing presence and it does  complement the 17-inch wheels. Inside, it gets sporty front bucket seats with red stitching and sportier-looking gauges.

Mechanically, it carries neither the 1.6-liter nor Hybrid drivetrain. Instead, Toyota has opted to plop in a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine. The 2ZR-FBE engine in this case makes 140 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 177 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. This is mated to a CVT with 7 virtual gears.

Currently, the GR Sport variant is sold only in Thailand. However given a huge P 395,000 price gap between the top-line 1.6 V and the Hybrid locally, it’s highly likely that Toyota Motor Philippines will slot this somewhere in-between.

In Thailand, the GR Sport adds a P 160,000 premium over the 1.6-liter model. If Toyota Motor Philippines decides to bring this variant in, it’s likely to be priced at around P 1.3-million.

2020 Toyota Corolla Altis Scores Perfect 5-Star Rating in ASEAN NCAP

The 2020 Toyota Corolla Altis scored a perfect 5-star safety rating bestowed by the ASEAN New Car Assessment Program or NCAP.

Toyota’s compact sedan scored an 88.46 out of 100, giving it a perfect score. Broken down, the Corolla Altis scored 46.82 out of 50 in Adult Occupant Protection (AOP), 22.35 out of 25 in Child Occupant Protection (COP), and 19.29 out of 25 percent in Safety Assist Technology.

The model tested is equipped with seven airbags, seatbelt reminder for front occupants, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, and Autonomous Emergency Braking or AEB which is part of the Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) driver assist suite.

Get as Much as P 110k Off a Vios with Toyota’s November Price Knockdown Promo

Join the Christmas rush as Toyota Motor Philippines starts its inventory sale with its November Price Knockdown promo. Ongoing until the end of the month, enjoy great deals on selected variants of nine great Toyota models: Vios, Avanza, Corolla Altis, Fortuner, Innova, Hiace, Wigo, Hilux, and Rush.

With the November Price Knockdown Promo, get as much as P 110,000 outright cash discount for a Vios G Prime variant. Other cash discounts ranging from P 15,000 to P 80,000 for other models are up for grabs, too. Check out the full mechanics here.

Plus, Toyota is even offering additional P 20,000-P 30,000 cash discount for participating models. There are even Pay Low (all-in package with all-in cash out as low as 15 percent downpayment) and Pay Light options (with 50 percent downpayment and 60 months to pay) for select models.

For those who’ve been eyeing the country’s best-selling car, now’s the best time to get a Toyota Vios. Getting any of the Vios G and E variants during the promo period, and you automatically get free periodic maintenance service (PMS) for the first 20,000 kilometers. Moreover, for Vios E, E Prime, G, and G Prime buyers, the Vios comes with an extended 5-year/150,000-kilometer warranty coverage for additional peace of mind.

For more details, check out the Toyota Motor Philippines website, or visit your nearest Toyota dealership to enjoy great deals on Toyota models.

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Review: 2020 Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8 Hybrid

Since its appearance in the Philippine market, the Corolla has built a stellar reputation based on three pillars: quality, durability, and reliability. They may not be the sexiest adjectives to put on a brochure, but they’re enough to convince more than 220,000 Filipinos to spend hard-earned money on one. True enough, everyone knows someone who’s owned a Corolla at least once in their life, and they’ll be the first to tell you that unexciting as it is, they’re built to outlast the apocalypse. And that’s a bit troubling for Toyota’s top man, Akio Toyoda who wants a bit more excitement in his cars.

Style-wise, it’s hard to see where all this talk about excitement has gone. Yes, it has an all-new platform and yes, there’s a newfound edginess to the design and it’s more cohesive from tip-to-stern too, but by and large, it’s more evolutionary than revolutionary. It’s the automotive equivalent of wearing head-to-toe Uniqlo—it’s visually agreeable, if a bit plain. Still no one will call the attention of the fashion police, and for most buyers, that bit of obscurity is golden.

The same can be said about the Corolla Altis’s interior: solid, well-finished, but largely inoffensive. Toyota’s tried doing the whole minimalist thing here too, but they didn’t do it convincingly. There have been attempts to break up the large expanse of plain, black-grained plastic, particularly from the front passenger’s side, but the end result is still quite drab. Moreover, there are some unexplainable elements too like how the dashboard is higher than the front door trims making the front port windows close to being rendered useless. Truth be told, the straightforward, surprise-free cabin is closer to Shinzo Abe’s stern disposition than Marie Kondo cheeriness.

Now, while the Corolla Altis won’t win any interior design contests anytime soon, it does win in one crucial aspect: practicality. Despite its doom-and-gloom color scheme, front or back, it feels airy with lots of head, shoulder, and legroom to go around. The seats themselves look great and are supportive, though finding the perfect driving position can still be elusive. In the end, you’ll simply settle for one that’s “good enough” and you learn to live with it. Driving long distances are quite alright, but the pedals are still a bit off-center resulting in a numbed out right butt cheek.

The glove box is deep, and surprising for this day and age, lit; while the padded arm rest opens up, swallowing most knick-knacks. Weirdly enough, this is where you’ll find the only 12-volt charging port on offer so good luck if you drive around with a dash cam. More minus points go to the archaic-looking infotainment system, too. Not only doesn’t it offer standard Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but the thick, almost one-inch bezel and lack of physical controls amplifies its aftermarket appearance.

Despite the blue exterior highlights and “Hybrid” badging found all throughout, driving the Corolla Altis Hybrid doesn’t differ from driving a conventionally-powered compact car and that’s the whole point. There’s no special start-up procedure and there’s nothing to charge; just push the “Engine Start” button, wait for the “Ready” to flash on the instrument panel, and you’re ready to go. 

Well, okay, because Toyota’s hybrid system is aggressive at engaging its EV mode, driving off in dead silence is a bit eerie, but aside from that, it’s pretty much a normal car.

The electric motor in the Corolla Altis Hybrid already makes a healthy 71 horsepower. Already outpowering the Wigo by around five horses, it comes as no surprise that by default, it’ll use this as aggressively as possible to pull itself around. Only when extra jolt is required or when the battery’s charge is low will it call up the assistance of the 97-horsepower 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine.

When it does, it’s actually hard to tell which engine is running except for the constant annoyance caused by the throttle pedal’s vibration (if vibration is present, then the internal combustion engine just kicked to life). That said, push it hard and you’ll find that this Atkinson cycle engine isn’t the most pleasing engine out there—it fills the cabin with a loud, droning sound. Again, the Corolla Altis Hybrid is all about sensible, fuel efficient motoring so for as long as you stick with that, the experience is quiet and refined. And speaking about fuel economy, its figures are single-handedly the unbeatable aspect here: 20.833 km/L in a mixed city/highway setting (average speed of 20 km/h) and 21.73 km/L in the city (average speed of 14 km/h).

Like the engine it’s attached to, the accompanying transmission, the E-CVT is tuned for everyday motoring than canyon carving. It prefers to keep itself in the background, continuously shuffling its ratios to keep the engine revs down and the speeds up. It’s especially great at keeping the electric motor happy, and with a special brake regeneration mode (designated “B” on the shifter), it tops up the battery quickly. However, command an overtake and things take a split-second before everything comes to life. Again, always remember to ingrain this in your head: sensible motoring, not sporty motoring.

The changeover to the TNGA platform has also given the Corolla Altis better road manners than any model before it. High speed driving still isn’t a strong suit and and it certainly won’t qualify as being exciting, but at least it feels sturdy, stable, and obedient enough through corners. The chassis too are well set-up in that they soak up bumps without any noticeable float or wallow. More than anything, it apes the current-generation Subaru Impreza in its solidity, so that’s saying something.

However, there’s still no mistaking the extra heft around the middle due to the nickel-metal hydride batteries. Throw it into a corner, and you’ll feel them like a pendulum. This reduces the Corolla Altis’s feeling of immediacy, a problem when you want to attack switchbacks. Furthermore, the brakes do suffer from the typical hybrid setback: an artificial-feeling pedal. There’s bite, but its on/off nature has largely to do with its regenerative properties.

Priced at P 1,580,000, the Corolla Altis is P 395,000 more expensive than the similarly-equipped 1.6 V variant. For some, the price gap is justifiable because the hybrid is the more environmentally-conscious choice. And since it’s the only variant with Toyota Safety Sense, some may be swayed for safety reasons. In both cases, their arguments are valid, but there’s no escaping that at the end of the day, the look and feel, especially the interior is more sensible than premium. There’s simply no attempt to level up the compact car experience here save for the engine and the safety features.

In the end, the Corolla Altis’s road manners summarize what this entire car is: excitement still isn’t its middle name. Thanks to a frustrated Toyoda-san, the radical decision to re-do it from the top-down has resulted in the best, most sorted Corolla Altis ever. However, in the greater scheme of things, it’s still at its heart, a commuter car. It’s a better commuter car, but a commuter car nonetheless. And that’s not such a bad thing. It’s certainly not the enthusiasts’ choice, but it doesn’t make it less worthy of consideration.

2020 Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8 Hybrid
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Ownership	2020 Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8 Hybrid
Year Introduced	2019
Vehicle Classification	Compact Car
Warranty	3 years / 100,000 kilometers
The Basics
Body Type	4-door sedan
Seating	5
Engine / Drive	F/F
Under the Hood
Displacement (liters)	1.8
Aspiration	Normally Aspirated
Fuel Delivery	EFI
Layout / # of Cylinders	I4
BHP @ rpm	121 @ 6,000 (combined)
Nm @ rpm	207 @ 5,200 (combined)
Fuel / Min. Octane	Gasoline / 91~
Transmission	CVT
Cruise Control	Yes, Adaptive
Fuel Economy @ Ave. Speed	21.73 km/L @ 14 km/h, 20.833 km/L @ 20 km/h
Dimensions and Weights
Length (mm)	4,630
Width (mm)	1,780
Height (mm)	1,455
Wheelbase (mm)	2,700
Curb Weight (kg)	1,310
Suspension and Tires
Front Suspension	Independent, MacPherson Strut
Rear Suspension	Independent, Double Wishbone
Front Brakes	Vented Disc
Rear Brakes	Disc
Tires	Dunlop SP Sportmaxx 050 225/45 R 17 W (f & r)
Wheels	Alloy
Safety Features
Airbags	7
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)	Yes, with EBD
Traction / Stability Control	Yes
Parking Sensors	Yes, Front and Rear
Front Seatbelts	3-pt ELR with pre-tensioner x 2
Rear Seatbelts	3-pt ELR x 3
ISOFIX Child Seat Anchor	Yes
Other Safety Features	Hill Start Assist Pre-collision System Lane Trace Assist w/ Steering Assist Lane Departure Alert w/ Steering Assist
Exterior Features
Headlights	LED
Fog Lamps	Yes, Front (LED)
Auto Lights	Yes, Auto High Beam
Rain-sensing Wipers	Yes
Interior Features
Steering Wheel Adjust	Tilt/Telescopic
Steering Wheel Material	Leather
Seating Adjustment (driver)	Electric, 8-way
Seating Adjustment (front passenger)	Manual, 4-way
Seating Surface	Leather
Folding Rear Seat	Yes, 60/40
On-Board Computer	Yes
Convenience Features
Power Steering	Yes
Power Door Locks	Yes
Power Windows	Yes
Power Mirrors	Yes, with Fold
Proximity Key	Yes
Climate Control	Automatic, with Rear Vents
Audio System	Stereo DVD MP3 Aux USB Bluetooth T-Link Smartphone Mirroring
# of Speakers	6
Steering Controls	Yes

I Drove the Corolla Altis Hybrid for 6 Hours in Traffic So You Won't Have To (Hopefully)

Pardon the lack of updates lately. Coming from a string of trips, I found myself with a pretty bad case of the flu. Yup, I have the whole nine yards—fever, cold sweats, achy joints—it’s come to a point that it’s become tiresome to string together a few sentences that make sense before the Nyquil kicks in.

But for the sake of you, my dear readers, and for my own curiosity as well, I decided to drag this sorry excuse for a sack of flesh to drive the all-new Toyota Corolla Altis Hybrid (full review soon) from Manila to Tagaytay and back at the height of traffic just to see what sort of fuel consumption I can get.

The plan is fairly simple: drive out at 9 AM (when all the trucks are also out) from Marikina to Tagaytay via C-5 and the ground level of SLEX. The exit point is via Greenfield City and up via the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road. Once I reach the Tagaytay Highlands for lunch and a photo op, it’ll be a trip down starting 5 PM through Silang and SLEX once more, crawling through the entire length of the horrible construction site and out to C-5 and down Marcos Highway back to Marikina via Gil Fernando Avenue.

The entire round trip took close to 6 hours to achieve (rest stops not included)—a feat that I survived considering I had the stamina of pre-super solider serum Captain America at this point. Oh, and yes, I was basically being sustained by a steady diet of Berocca and Biogesic.

Having driven a Prius on occasion, I found it surprising that the Corolla Altis Hybrid engages its “EV Mode” quite aggressively. Yes, you can turn off the feature (why would you though), but for as long as there’s enough charge in the traction battery (40 percent or more), it’ll try to push itself through city streets, highways, zigzag roads, and even parking ramps using electric mode first. Only if more oomph is required will it summon the 1.8-liter Atkinson cycle engine.

What is uncannily similar to the Prius though are three things: the artificial feel of the brakes (due to their regenerative function), the constant and rather annoying vibration in the throttle pedal whenever the internal combustion engine kicks in, and the heft around the car’s middle area (the battery’s placement).

I’ll talk more about how the Corolla Altis Hybrid drives soon, but let’s get to the topic of fuel economy—after all, this is the reason why I went out in the first place, right?  Does Toyota’s gasoline-electric hybrid work on Philippine roads? Hell, yeah. How good? The final mixed city/highway figure stands at an insane 20.833 km/L. But you know what’s even crazier? The consistency. Left in city confines, the figure is 21.73 km/L and since I got the batteries fully charged heading down Tagaytay, even through the heavy construction at SLEX and rush hour traffic on C5, it registered 26.31 km/L. Mind boggling, I tell you.

At least it’s settled then: the Corolla Altis Hybrid does live up to its fuel economy hype. Now, if you excuse me, I still can’t feel my right butt cheek from yesterday’s arduous drive and the Nyquil’s kicking in again.

UPDATED: Is Taking the Hybrid Plunge Worth It? Comparing the Ownership Cost of the Corolla Altis

UPDATE: Due to popular demand, we traced back our previous test drives and compared the Corolla Altis Hybrid using more realistic figures (i.e. our very own test drive fuel mileages). 9/11.

Targeting women and married couples, Toyota is clearly tugging more on the sensibilities of compact car buyers than the senses. Though improved in every conceivable aspect, buyers would likely flock to the Corolla Altis mainly thanks to Toyota’s reputation for making bullet-proof cars and of course, lower ownership costs.

Given that there’s a P 395,000 price difference between the 1.8 V Hybrid and the 1.6 V, and not much differences in specs, is taking the hybrid plunge actually worth it? Or will you end up being part of the 93 percent of Corolla Altis buyers who’d go for the conventionally-engined 1.6? To make things even more interesting, its two most direct price competitors, the Honda Civic 1.8 E and Mazda3 1.5 Elite have been added to this comparo as well.

Here’s some math to help you out.

For starters, let’s lay down the assumptions.

• The cost of Preventive Maintenance Service or PMS is based off a service menu for the previous-generation Corolla Altis (circa 2017); the same goes for the Honda Civic. Meanwhile, the Mazda3 is covered by an all-inclusive Yojin-3 program.
• Since Toyota Motor Philippines guarantees that the Corolla Altis Hybrid would have the same servicing requirements as its non-hybrid counterpart (except for a battery filter cleaning/replacement), for the sake of this computation, the rates are made the same.
• The total distance traveled for this computation is 60,000 kilometers for a three-year period; meaning an average of 20,000 kilometers traveled per year. This may seem a lot, but at least it matches the prescribed PMS period by the manufacturer for ease of computation.
• For the Fuel Mileage figure, the 2020 Corolla Altis hasn’t been tested yet by Toyota Motor Philippines. However, since it carries the Prius’s drivetrain, the Toyota product team says it should easily match the figures achieved by the Prius during the Department of Energy Fuel Economy Run. The figures of the Civic and the Mazda3 were also taken from the DOE run, but in the case of the Mazda3, it’s representative of the previous model. As for the Corolla Altis 1.6 V, this figure was achieved through Toyota’s own internal testing.

With the assumptions out of the way, let’s see how the Corolla Altis Hybrid does.

Because of its price premium over the 1.6 V, the Corolla Altis Hybrid will never recoup itself. Even if its fuel economy figure is 63 percent better than its non-hybrid counterpart, the 1.8 V Hybrid is still P 320,856.77 more expensive to own over a three-year period or P 5.35 more per kilometer (P 29.23 vs P 23.88).

Even more surprising is that Toyota’s quarterly PMS equates to higher maintenance cost compared to the Civic and the Mazda3. It’s so high that the Mazda is able to recoup its P 110,000 price difference cover the Altis 1.6 V.

Now, if you’re getting a Corolla Altis as part of a company car plan (in other words, your company is paying the initial cost), going the Hybrid route keeps your running cost to just P 2.90—30 percent cheaper than the 1.6 V’s. It is still slightly more expensive than the Civic’s (P 2.84 per kilometer) and the Mazda3’s (P 1.97 per kilometer).

This begs the question? When is the Corolla Altis Hybrid actually able to recoup itself? Its ownership cost per kilometer equalizes with its non-hybrid counterpart if the owner travels more than 74,627 kilometers in a three-year span—that’s about 24,875 kilometers more (4,875 kilometers more than the 1.6 V per year). Another scenario where the Hybrid breaks even over the 1.6 V is when fuel cost is more than P 136.56 per liter, assuming that the total distance traveled for 3 years stands at 60,000 kilometers.

With these figures in mind, it’s no surprise that Toyota Motor Philippines’s not expecting a lot of buyers to go the hybrid route. If everything is taken purely in pesos-and-cents, the hybrid only makes sense for someone who travels a lot or banks that fuel prices will skyrocket real soon.

Because several readers pointed out that a highway-biased fuel economy run like the one conducted by the Department of Energy will go against the strength of a gasoline-electric hybrid setup (which is stop-and-go traffic), we decided to re-visit these computations using our very own test drive fuel mileage figures.

Again, no one has tested the fuel economy of the all-new Corolla Altis Hybrid yet (no, around the block test drives don’t count), so we’ve decided to use data from the third-generation Prius which uses the same drivetrain more or less. The same goes for the non-hybrid Corolla 1.6—we simply used the data from the previous-generation model which uses the same 1.6-liter Dual VVT-i engine and CVT.

The scenario’s the same with the 2020 Mazda3. While we’ve already driven it on a mixed city/highway set-up, the figures won’t be an apples-to-apples comparison. Thus, here we used data on previous-generation 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter models.

Finally, we have the Civic. Since the 1.8 E and RS Turbo feature merely cosmetic enhancements this year, the fuel economy figures we’ve gathered are still up to snuff.

If we’ve driven the vehicles multiple times already, the fuel economy figures have been averaged.

Moving on to the results.

Despite these new assumptions, the Hybrid’s better fuel mileage (93 percent better than the non-hybrid Corolla) still won’t be enough to recoup the investment (P 29.76 versus P 25.47 per kilometer in ownership costs).

That being said, the Corolla Altis Hybrid’s running costs are ridiculously low—just P 3.42 per kilometer using today’s gas prices. The next closest vehicle would be the Mazda3 1.5 with P 4.95 per kilometer, and that’s because you don’t pay a cent in Preventive Maintenance Service for the first three years. On the other end of the spectrum, the Civic RS Turbo is the costliest to run at P 7.15 per kilometer—more than twice the Hybrid!

For those who want to know the breakeven point, the Corolla Hybrid only begins to make sense if you happen to travel more than 71,178 kilometers in a 3-year period or 11,178 more kilometers per year than the non-hybrid. Either that, or if gas prices go up to P 96.71 per liter.

Toyota Motor Philippines is Targeting Women, Married People for the 2020 Corolla Altis

Toyota Motor Philippines’s game-changing 2020 Corolla Altis has finally landed in the country. You can check its complete specs and prices here, and even how it compares to the Mazda3, Honda Civic, Subaru Impreza, and MG 6 here. With those bases covered, let’s discuss just who they’re targeting with the Corolla Altis. It’s now time for a lesson in marketing, folks.

• The 2020 Corolla Altis is the 12th generation in Toyota’s long line of compact sedans that started way back in 1966. The car itself is synonymous with Toyota as a brand, and with that, they’ve sold over 46 million examples globally. It’s currently built in 13 countries and 15 plants.
• It’s the continuous longest running nameplate for Toyota Motor Philippines since its introduction in 1989. To date, they have sold over 220,000 units.
• Due to the implementation of the TRAIN Law, Filipino buyers swung in favor of commercial vehicles. However, in the past two years, passenger car (PC) sales have remained constant at 32 percent (12,689 units in 2017, and 10,314 units in 2018).
• That said, the compact car segment has dwindled significantly, from 9 percent (12,689 units) in 2017, it has dropped to 7 percent (704 units) in 2018. This year, it’s even smaller at a measly 4 percent. Regardless, Toyota says the decline is largely due to the run-out of the previous Corolla Altis.
• The Corolla Altis holds a 19 percent share of the compact car segment—a healthy number, but still down from 28 percent (308 units) in 2017 and 21 percent (150 units) in 2018. The drop, again, is due to the phase out of the old model.

• Interestingly, Toyota Motor Philippines says that 2020 Corolla Altis buyers are primarily female (57 percent), and married (80 percent) buyers. They’re in the 36-40 age range and have a monthly household income of P 125,000. Their occupation? Likely a businessman or professional. This is the second time Toyota is leaving fuccbois out in the cold.
• Toyota is targeting to sell about 300 Corolla Altis units per month until end of this year. This number will then stabilize to about 200 units monthly next year. Around 7 percent of these buyers will opt for the hybrid variant.
• The Corolla Altis carries a 3-year / 100,000-kilometer bumper-to-bumper warranty, but the hybrid battery itself has a 5-year / 200,000-kilometer warranty.
• The Prius and Prius c will not be phased out. They will still be made available for those who wish to purchase them on an indent basis.
• Toyota Motor Philippines is offering a hybrid option in this mass market vehicle in the hopes of changing the perception and mindset towards gasoline-electric hybrids. All 70 dealers are equipped to sell and service the Corolla Altis, yes, even the Hybrid variant. 
• There are 5 variants of the 2020 Corolla Altis (two manuals, two CVTs, and one Hybrid) with 6 colors to choose from: Celestite Grey Metallic, Attitude Black, Red Mica Metallic, Freedom White, Silver Metallic, and White Pearl.

2020 Toyota Corolla Altis vs Mazda3 vs Honda Civic vs Subaru Impreza vs MG 6

Forget crossovers, SUVs, and pickups for a minute—there’s a compact car war brewing resulting in a wider, more competitive range of choices. Starting with the arrival of the refreshed Civic early this year, the battlefield is now joined by two other compact car stalwarts: the 2020 Mazda3 and 2020 Toyota Corolla Altis. All these tables are high-res, so feel free to download them (please, no cropping of the watermark though...we know who does this).

Until such time when we can bring these compacts for an on-road comparo, here’s how they stack up on paper. In this multi-panel comparo, we first look at how the Corolla Altis, Honda Civic, and Subaru Impreza compare dimensionally.

Here, the Mazda3 shows that it’s slightly longer (with a longer wheelbase) than the rest. However, this doesn’t translate into interior room, where the Civic, and surprisingly, the Impreza beat out the Mazda3 and Corolla Altis in front room. The Toyota though exacts its revenge in rear legroom, beating even the voluminous Civic by 102 mm. Even without a tape measure, the Mazda3’s rear quarters are tight, but getting the exact measurements reveal it’s 35 mm smaller than the next smallest entry (Impreza) and a whopping 160 mm smaller than the Corolla Altis.

Next up, we pit the Corolla Altis 1.6 V against three others in the same price range: the Mazda3 1.5 Premium, Honda Civic 1.8 E, a wildcard, the MG 6 Trophy. Now, while the Corolla Altis shares its price with the Civic, it does manage to outgun the Mazda3 and Civic in almost every department—a clear indication that Toyota’s done their homework this time around. It also shows that, without a doubt, Toyota sees a bulk of Corolla Altis sales in this segment.

As we go higher up to compact cars in the P 1.5 million price range, the Corolla Altis 1.8 V Hybrid finds itself against some healthy competition: the Mazda3 2.0 Premium, Honda Civic RS Turbo, and the wildcard of the bunch, the Subaru Impreza 2.0i-S. Apart from the uniqueness of that hybrid powertrain, Mazda has successfully turned the tables here by being the most loaded in terms of luxury, convenience, and safety features. It’s the only one in the bunch to offer a premium sound system (a 12-speaker Bose system), a full-featured infotainment system, and even a full suite of driver assist tech. Sadly for Honda, it also shows how the Civic RS Turbo is simply outgunned in terms of features, beaten even by the Subaru.

Whatever you choose, it’s pretty obvious that buyers will be spoilt for choice. The resurgence in the compact sedan market is very welcome, especially for those who don’t want to ride the crossover or SUV wave just yet.