THE ALL-NEW 2020 TOYOTA COROLLA ALTIS: More Aggressive Styling and Hybrid power

The 12th Generation E210 Corolla sedan was unveiled simultaneously between November 15 and 16, 2018 in Carmel, California, United States and China at the 2018 Guangzhou International Motor Show with the hatchback being launched earlier.

The 2020 Corolla is based on Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform. TNGA is far more than a new body structure with new approaches to engineering, design, assembly, and materials.

“The All-New Toyota Corolla is the first-ever model to be launched in the Philippines that completely embodies our philosophy of ever better cars,” says TMP President Satoru Suzuki.

For the first time, the Corolla Altis now comes in a hybrid electric variant.

More popularly known as the Corolla Altis or just as the “Altis” in the Philippines, our Corolla will just get a choice of 2 powertrains within the “E” to “V” trim level variant. The 1.6-liter 1ZR-FE with 121hp will do a re-run but the big news is the 121hp 1.8-liter Hybrid powertrain that promises tolerable acceleration and stellar fuel economy. At P1.580M, it will be the cheapest Japanese brand hybrid available that undercuts pricing of its sibling, the Prius, which it shares powertrain with. The Corolla Altis certainly looks better than the quintessential hybrid Prius. The Corolla Altis Hybrid is made in Thailand– not in Japan—and this may have helped its pricing over the Prius. This also means it benefits from the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the lower excise on hybrid cars as afforded by the TRAIN tax law.

8-way power leather seats with lumbar support for V and HV variants

With more than 46 million Toyota Corollas sold globally since its introduction in 1966, it would be difficult to find a driver who does not recognize the name. Everyone has a Corolla story. I like the E210’s bold new look and bumper-to-bumper, wheels-to-roof transformation. It’s the best-looking Corolla of late. Toyota stirred-up the mid-size sedan ranks with the new-generation Camry, and now the compact sedan segment is in for a jolt with the 2020 Corolla sedan. From every angle, the new Corolla sedan looks lower and leaner, tauter and tighter. Powerful fender flares and generously curved fender top surfaces accent its sculpted, athletic core. V-variants ride on delicious 225/45R17 tires on 17” alloy wheels.

The cockpit provides an engaging interior space that surrounds the driver while offering a spacious environment for all passengers. Compared to the previous Corolla sedan, the instrument panel, cowl, hood and beltline height are all lowered to increase visibility and create the interior’s open feel. High-gloss materials are paired with matte elements – silver accents with piano black and available contrasting stitching – to accentuate a premium look and feel. A 7-inch Multi-Information Display sits at the center of the dash, providing an unobstructed and easily-selectable view of performance status and operation functions.

The All-New Corolla Altis provides reassuring sense of security with safety features incorporated in the overall development of the vehicle.

The Brake Hold, for instance, is a convenient technology that helps reduce driver workload while waiting at a traffic light or while driving in traffic. When the driver depresses the accelerator pedal, Brake Hold releases.

Electronic Parking Brake with Brake Hold (for V and HV variants)

All variants are equipped with 7 SRS airbags, Anti-Lock Brake System with Electronic Brake Force Distribution, Vehicle Stability Control, Hill Start Assist, and 3-point Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) seatbelts for the driver and all passengers.

The 2020 Corolla Altis has a total of seven SRS Airbags.

Safety Sense on the 1.8V Hybrid

Significantly, the 1.8V Hybrid is equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 2.0, an advanced suite of integrated active and pre-collision safety features.

PCS (Pre-Collision System): Uses both a millimeter wave radar sensor and a forward-facing camera sensor for detection of a vehicle in front of the vehicle. If the PCS determines there is a high probability of a collision, or if it deems a collision is unavoidable, the system is designed to automatically activate the brakes to help avoid the collision entirely or mitigate the impact force.

AHB (Automatic High Beams): When enabled, the AHB system uses an in-vehicle camera to help detect the headlights of oncoming vehicles and taillights of preceding vehicles, and then automatically switches between high and low beams as appropriate.

One Touch256

LTA (Lane Tracing Assist): LTA is enabled when LDA and DRCC are both on and active. LTA employs a lane centering function that is designed to make constant steering inputs to help the driver keep the vehicle in the center of its lane. LTA is designed for uses on relatively straight highways to preemptively avoid unwanted lane departures and reduce driver fatigue.

LDA (Lane Departure Alert) with Steer Assist: Provides the driver with audible and visual warnings (vehicle positioning warning image shown in the Multi-Information Display) and, if necessary, is designed to provide steering assistance to help the driver stay in their lane if the system determines the possibility of deviation from the driving lane. It is also designed to detect vehicle sway (excess weaving within the driving lane) that might indicate driver distraction, inattention or drowsiness.

DRCC (Dynamic Radar Cruise Control): Designed for highway use, has a vehicle-to-vehicle distance control mode that utilizes a millimeter wave radar sensor and camera sensor to maintain a pre-set following distance from the preceding vehicle. The Full-speed DRCC version is also capable of low-speed following, including stop-and-go traffic that may occur on the highway. The Corolla sedan is designed to stop when the vehicle ahead comes to a stop, maintaining an appropriate distance to it.

There you go. The 2020 E210 Toyota Corolla may not be faster than the E170 model it replaces but it is certainly better by being more comfortable, safer, more refined and it breaks ground with its hybrid powertrain. And, such may be enough for the faithful. To paraphrase Kevin Costner in the 1989 film Field of Dreams, “Build it and they will come.” Now, please, can we also get the hatchback?