Toyota Corolla Cross: hybrid or petrol and what changed in 2023 and 2025
The Corolla Cross has been sold in Japan since September 14, 2021 and has formally remained one generation all this time. In fact, three different sets of equipment have changed under one body: petrol 1.8 and hybrid 1.8 at the start, petrol 2.0 and a newly assembled electric part of the hybrid from October 2023, only hybrids and the GR SPORT version from 2025. The year of manufacture does not always separate these periods accurately, and the body code is always separated.
2021-2023: petrol only with front-wheel drive, hybrid – also with E-Four
The first Japanese Corolla Cross was assembled at the Takaoka plant on the GA-C platform, and Toyota presented it as the first SUV in the Corolla family. The petrol version received a 1.8-liter 2ZR-FAE with 103 kW (140 hp) at 6,200 rpm and 170 Nm, a Super CVT-i CVT and front-wheel drive only – body code 3BA-ZSG10. The hybrid is built on the 2ZR-FXE with 72 kW (98 hp) and 142 Nm with a 1NM front electric motor of 53 kW (72 hp) and 163 Nm. E-Four all-wheel drive was offered only to the hybrid: the rear axle is driven by a separate 1MM electric motor with 5.3 kW (7.2 hp) and 55 Nm, there is no driveshaft. The hybrid codes are 6AA-ZVG11 with front-wheel drive and 6AA-ZVG15 with E-Four.
Two details of this period are worth knowing in advance. The battery of the front-wheel drive hybrid is a 3.6 Ah lithium-ion hybrid, and the E-Four is a 6.5 Ah nickel-metal hydride, that is, the type of battery depends on the drive. And the tank is different: 36 liters for the hybrid with front-wheel drive, 43 for the E-Four, 47 for the petrol version. There are four versions – G “X”, G, S and Z; at the rear, front-wheel drive cars have a newly developed torsion beam, the E-Four has an independent one on double wishbones.
October 2023: 2.0 instead of 1.8 for petrol and new electric modules for hybrid
From October 18, 2023, Toyota, according to its own wording, has updated all the electric modules in the hybrid, and instead of the previous 1.8 petrol version, it gave a two-liter Dynamic Force engine. In numbers, it looks like this. The M20A-FKS petrol engine produces 125 kW (170 hp) at 6,600 rpm and 202 Nm, works with a Direct Shift-CVT CVT with an additional gear and is still only front-wheel drive; the body code has changed to 4BA-MXGA10. The hybrid engine remained the same 2ZR-FXE at 72 kW, but the front 1VM engine began to produce 70 kW (95 hp) and 185 Nm instead of 53 kW, and the rear motor of the E-Four was replaced by a synchronous 1WM with 30 kW (41 hp) and 84 Nm instead of 5.3 kW. The battery in both versions of the drive is now a 4.08 Ah lithium-ion battery. Hybrid codes are 6AA-ZVG13 and 6AA-ZVG16.
According to the year of manufacture, these two electrical parts are reliably indistinguishable: both were sold in 2023, so the “2023 hybrid” without a body code is either an old or a new rear engine with a difference of almost six times.
2025: Hybrid only, and from August GR SPORT with a two-liter hybrid
The updated Corolla Cross went on sale on May 23, 2025, the GR SPORT version on August 4. There are no petrol versions in Toyota’s performance tables after this update: there is a 1.8 hybrid in the Z, S and G versions with front-wheel drive or E-Four (in the July 2026 list – only Z and S) and GR SPORT. GR SPORT has its own setup, which Toyota left only to this version: the two-liter M20A-FXS with 112 kW (152 hp) – in the July 2026 sheet already 114 kW (155 hp), – front engine 1VM for 83 kW (113 hp) and 206 Nm, the same rear engine 1WM for 30 kW, and only E-Four. The suspension of the GR SPORT is lowered by 10 mm, the ground clearance is 145 mm against 160 for the rest, for the rigidity of the body, an amplifier has been added in the rear bumper area, and a separate SPORT has appeared in the selection of modes. The body code is 6AA-MXGH15.
What do all periods have in common
The dimensions and layout changed little: the length of the cars was 4,490 mm before the 2025 update and 4,455 mm after it (the GR SPORT had 4,460), the width was 1,825, the height was 1,620 (the GR SPORT had 1,600), the wheelbase was 2,640 mm in all years, the minimum turning radius was 5.2 m. At launch Toyota quoted the boot with five passengers as 487 liters for the front-wheel drive car without a spare wheel; the E-Four has a different volume, and it is not named in the announcement. The ground clearance is 160 mm in all versions, except for the GR SPORT. All-wheel drive in all years was only electric and only in a hybrid: the petrol Corolla Cross with all-wheel drive did not exist in the Japanese market with either 1.8 or 2.0.
Why capacities do not add up
In the Toyota characteristics tables, the engine, front and rear motors are written in separate lines, and the lines with the total installation power are not in either the 2021 or 2024-2026 sheets. It is impossible to add 72 kW of the engine and 70 kW of the engine – why, analyzed in the article “Power of a hybrid from Japan”. For documents and calculations, it is the specification lines that are needed.
What does this mean when choosing
If you need a petrol Corolla Cross, the choice is between 1.8 for 140 hp 2021-2023 and 2.0 for 170 hp 2023-2025, and in both cases it is front-wheel drive. The hybrid with all-wheel drive has existed in all years, but until October 2023 it is a car with a 5.3 kW rear engine and a nickel-metal hydride battery, and then with a 30 kW motor and a lithium-ion battery in any version of the drive. The GR SPORT is the only way to get a two-liter hybrid, and it is always all-wheel drive and lower than the rest.
Separately, it is worth remembering that the Corolla Cross is also produced for other markets – Thailand, USA, China, Europe – with their own engines and periods. Japanese body codes do not apply to these cars; how this changes the reading of the generation is shown in the article “One generation, different markets”.
What to check for a specific car
The body code answers the main question right away: ZSG10 – petrol 1.8; MXGA10 – petrol 2.0; ZVG11 and ZVG15 – 2021-2023 hybrid with front-wheel drive and E-Four; ZVG13 and ZVG16 – hybrid with an updated electric part; MXGH15 — GR SPORT. The prefix 3BA- or 4BA- is for petrol versions, 6AA- for hybrids; how the code is completely arranged is explained in the article “Japanese Car Body Code”.
Versions by year are collected in the Toyota Corolla Cross catalog: 2022 – the first period with 1.8, 2024 – two-liter petrol and an updated hybrid, 2025 – an update and GR SPORT. The condition of the selected car is checked separately, the procedure is described in the article “What we check before the bet”, and the service of ordering a car from Japan helps to choose a car.
