A Toyota critic recently reviews the 2023 Toyota Corolla XSE Hatchback and it turns out to be a great semi-hot hatchback.
The Toyota Corolla has been a staple for affordable self-transport since the mid-80’s when it took off by the public. To this day, a lot of first cars, single person cars, are all Toyota Corollas. In fact, it made such an impact on the industry that to this day the only rival to this car was the first generation Ford Taurus. The taurus completely took the market by storm as not only was it Ford’s only hope from going under but also it showed the consumer majority that an American automaker can indeed make a very affordable, reliable, and efficient sedan.
In recent years, Toyota has made a stride to make their Corolla line up more adverse and to better assimilate to the needs of its owners. Such as the introduction of the Corolla sport, the GR Corolla, Corolla Hatchback, and many other variants. At one point it was even rumored that Toyota was going to release an EV Corolla. Unfortunately this did not happen and the small EV hatchback was taken by Nissan with the Leaf, and Chevy with the Spark EV.
These new implementations of adversity into the Corolla platform lead us critics and journalists to like the car even more. A recent article by WTOP News’ Mike Parris explained just how wonderful the new 2023 Toyota Corolla Hatch XSE really is.
Here’s what Parris thought after reviewing the car, “To match the sporty vibe on the outside, there is a bit more performance in the drive when compared to the sedan. You get 169hp, which isn’t a rocket ship, but there is a bit of pep under the hood. It will give the hatchback adequate performance for many small car buyers. The CVT transmission goes mostly unnoticed, and the fuel economy is impressive on the highway. The Corolla XSE is not a hot-hatch when you hit the curvy roads — it does well, but there is some lean on quicker corners.”
I’ve driven older models of Corolla and they just keep having more fun to drive each year. Of course the sub-200 horsepower engine will not help you win any drag races but it’s good if you just want to toy around in it and make it look cool. Aftermarket accessories are relatively cheap for these cars and the support group outside the dealerships are very popular. Forums, chat rooms, Facebook groups, etc. All of these can help with any problem you may encounter.
I personally would definitely own one but it would have to be the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla because of the manual transmission and 300hp engine. I really like the design the gray color just pops to me. I wish they would make it in that signature gray that KIA and Hyundai use but I guess some things are just not feasible.
What do you think? How do you feel about the 2023 Toyota Corolla XSE? Let us know in the comments below.
Harutiun Hareyan is reporting Toyota news at Torque News. His automotive interests and vast experience test-riding new cars give his stories a sense of authenticity and unique insights. Follow Harutiun on Twitter at @HareyanHarutiun and on YouTube at Toyota Time for daily Toyota news.