Toyota

Corolla Commercial

The Toyota Corolla Commercial is almost identical to the standard car, except it has no rear seats, a flat load bed, blacked out windows, a bulkhead mesh and the title of being a van. Quite a transformation then.

The good

Looks and drives just like the car

The bad

Could do with added storage up front

Tech Specs

Price from

£22,590 (excluding VAT)

Combined Fuel up to

55.6-61.4mpg

0-62 from

11.1 seconds

max speed up to

112mph

co2 from

105g/km

Test Drive

Toyota Corolla Commercial (2022)

Take a standard Toyota Corolla Touring Sports model, remove the rear seats, fit a rubberised floor, add a bulkhead mesh and black out the rear windows – the end result is the Corolla Commercial.

This five-door model, that from a first glance, looks identical to the car, is the UK and Europe’s first full-charging, full-hybrid van and it’s the ideal choice for anyone not quite ready to take the leap to full electric models.

Costing £22,590 (excluding VAT), there is only one trim level for this front-wheel drive model and it is powered by a four-cylinder, 1.8-litre petrol hybrid engine delivering 122hp and 142Nm of torque. That may not sound that dynamic, but the acceleration through the automatic CVT transmission is certainly smooth enough with a 0-62mph sprint time of 11.1 seconds and maximum speed of 112mph.

According to official figures, under the latest WLTP testing, the Corolla Commercial can deliver a combined 55.6 to 61.4mpg with carbon emissions of 105g/km. That emissions figure would result in a Benefit in Kind tax rating of 26 per cent for business drivers.

From a design point of view, the Corolla Commercial is virtually identical to the car with LED headlights, a gloss black grille, electrically-adjustable and heated door mirrors and 15-inch steel wheels. It does feature blacked out rear windows though for added privacy.

Inside, there are black fabric upholstered seats which can be heated and the impressive Toyota Touch 2 infotainment system with an eight-inch touchscreen. There is full smartphone integration via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a six-speaker sound system, voice recognition, Bluetooth, plus a reversing camera.

And the really exciting news is that this van drives just like the traditional car with smooth acceleration, plenty of power on tap and impressive ride and handling ability.

There are drive modes to switch through called Eco, Normal and Sport which alter the driving characteristics, plus a full EV mode. In addition, by selecting a B setting on the gear selector the level of regenerative braking is increased to boost the battery levels whilst driving.

The steering is relatively light, but offers just enough driver feedback and the vehicle is well grounded when powering through the country lanes. Due to the design alterations, the cabin does get a little echoey when travelling at higher motorway speeds, but otherwise the Corolla Commercial is nicely refined.

The vehicle, which uses all of Toyota’s hybrid know-how, runs in EV mode whenever possible to save fuel and reduce emissions. And the engine joins in completely automatically and seamlessly in the background when needed.

When it comes to practicality, the Corolla Commercial has most bases covered. It has a decent load capacity of 1,326 litres with a payload of up to 425kg. The sturdy rubberised flooring prevents items from rolling around while also protecting the vehicle from any spills. It can tow a trailer weighing up to 750kg.

Up front there are a few handy storage compartments, but not as many as found on some more traditional vans that have extra pockets to store documents etc.

Comfort levels impress though with the seats offering decent support over long journeys. The driver visibility is excellent forwards, sideways and backwards if the loading bay is not stacked right up to the roof, but the over-the-shoulder visibility is non-existent due to the blacked-out windows.

And like the Corolla Touring Sports model, the van is packed with safety kit, including Toyota Safety Sense. This introduces the likes of a pre-collision system, full range adaptive cruise control, automatic high beam, lane departure alert, lane trace assist, sway warning and road sign assist.

Other safety features include a full suite of airbags, vehicle stability control, traction control and hill-start assist.

All in all, the Toyota Corolla Commercial is a great business van for any driver not quite ready for full electrified technology, but who wants to reap the financial rewards of driving a full hybrid model. It’s practical, comfortable, good to drive and reasonably priced.