I finished my most recent rewatch of Casino Royale with three takeaways: it’s probably Daniel Craig’s objectively best outing as Bond, I still can’t get through the final arc when Vesper dies, and when the next one finally comes out—no pressure, Amazon—I hope Bond drives a 2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid. Yes, really. Let me explain.

In Casino Royale, when Bond goes semi-rogue to track down Dimitrios in the Bahamas, we see him behind the wheel of a Ford Mondeo. I find it amusing everyone still gets up-in-arms about that, mostly because for some reason, everyone’s favourite secret agent can and should only be seen in an Aston Martin. Granted it’s blatant product placement; even with this newfound clarity, I still think they doted on the Mondeo perhaps a bit too long in those shots. But I think it works, having Bond in a bland car. Spies work in the shadows. They have to blend in and remain anonymous. You can’t do that with an Aston in most situations—but you certainly can with a Corolla.

What’s new for 2025?

This 12th-generation Corolla sedan debuted for the 2020 model year, but Toyota has been pretty good at keeping it fresh with minor but meaningful tweaks over the years. This year, Toyota throws in an upsized 10.5-inch infotainment display on top-trim XSE models like our tester—the rest of the lineup keeps the eight-inch display. It’s a welcome upgrade, albeit with one minor nit-pick, but I’ll get into it later. I don’t doubt that the upsized display will eventually make its way down the lineup.

Otherwise, the rest of the lineup heads into 2025 mostly unchanged. U.S. buyers can spec a new FX trim, a sportier model that supposedly pays tribute to the Corolla FX16 from the late 1980s. It’s a mostly cosmetic package, aside from retuned steering and a mild drop. It sounds an awful lot like the formula that went into the Corolla Apex Edition; if our time with that flavour was any indication, we’re not missing much.

Does the Corolla turn heads?

Quite the opposite. The Corolla blends in wherever you go, especially finished in our tester’s Underground paint, a darker take on the nonmetallic primer grey trend plaguing “colour” palettes. But blending in is perfectly OK for a commuter car like the Corolla; if the redesigned Prius is a bit much for your liking, the Corolla might be a better fit while still giving you the Toyota hybrid goodness. Our top-spec XSE tester sets itself apart from lesser Corolla trims with more aggressive-looking front and rear fascias, blacked-out 18-inch wheels and matching accents, and a subtle lip spoiler. It won’t turn heads, but it’s handsome enough and nowhere near as needlessly polarizing as a Hyundai Elantra or Kia K4.

The Corolla is just as visually ho-hum inside. Having seen what Toyota’s done with newer models like the Crown, Grand Highlander, and even the updated Camry … let’s just say, I certainly can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next-generation Corolla. It just looks and feels a little too drab inside. The dashboard looks chunky and takes up a lot of visual mass. The only interior colour option is black; this XSE tester has some red stitching to add some colour, but it’s mostly a depressing pit of black. Rivals like the Mazda3 and Volkswagen Jetta offer much more of a baller-on-a-budget vibe, if you’re into that.

Well, is the Corolla at least comfy and roomy?

I’ll give the Corolla sedan this: it does feel quite solid and ergonomically sound inside. Materials and fit-and-finish look and feel good for the class, visibility all-around is excellent, and the so-called SofTex seats—read: pleather—actually look and feel nice. The upsized 10.5-inch touchscreen is a so-so upgrade; the added digital real estate means bigger and clearer icons and text on-screen, but the twisty volume knob is swapped out for a trio of buttons. Oh, and while I’m complaining, some more centre console storage would be nice.

But those are hardly dealbreakers. The rest of the Corolla’s controls are logically laid-out and easy to use, there’s heaps of headroom and legroom no matter where you sit, and although trunk space measures in at a seemingly measly 371 litres, our two filled-to-the-brim duffel bags barely made a dent when we tossed them for a very long road trip.

So how does the 2025 Corolla Hybrid drive?

Very long road trips are a great way to get to know a car. So when Toyota invited us to Charlevoix to try out the Lexus LX 700h, we decided to drive, and ended up covering just over 1,800 kilometres round-trip. Being the Corolla hybrid, fuel economy is a very big deal here. But first, about the powertrain itself: it starts with a 1.8-litre inline four-cylinder engine, paired to two electric motors—three if you count the one integrated into the CVT. Toyota says this arrangement is good for 138 net horsepower—a big deficit over the 169-hp you get in the gas Corolla, and a very big deficit over the Civic hybrid’s 200 ponies.

Suffice it to say, the Corolla hybrid is rather leisurely. It’s perfectly fine booting around town, quietly creeping along in stop-and-go traffic, or maintaining a steady-state cruise on the highway. But actually getting up to those highway speeds certainly sounds and feels strained, and passing on the highway takes a split-second of extra planning than in, say, the punchier Civic hybrid.

Ah, but the fuel economy. Depending on the trim level, Toyota says the Corolla hybrid can be as efficient as 4.4 L/100 kilometres in the city, 5.1 highway, and 4.7 L/100 km combined for the base, front-wheel-drive LE and its 16-inch wheels and squishier, comfier, and quieter low-rolling-resistance tires. This XSE tester is the thirstiest setup thanks to its upsized wheels and all-wheel-drive, coming in at 5.0/5.7/5.3 L/100 kilometres city/highway/combined. After covering more than 1,800 km, our tester’s trip computer settled at 5.8 L/100 km. In the dead of winter. With the heat blasting, and heated seats and steering wheel almost always on. Driving in headwinds most of the way back to Toronto. And using the remote starter a lot. Not bad.

Is the Corolla XSE worth it?

Not in this fully-loaded XSE AWD spec. Positioned at the very top of the Corolla sedan lineup, our tester works out to $36,355 as-tested but before destination fees, sales taxes, and all that very fun stuff. By comparison, the Civic hybrid comes in at $37,100—a small premium for a prettier, more powerful, and much more substantial-feeling experience overall.

That’s not to say there isn’t value in a 2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid. It’s just lower in the lineup—the SE hybrid keeps the important stuff and saves you about $6,000 compared to the XSE. Come on, do you really need the bigger screen and mediocre-at-best “upgraded” sound system? Still, no matter which way you go, the Corolla hybrid plays the role well of an efficient little commuter car that blends in and gets the job done.