Morning routine here at The Autopian varies for everyone, but I’m a fan of rolling over, shutting off the iPhone alarm, and browsing for what’s new and noteworthy in the automotive kingdom. As it turned out, this morning served up something delightfully mundane. Did Toyota update the Corolla Cross for 2026? It turns out, that’s exactly what’s happened, serving up the third and fourth front ends for this subcompact crossover.
Yes, third and fourth; the original 2022 combustion-powered model used the standard front end while the outgoing hybrid model used the front end from the Chinese-market Frontlander. Nerdy bit of trivia that nobody really cares about, I know, but doesn’t that sum up the entire Corolla Cross? It’s oatmeal on four wheels, the definition of sufficient, just without much that’s exceptional.
Alright, if you really can’t remember, here’s what the old Corolla Cross Hybrid looked like. It’s a bit like if you asked MidJourney to combine all of Toyota’s crossovers into one vehicle, with its front fascia vaguely reminiscent of the Highlander XSE’s, the blisters over the arches being RAV4 stuff, the two-tone roof popularized by the C-HR, you know the drill.
Taking a look at the updated Corolla Cross, the styling is still anonymous enough that it’s easy to forget what the old one looked like. Basically, we’re looking at a minor update for combustion-powered variants and a slightly more significant update for the hybrids. Gas-only units get a grille that seems very Tacoma and 4Runner-influenced, the top-level alloy wheels get swapped out for a fresh design, and that’s about it. Anticlimactic, I know.
Meanwhile, the hybrid model draws influence from the Camry Hybrid and Crown Signia, shrinking its lower grille and adopting a bunch of hexagonal holes in the body color bumper for cooling. Add in a dark trim piece to bridge the headlights and some corner elements in the front bumper, and the result is a significantly different look than before. Oh, and the XSE Hybrid also gets new wheels, as is the style of the times.
Stepping inside the 2026 Toyota Corolla Cross, changes are equally subtle. A blockier center console, seems designed to bring previously somewhat under-dash controls closer to the driver and that seems admirable, but a quick look at the touchscreen makes it obvious the top trims of the Corolla Cross are taking a step backward. At 10.5 inches, the infotainment display is larger than before, but it also no longer comes with a volume knob, instead relying on buttons to adjust volume.
This may sound like a petty grievance, but I actually owned a car without a volume knob and it was annoying enough that I ripped out the entire center stack, sourced a bezel with integrated climate controls, and wired in an aftermarket head unit with a volume knob. Guess what? The car in question had steering wheel-mounted audio controls, but for quick, large adjustments of volume, nothing beats a knob.
Consider this a good reason to stick with a mid-range trim (only top trims get the aforementioned infotainment update), preferably a reasonably priced hybrid because there are no major mechanical changes slated for 2026, so you might as well spend less time at the gas station. After all, 196 horsepower is plenty for this application, through-the-road eAWD is enough to get you through snow drifts in conjunction with winter tires, and 42 MPG combined sounds pretty alright.
The 2026 Toyota Corolla Cross definitely received one of the lightest facelifts we’ve seen in recent years, but it’ll go down in automotive history as a delightfully banal tidbit of trivia, a slight change that didn’t strictly need to happen but was made anyway.
Top graphic credit: Toyota
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We got our ’25 XSE Hybrid back in December in the “new” Mazda Red, and we love it so far. Where it could use the most improvement though is the interior, especially the center console which is terribly inefficient design.
Much like the new Camry bumper, I love the hexagonal slots on the ’26 Cross, but the interior seems even worse! What an awful slab of useless plastic! It appears to either shrink the forward storage bin (which was already too small with the wireless charger), or delete it altogether.
Also it should be said I’m not super impressed with the build quality of the Alabama plant which produces the Cross/CX5s. The seat stitching has lumps, the door gaskets are puckered and squished, and despite the 7,000 miles, it already has a couple rattles in the door and dash.
I get the Cross is still the ‘cheap’ CUV for them, but I can’t help but think these issues wouldn’t exist from a factory in their homeland.
I have been very impressed with the mileage though. At highway speeds, where it’s at its least advantage, the Cross Hybrid still manages 2-4+ mpg more than my old Corolla, and at town speeds the difference is more like 10+mpg