Toyota Corolla flex fuel hybrid track drive review: engine, performance, ride and handling

Whereas the Indian authorities – and extra particularly, the Union Minister for Highway Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari – has been campaigning for using flex-fuel automobiles, Toyota India has additionally proven curiosity and unveiled a flex-fuel Corolla hybrid.

The automobile, a left-hand-drive Corolla, is imported from Brazil – the place the flex-fuel market is effectively developed – and is supposed to carry consideration to flex-fuel automobiles in India. And whereas the Eleventh-generation Corolla was earlier bought right here, there are not any plans for now to introduce this present, Twelfth-generation mannequin.

We have been invited to a small drive on the Worldwide Centre for Automotive Know-how’s (ICAT) check monitor in Manesar, and so listed here are just a few temporary impressions of the automobile’s engine and efficiency.

Toyota Corolla flex-fuel hybrid: engine and drive impression

Beneath the hood of this Corolla is a flex-fuel-capable 1.8-litre petrol engine that makes 102hp and 142Nm of torque. It’s coupled with a 73hp electrical motor, which has a max torque of 163Nm, and is fed by a 1.3kWh battery that’s regularly charged on board. It’s a typical sturdy hybrid system, identical to within the Hyryder, which implies, on a really gentle foot, it may well motor alongside on simply electrical mode. As quickly as you demand some extra, the engine kicks in, and whilst you can hear it, you don’t actually really feel it coming in; the switching of energy is seamless too.

Just like the Hyryder, the Corolla flex gas hybrid may also run in pure EV mode. 

What is kind of completely different to Toyota’s SUV is the sprightly efficiency of the 1.8-litre engine, which is kind of a welcome distinction to the dialled-down really feel the Hyryder’s 1.5-litre engine delivers. The Corolla picks up tempo rapidly and acceleration is brisk all by means of. Out in the actual world, it’s going to ship a robust freeway efficiency. The gearbox is what Toyota calls an e-CVT, which basically is a solar and planetary system, like in a standard computerized, but it surely’s set-up to supply infinite ratios.

The Corolla flex-fuel hybrid has drive modes and a devoted EV mode button.

And whereas, curiously, within the Hyryder – which additionally makes use of an identical set-up – the rubber band impact is current, it didn’t seem like current within the Corolla. On the entire, the powertrain refinement is nice and, all in all, the flex-fuel engine feels identical to an everyday petrol, which it basically is. The one vital distinction a flex-fuel car proprietor will see in opposition to an everyday petrol mannequin is decrease gas effectivity, as a result of decrease power density of ethanol.

That’s the place the Corolla’s sturdy hybrid system is available in. Like within the Hyryder, Toyota says, pushed usually, the automobile ought to motor alongside in EV mode for round 50 to 60 p.c of the time, which greater than compensates for the effectivity loss.

Toyota Corolla flex-fuel hybrid: design and interiors

Design of the Toyota Corolla flex-fuel is paying homage to the Camry.

Provided that this automobile isn’t scheduled to launch in India, we targeted our little time on the engine, however I needed to cease for some time and admire the brand new Corolla’s traces. I’ve by no means been a giant fan of early Corolla styling and it was solely the Altis that, to me, had some pleasure, and it was good seeing that within the present automobile too. It reminds you of the Camry in a method, and the tipped ahead stance, modern headlights and aggressive bumper cuts add a pleasant contact of sportiness. On the rear too the automobile appears fairly sensible.

Just like the Hyryder hybrid, the Corolla flex-fuel doesn’t get a standard RPM gauge.

The within is a extra simple affair devoid of any design aptitude and comes throughout as constructed to be practical and cozy, which it’s. The multifunction steering wheel buttons are straightforward to make use of, as are the buttons and dials on the dashboard. Whereas we didn’t sit inside for very lengthy, the seats have been good and comfortable, and well-bolstered too. Area was good, each within the entrance and rear, and after spending a while with the automobile, I might solely marvel how it will do right this moment in our market.

What’s a flex-fuel car and can flex-fuel be bought in India?

Merely put, any inner combustion car able to operating on a variable mix of fuels is known as a flex-fuel car. On this case, the Corolla can run on petrol and ethanol in any combine and even pure ethanol; usually, in Brazil, the mix is 85 p.c ethanol (E85). In India, petrol at the moment provided is blended with 10 p.c ethanol, which has no impact on an engine.

The Corolla flex gas can run on any mixture of ethanol or petrol or purely on both of the 2 fuels. 

Nonetheless, the Indian Authorities plans to extend the mix to twenty p.c by subsequent 12 months, and this can require materials adjustments to bits just like the gas hoses to deal with the corrosive nature of ethanol, in addition to tuning and calibration to satisfy the emission norms and handle the decrease power density of the gas.

Thus, when E20 gas does arrive, all automobiles must be tweaked to handle it. Nonetheless, there are not any plans for now to launch a completely flex-fuel-capable car in India. Toyota says, on condition that the know-how is prepared, if E85 or pure ethanol will be provided throughout India, a really flex-fuel car might simply arrive right here.

What do you concentrate on flex-fuel automobiles, ought to they launch in India? Tell us within the feedback beneath.

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