New 2019 Toyota Corolla Touring Sports: pricing revealed

Toyota has confirmed UK pricing for the estate version of its hybrid Ford Focus rival ahead of early 2019

Toyota has announced pricing for the Corolla Touring Sports, following its debut at the Paris motor show earlier this year.

The Seat Leon ST rival will go on sale in March alongside the regular hatchback, a rival to the Ford Focus, with Toyota now accepting pre-orders. Entry-level Icon models will start from £22,570, with a 1.2-litre turbo engine and manual gearbox. 1.8-litre hybrid models with a CVT gearbox start from £25,020.

Icon trim includes 16in alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights, heated front seats, 8in touchscreen infotainment system with reversing camera. The step-up Icon Tech trim starts from £23,620 and adds a 7in digital instrument cluster, parking sensors and built-in satnav.

Design spec cars begin at £24,645 and get 17in alloys, rain-sensing wipers, electric heated wing mirrors and rear front fog lights, plus an optional panoramic sunroof, while top-end Excel grade models start from £28,615 and get bi-LED headlights, keyless entry, sports front seats and part-leather upholstery. Only Design models and above can be equipped with Toyota's new 2.0-litre hybrid engine.

Styled in Toyota’s European design centre, the Corolla Touring Sports shares much with the hatchback from the C-Pillar forward.

Further back, a rising shoulder line and flared wheel arches mark it out from the side view, while a sloping roofline and steeply raked rear window are intended to give the estate an appearance more akin to a shooting brake. Full LED rear lights complete the restyle. Four two-tone colours will be offered at launch, alongside an array of standard shades.

Much like the exterior, there appears little to tell the Touring Sports apart from the hatchback in the passenger compartment. However, Toyota has extended the wheelbase by 60mm over the hatchback to 2700mm and is claiming best-in-class rear leg room.

Toyota is quoting a 598-litre boot capacity with the seats up. That's slightly ahead of the Leon ST’s boot but behind other rivals such as the Skoda Octavia Estate and Peugeot 308 SW. No figure has been released for the seats-down boot capacity.

The Touring Sports uses the same petrol-only range as the hatchback, with a 114bhp 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine as the entry point. Two petrol-electric hybrid options also feature: a 121bhp 1.8-litre unit that's taken from the CH-R and Prius, plus a new 2.0-litre version with 178bhp that tops the range.

Technology available on the Corolla that wasn’t in the outgoing Auris includes a head-up display, a JBL premium sound system and wireless phone charging.