Toyota Corolla Touring Sports long-term test: report 8

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 7287 List price £35,120 Target Price £32,295 Price as tested £35,120 Official economy 60.1mpg Test economy 54.5mpg

10 September 2025 – Commuting in the Corolla

It's been six months since I welcomed my Toyota Corolla Touring Sports into my life, and the time has flown by. Sometimes I forget just how much it’s done – it’s gone to Scotland and France, been the support car for many YouTube videos and even starred in one itself. I guess that’s a testament to how effortless the Corolla has made it all feel. 

Day-to-day commuting has been just as stress free. I live near Battersea, while the What Car? office is in Twickenham. Depending on how I feel and the level of traffic, I’ll either make my way west on the south circular, or dart off down the various rat runs and shortcuts sprinkled across the main route. Doing the latter adds miles onto the journey but often means I can get to work on time in the morning and enjoy dinner at a reasonable hour in the evening. 

A year ago, I had a Renault Clio long-term test car. Being small and nimble, it made light work of tight turns and narrow streets but, being a manual, my left leg wasn’t having the easiest time. 

The Corolla is a lot longer than the Clio, but it’s not too wide and the turning circle is good: slightly wider than a Skoda Octavia Estate’s but tighter than a Honda Civic’s. There’s no manual gearbox option with the Corolla Touring Sports — and I’m glad. A manual can be fun in a sports car on a country road, but in an estate car driving through London? Not so much. 

Between the Clio and Corolla, I had a Nissan X-trail long-term test car, which I loved, but it wasn't the easiest to park in London. With the Corolla, it’s a much easier affair. As well as being smaller, its low ride height, reversing camera (with a grid marker) and excellent visibility has meant I’ve never had any issues squeezing my Corolla into a space. 

Mind you, when parallel parking, I have to keep an eye on the wheels because, at 18in, they’re ripe for kerbing. They’re spick and span right now and I plan on keeping them that way. 

I plan on keeping the doors scrape-free, too, but because of how low the car is to the ground, there have been some close calls when I’ve been getting in and out. More times than one, a passenger opening a door has made me jump like I did during my first viewing of The Exorcist. 

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