Toyota Corolla Touring Sports long-term test: report 7

The car Toyota Corolla Touring Sports GR Sport Run by Jonty Renk, Video Production Manager

Why it’s here To prove that you don't have to go German for the perfect estate car 

Needs to Offer impressive fuel economy, reliability and performance while offering all the carrying capacity I need

Mileage 6536 List price £35,120 Target Price £32,295 Price as tested £35,120 Official economy 60.1mpg Test economy 53.4mpg

18 August 2025 – Go with the flow

Like morning coffees, sat-nav or local parks, when you see or experience something over and over every day it can be easy to take that thing for granted. In fact, I’d started to become guilty of that in regards to my Toyota Corolla Touring Sports, having driven it regularly and on long journeys for a good few months. However, I recently lent my Corolla to a couple of colleagues and went without it for two weeks. 

Over the past week, then, I’ve been getting reacquainted with it. Doing so wasn’t difficult – it’s just as practical and as easy to drive as ever – but something did pique my curiosity that hadn’t before.  

Perhaps it was seeing it parked outside my flat once again and this igniting a new appreciation for the exterior design, but I suddenly found myself typing ‘Toyota Corolla Touring Sports drag coefficient’ into my computer. I just figured that, because it looks so sleek and is a hybrid with such a keen focus on efficiency, it must be really aerodynamic. 

I was surprised to learn that my car actually isn’t particularly aerodynamic. Both the Touring Sports and regular Toyota Corolla hatch have a drag coefficient of 0.31Cd, while the rival Skoda Octavia Estate has a coefficient of just 0.26Cd – the lower the number, the better, because it means the car slips through the air with less resistance and therefore uses less fuel. In fact, every rival I looked up – the Seat Leon Estate, Ford Focus Estate and VW Golf Estate – displayed a lower figure than the Corolla. 

I have my theories about why this is and they all come down to other priorities. Firstly, the search for better aerodynamics can mean increased costs to build the car, the end result being a higher list price. Secondly, you can reduce a car’s drag coefficient by lowering the roofline and making it more teardrop-shaped, but that’s going to reduce passenger and boot space. 

So, while surprised, I could understand why my Corolla’s exterior isn’t quite as slippery as I first thought. The Corolla is both reasonably priced and impressively spacious (for a smaller estate car), and those two areas would’ve likely been compromised if it were to have a keener focus on aerodynamics. My camera equipment certainly wouldn’t appreciate a smaller boot, for instance, and my colleague wouldn’t have been able to facilitate his family’s trip to France with much less interior or boot space. 

And as I referenced earlier, the Corolla is a fuel-sipping hybrid, so the efficiency of its engine can compensate. My car is currently averaging 53.4mpg – a number I’m very happy with. 

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here

Read more about our long-term Toyota Corolla Touring Sports >>

Read about more long-term test cars >>

Buy a new car with What Car?

Like the sound of the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports?

If so, check out our New Car Deals pages to see how much you could save on a Toyota Corolla Touring Sports. 

We’ve got the biggest selection of discounted new cars available in the UK.