30 EWN 27 April - 3 May 2023
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Toyota Corolla Touring Sports - perfect choice? by Mark Slack
Standard fare on the en try level model provides everything from front and r e a r
parking sensors and auto lights to smart phone
ming rear view mirrors to its standard equipment. One of the first things to say about the car is its appar
Facts at a Glance • Model: Toyota Corolla Touring Sports Design • Engine: 1.8-litre, 4-cylinder, petrol electric selfcharging hybrid • Gears: CVT automatic • Price: €37,123/£33,130 • Performance: 0-100 kph (62 mph) 9.4 seconds/Maximum Speed 180 kph (112 mph). • Economy: 4.7l/100km (60.1 mpg) Combined driving. • Emissions: 106 g/km Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets
Credit: Kzenon/Shutterstock.com
FOR many people, espe cially of a certain age, mention estate cars and Volvo comes to mind, es tates that were favoured by antique dealers every where. Look for a large estate now and to be honest you’ll struggle. We’ve moved to ‘lifestyle’ estates which are collo quially known as Tourers, smaller load capacity but arguably more stylish and better handling than the estate barges of old. One of the sleekest and most affordable estates, sorry tourers, is Toyota’s Corolla Touring Sports. Carrying their very well proven hybrid technolo gy, still a much more all round and useable proposition than an EV, the Corolla may not be the most exciting means of transport, but as a
package it pretty much does everything you could want of a car. Lots of equipment, affordable running costs and very well bolted together. It feels like a car that will still be running and look ing good in 20 yearstime. Prices start from €35,363/£31,560 with four trim levels and two engine options 1.8 or 2.0litre petrol hybrid.
BROKEN DOWN: Warning triangles are currently used to alert other drivers.
Use of triangles may be scrapped THE Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) is said to be contemplating eliminating the obli gation to place the orange emergency trian gles in the event of a vehicle breaking down in the middle of a motorway or dual carriage way. This move is the result of a marked in crease in the number of road accidents. Pere Navarro, the director of the DGT, stat ed as much during a press briefing on Tues day, April 4. He explained: “Last year there were 16 deaths on motorways and dual car riageways of people who had got out of their vehicle.” The DGT director added that one in every 10 road deaths was caused by some body being hit by a car. Currently, when a vehicle suffers a road ac cident, it is compulsory for the driver to signal it to other road users, either with the emer
gency triangles or with the V16 emergency light, which is placed on the roof of the car and will eventually replace the triangles. However, this new regulation will not be compulsory until January 2026, so in the meantime, both forms of signalling will coex ist. There will still be drivers who opt for the triangles and have to get out of their car to place it, running the risk of being knocked down. Therefore, in view of this danger, the DGT is ‘assessing’ how to eliminate the obligation of signalling on motorways and dual carriage ways. This is something that other countries have already put into practice, and as DGT sources confirmed to a news source, Pere Navarro is studying how to do it at a regulato ry level.
TOURING SPORT: Looks good and is superbly well built - this might be the perfect choice for you.
connectivity and dual zone air conditioning. My test model was the Design trim, second up in the range, which adds keyless entry and start, power tailgate, privacy glass, power fold door mirrors and auto dim
ent low stance, it looks very low yet isn’t com pared to other cars of a similar type. So Toyota’s stylists obviously know a thing or two about sleek design! Inside it looks and feels well assembled and the
quality puts some rivals of similar price in the shade. You still get the boltoniPad look of so many cars but that apart there’s a pleasing normal ity with a standard auto matic gear shift lever, buttons (hurrah!) and de cent functionality to the touch screen. As with anything Toy ota, the Corolla is a smooth and refined drive, push the throttle too enthusiastically though and as is usual with a CVT transmission it hangs onto high engine revs meaning it’s rather vocal. Progressive rather than sudden acceleration is the order of the day. If you’re looking for a car that’s got more practi cality than a hatchback, but still handles as capa bly, looks good and is su perbly well built, then the Toyota Corolla Hybrid Touring might just be the perfect choice.
Decarbonising Anna Ellis UK ministers and avia tion chiefs have revealed an action plan for the next two years in the race to reach Jet Zero by 2050, as the government continues with ambitious plans to decarbonise faster than any other G7 country, grow the econo my, and support hun dreds of thousands of wellpaid green jobs. The Jet Zero Council made up of industry, academic and govern ment leaders met last week at Farnborough Airport. Through its twoyear plan, the council com mitted to continue work ing to speed up the de sign, manufacture, and rollout of zero emission aircraft and vital infras tructure at UK airports. The plan sets out how the council will help to accelerate the produc tion of sustainable avia
Image: GVLR / Shutterstock.com
ROAD TEST
AMBITIOUS PLANS: To reach zero emissions.
tion fuels (SAF), by con tinuing to invest millions of pounds in firstofa kind SAF plants, support ing crucial scientific re search on a larger scale, and helping to drive down production costs. Farnborough Airport also played host to the Sustainable Skies World Summit April 1718, which gathers experts and leaders from the worlds of aviation, gov
ernment, energy, and engineering.
35% of registered cars owners in the UK are female.
