At 52 MPG, Toyota Corolla Hybrid Gives Prius a Run for Its Gas Money

Fuel economy figures for the 2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid are now EPA-official, and Toyota seems to have built itself a key competitor for its own Prius hybrid. The first-in-the-U.S. 2020 Corolla Hybrid was announced in late 2018, with Toyota promising a combined fuel economy rating higher than 50 mpg.

According to the EPA, the Corolla Hybrid meets that goal, producing a rating of 53/52/52 mpg city/highway/combined. It does so from a powertrain of two electric motors and a 1.8-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine; the entire system produces 121 horsepower. That's a significant improvement over the gas-only 2020 Corolla L's 31/40/34 mpg rating when powered by its new 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission. Gas-only Corolla XSE models have the same city and combined ratings but a 38-mpg highway rating.

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Among other Toyotas, the 2019 Prius also has a 52-mpg combined rating, although it does so through a 54-mpg city rating and a 50-mpg highway rating. And the 2019 Camry Hybrid sports as much as a 51/53/52 mpg city/highway/combined rating, giving Toyota shoppers 52-mpg car options in varying sizes and shapes.

Competitors also offer similarly fuel-efficient hybrids. The 2019 Hyundai Ioniq is rated at a slightly higher 55/54/55 mpg, while the 2019 Honda Insight manages a combined rating equivalent to the Corolla Hybrid's 52 mpg, exceeding it with 55 city mpg but lagging slightly behind on the highway at only 49 mpg. Shoppers looking for a fuel-efficient crossover hybrid might want to consider the 2019 Kia Niro hybrid, rated at 52/49/50 mpg in FE trim and 51/46/49 mpg in LX and EX trims.

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Toyota has yet to announce pricing for the 2020 Corolla Hybrid, but we expect further info closer to the model's spring 2019 on-sale date.

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