2020 Toyota Corolla Drops Tonight: Here's Everything We Know

2020 Toyota Corolla | Manufacturer image

By Kelsey Mays

November 15, 2018

For sheer excitement, a new Toyota Corolla should register about as high as your annual income tax filing. But something’s different this time around. See, you’re filing jointly instead of sing… no, no, not that … the Corolla. Redesigned for its 12th generation, the 2020 Corolla sedan debuts tonight in what should draw heavily from the new-for-2019 Corolla Hatchback. Unrelated to both the outgoing Corolla iM hatchback and the extant Corolla sedan that’s been around since the 2014 model year, the new Corolla Hatchback, Toyota promised months ago, would share global underpinnings with the next Corolla sedan.

Used

2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback XSE

45,130 mi.

$23,500

Good Deal

Used

2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback SE

37,444 mi.

$22,500 $200 price drop

Good Deal | $473 under

And in the 237 days since it debuted, the Corolla Hatchback garnered improbable enthusiasm from passersby and Cars.com editors alike. So you can see why the anticipation over its trunk’d sibling has grown. In mere hours, the wait will be over. Toyota is unveiling the Corolla sedan tonight in California, and it already released a teaser image earlier this week.

Here’s what we know:

Hatchback Hat-Tip

The 2020 Corolla sedan will share underpinnings, and possibly styling and cabin design, with the 2019 Corolla Hatchback. Toyota promised months ago that the hatchback’s foundation, built off the automaker’s new Global Architecture Compact platform, would also form the basis of the next Corolla sedan. But if the fruits of GA-C are any indication — it underpins models as varied as the Toyota Prius hybrid and Lexus UX crossover — the Corolla sedan could also vary considerably, inside and out, versus its hatchback sibling.

Drivetrain Do-Over?

It’s unclear if the Corolla sedan will employ the hatchback’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder and excellent transmissions or the outgoing generation’s 1.8-liter four-cylinder, or some new drivetrain altogether. In the Corolla Hatchback, the 2.0-liter is good for EPA combined fuel economy as high as 36 mpg — mighty impressive for its competitive set.

Speaking of Which …

It’s unlikely we’ll see pricing and EPA-estimated fuel economy in tonight’s reveal, as that sort of information is unlikely to come until closer to the car’s on-sale date. Given that the new Corolla sedan is a 2020 model, not a 2019, it won’t hit dealerships until sometime in the 2019 calendar year. For reference, the 2019 Corolla Hatchback comes in two trim levels and runs from $20,910 to $27,025 (all prices include a destination charge). The outgoing 2019 Corolla sedan, meanwhile, has six trims and runs from $19,620 to $24,325.

While you wait with bated breath for the Corolla’s big reveal, catch up on all our coverage on the Corolla Hatchback:

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