You have to admire former Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda’s attempt to instill excitement into Toyota’s many cars, trucks and SUVs. Yet you can’t help wondering if the command to instill life into its vehicles isn’t working against the brand’s DNA. Toyotas have long been like the decades-old Holiday Inn advertising slogan: The best surprise is no surprise.
Traditionally, Toyotas are well-built, reliable, and economical. They are reasonably, but not outrageously, styled. Personality? Not so much. But the marque’s many fans aren’t looking for that; they are looking for a transportation appliance. And Toyota grew to the top of the heap by building just that, for the most part, and it is masterful at pleasing this constituency. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But lately, many of the models seem to be trying too hard to be exciting, like your aging uncle trying to trend on TikTok.
So it’s a relief to drive the 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, a fuel-sipping variant of the Corolla Cross crossover SUV.
