2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid

Is the 2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid a Good Car?

"The Corolla Hybrid's acceleration stands out in this company, but not in a good way. You're giving up a lot of swiftness if you pick this Toyota over the competition — even the Elantra Hybrid pips it by more than half a second to 60 mph. Moreover, the Corolla's backseat is relatively cramped, so that's two significant strikes against it. What's the good news? Mega fuel economy, of course, at an appealingly low base price. The Corolla Hybrid definitely checks those boxes. But there's no doubt that it asks for more compromises than its rivals in this segment."—Ranked #4 out of 4 Compact Hybrid Cars

Which 2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid Should I Buy?

MotorDonkey's proprietary vehicle data identifies every significant version of each model so that you can compare and decide. Ordered by price from low to high, here are the versions of the 2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid that you need to be aware of, along with our expert analysis and recommendations.

1. 2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid Sedan Front-Wheel Drive

• Base Price: $23,825
• MPG Combined: 47
• Drive Type: Front-wheel drive
• Engine: 1.8-liter inline-4
• Aspiration: Naturally aspirated
• Transmission: CVT
• Horsepower: 138 
• Torque: N/A
• Weight: 2,850 lbs
• Length: 182.3 in

The sedan-only Corolla Hybrid is more expensive than the regular Corolla and significantly slower to boot, but if you want to maximize your fuel economy, this is the way to do it. Compared to a peak of 35 mpg combined for the standard Corolla, the Corolla Hybrid notches a gaudy rating of 47 mpg combined (last year's even gaudier 50 mpg combined rating for the lower-level Corolla Hybrids with smaller wheels is gone now that the EPA's applying a single estimate to all Corolla Hybrid trims). If you do a lot of stop-and-go driving, the difference will likely be even greater, since hybrids shine in city driving and non-hybrids are at their worst. However, note that the Corolla Hybrid's CVT is not the "Direct Shift-CVT" with a fixed starter gear that distinguishes the non-hybrid Corolla; instead, the Corolla Hybrid rocks Toyota's usual eCVT hybrid transmission, so you can expect the usual high-rpm droning when you ask for extra power.

2. 2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid Sedan All-Wheel Drive

• Base Price: $25,225
• MPG Combined: 44
• Drive Type: All-wheel drive
• Engine: 1.8-liter inline-4
• Aspiration: Naturally aspirated
• Transmission: CVT
• Horsepower: 138 
• Torque: N/A
• 0-60: 9.0 sec
• Weight: 3,080 lbs
• Length: 182.3 in

The only Corolla to offer all-wheel drive (well, other than the unhinged GR Corolla) is the Corolla Hybrid Sedan, so that's a notch in this configuration's cap. You might say it's AWD with an asterisk, as Toyota's "Electronic On-Demand All-Wheel Drive" consists of a separate rear-mounted electric motor that only wakes up to assist the rear wheels in the event of traction loss, and only with 40 horsepower (30 kW) at the most. But the car can technically drive both axles, so we'll call it AWD. You do lose 3 mpg combined due to the AWD system and its added weight, but 44 mpg combined will still likely be enough for most tastes. Note that the EPA stopped breaking out the Corolla Hybrid by different trim levels (wheel sizes, basically) for 2025, so all Corolla Hybrid now share last year's lower estimate of 44 mpg combined (47 city/41 highway).