The Corolla Cross Wears a Different Face for Each Powertrain

Since its 2026 refresh, the Toyota Corolla Cross has worn a body-colored grille as a hybrid and a wider, tougher face as a gas model. The two are easy to tell apart at a glance.

The gas Corolla Cross gets larger openings in its fascia and a thick bar across the top that carries the Toyota badge, which gives it a squarer, more rugged look. The hybrid’s grille is painted to match the body and filled with a fine mesh pattern. Both versions got new LED daytime running lights with the update.

Motor1 reported the change when Toyota previewed the 2026 model in May 2025, along with two new 18-inch wheel designs and a new Cavalry Blue paint offered on the LE, XLE, SE and XSE. The hybrid SE and XSE can also be ordered in Cavalry Blue with a Jet Black roof. Automotive Addicts reported that the new wheels are finished in dark gray on the gas XLE and gloss black on the hybrid XSE.

The cabin changed too. A redesigned center console moves the shifter away from the cupholders and repositions buttons and ports, and a 10.5-inch touchscreen is available above it, with either a 7-inch or a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster depending on trim. Automotive Addicts also noted a divider that holds a phone on the wireless charger and a new Portobello interior color on the XLE.

None of it changed what is underneath. The gas model kept its 169-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder and CVT, and the hybrid kept its 2.0-liter engine and electric motors with 196 combined horsepower and standard all-wheel drive.

Both faces carry over to the 2027 Corolla Cross. AutoGuide reported that the main change for 2027 is on the hybrid side, where the Hybrid S was dropped, leaving the SE and XSE as the only hybrid trims and the gas L, LE and XLE unchanged.

The Toyota Report Take

Splitting the styling was a smart way to stretch a small crossover across two kinds of buyer. The gas model’s blunt face suits its role as the affordable, practical choice, while the color-matched hybrid nose looks more expensive, which helps justify the hybrid’s higher price. The redesigned console is the more useful change day to day, because the old layout crowded the shifter and the cupholders together.