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By Jonathan Crouch

The Toyota Corolla Touring Sports is the estate version of Toyota's practical family hatchback. Jonathan Crouch checks the revised version out.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 61

With their Corolla Touring Sports model, Toyota aims to bring us a compact yet very spacious estate that's a cut or two above the class norm. This revised version boasts a sharper look, a smarter interior and a more sophisticated pair of self-charging Hybrid engines. Plus it's still very practical, with a decent 598-litre boot. It's a car that's been rehabilitated.

Backgroundword count: 198

You might well think of the Toyota Corolla as a rather sensible but broadly uninteresting thing. If so, you're a little behind the curve. These were sentiments reasonably applicable to this car's Auris predecessor but its Corolla replacement has quite a bit more attitude. Here, we're looking at the 'Touring Sports' estate body style. This Corolla Touring Sports model succeeded the old Auris Touring Sports estate, which sold between 2012 and 2018 and tried for a younger, more fashionable audience than its hatch stablemate. People who wanted more from their transport than sense and sensibility. It was a worthy effort, but one slightly hobbled by a rather dull interior and unremarkable driving dynamics. Outside of the expensive top petrol/electric hybrid variant, the engine range was a little behind the curve too. So in 2019, Toyota had another go and continued the Touring Sports theme with its new generation Corolla model. This improved Corolla Touring Sports model is a much more creditable package, offering a sharper look, but the important stuff lies inside and beneath the bonnet in a package that still manages to be one of the more practical choices in its class. Let's check it all out.

Driving Experienceword count: 306

This revised Corolla Touring Sports gets the fifth generation of Toyota's full-Hybrid self-charging powerplant and, as before, it's available in both 1.8 and 2.0-litre petrol forms. The big differences come with the smaller capacity 1.8-litre unit, with power output up from 120 to 138bhp, bringing a 1.7s reduction in the 0-62mph sprint time to 9.2s. A lot of that's down to weight-saving (the hybrid system's more powerful lithium-ion battery is 18kgs lighter), plus driveability's been improved too, thanks to a redesign for the power control unit and the transaxle motor. In addition, the hybrid control has been recalibrated to provide acceleration feel closer to throttle pedal use, with less of the previous 'rubber band' effect. As before, it all works via CVT auto gearbox with six speeds. Whichever powerplant you prefer, you should find this Toyota dynamically able - far more so than some of its segment predecessors. Throw the car into a corner and you'll find that though this Corolla is no Focus, it far from disgraces itself, with a decent level of front end grip and steering that's predictable and accurate, though rather light. The 2.0-litre variant's obviously the one to choose if you want a little extra performance, this version (now with power raised from 180 to 193bhp) making rest to 62mph in 7.5s (around a second faster than a VW Golf 2.0 TDI), but more relevant is the huge improvement in response in the 30-50mph overtaking increment that makes the car feel so much more flexible and spontaneously powerful on faster roads. Don't misunderstand us: a 2.0-litre Hybrid Corolla is still way down on the level of pulling power a black pump-fuelled engine would produce, with a 190Nm figure that's almost 50% less than a comparable 2.0-litre diesel. But you notice the shortfall much less than you do with the 1.8-litre Hybrid.

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