The 2028 Toyota Corolla Is an Affordable Gas, Hybrid, and Electric Sedan Worth Waiting For

What It Is

Toyota is giving its affordable Corolla compact sedan a massive overhaul, with sharper styling and a diverse array of new powertrains. Toyota showed a flashy Corolla concept car in late 2025, and we expect the dramatic styling to carry over to production with minimal changes. The cabin should also look far more modern than the current model, with an airier design, larger screens, and simplified controls. The Corolla should arrive first as a sedan, although the fastback roof may disguise a rear hatch that could make the current hatchback model redundant, especially given the rising popularity of the Corolla Cross subcompact SUV.

Why It Matters

The Corolla is one of Toyota’s breadwinners. Last year, it was the brand’s fourth-bestselling model in the United States, racking up 248,088 sales, and making it the 11th-bestselling vehicle in the entire country. But the current model has grown long in the tooth, on sale in sedan form since 2020, with the current hatchback launching in 2019. The Corolla faces strong competition from cars like the Honda Civic, along with subcompact SUVs that have started to become the default for those looking for an inexpensive set of wheels. A new generation of Corolla will need to prove that there is still space for compact, low-priced sedans in a U.S. market that’s increasingly obsessed with SUVs.

Platform

The next-generation Corolla is set to ride on a new platform that will allow for a multifaceted powertrain approach. Although it is expected to be a heavily reworked version of the TNGA-C architecture currently found beneath the existing Corolla, the new platform will be able to handle everything from a pure-gas setup to a full EV.

Powertrain

In total, the new Corolla is expected to come with four different powertrains. While other Toyotas like the Camry and RAV4 have gone hybrid-only, there will be a gas-only version of the next Corolla.

The hybrid will also return, pairing a new 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric motor. Toyota engineers told Car and Driver that the system will generate around 134 horsepower, with the engine contributing 94 hp and the electric motor churning out 40 hp. The hybrid system is estimated to be 10 to 20 percent more efficient than the already frugal current model. An all-wheel-drive version with an additional e-motor on the rear axle is possible too.

Toyota has also said that the 1.5-liter engine is capable of accommodating a turbocharger, and this could end up being the engine that slots into the gas-only Corolla. Alternately, the gas model could continue with a revised version of the current turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four.

The Corolla Hybrid will be joined for the first time by a p

Competition

The Corolla will continue to challenge compact cars such as the Honda Civic, Volkswagen Jetta, Hyundai Elantra, Kia K4, Nissan Sentra, and Mazda 3. If the electric variant comes to the U.S., it will battle other affordable EVs such as the Nissan Leaf.

What Might Go Wrong

Keeping the price affordable will be key, and while Toyota will be tempted to make the cabin look more modern, it needs to make sure it remains still practical and intuitive to use, since the concept seemed to eschew many traditional buttons. While the gas and hybrid models have a fairly straightforward path to success, the plug-in hybrid may prove too niche, especially if the cost is significantly higher than the standard hybrid model. A slowing EV market may also hamper the success of the electric variant.

Estimated Arrival and Price

The next Corolla will likely arrive at some point in 2027, likely for the 2028 model year. We don’t expect the price to rise much, with the current gas version starting at around $25,000 and the hybrid model in the $27,000 neighborhood. We’re less sure about what to expect for the PHEV and EV models, but both will likely cost somewhere in the $30,000 range.

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Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.