The Toyota Corolla Cross is pretty popular in these parts, so any update is going to make us sit up and notice. Which is just as well, because the facelifted version of the SUV will be revealed in Thailand in just a few days time on February 8.
A few teasers have been released to accompany the announcement, and by far the most noticeable change is the adoption of the full-LED headlights from the Japanese- and European-market models. The eyebrow-style daytime running lights have been pushed down, giving space up top for the sequential indicators.
Now, you might expect this facelift to simply get the Japanese front end with its distinctive hexagonal upper grille and gaping lower grille (after all, the Corolla Cross Hybrid in the US also got this face), but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
In the brightened photo up top, you can see that the new, slimmer upper grille connects the headlights; that’s not the case on the JDM model. The side profile shown in the video below also shows that the bumper juts out further down, around the same position as the current ASEAN variant, hinting that it will be of a different design.
Expect the Corolla Cross to retain the same powertrain options – a 139 PS/172 Nm 2ZR-FE 1.8 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder mated to a CVT, as well as a hybrid model that pairs an Atkinson-cycle version of the engine with two electric motors and a nickel-metal hydride battery to produce a total system output of 122 PS.
GALLERY: 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross GR Sport in Malaysia
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