Once and a while a car comes into the country which has no fanfare, no marketing push and would barely register on buyer’s radar, except that the vehicle in question is the perfect company vehicle.

This is one of those vehicles. The Toyota wagon GX – now with a hybrid powertrain should be front of mind for any organisation wanting a practical workhorse, perfectly proportioned for shrinking city spaces and capable a carrying copious quantities of cargo.

The Corolla wagon has always seemed to be a little behind its hatchback counterpart, especially in design. This comes about through the wagon being a Japanese domestic model, designed in and for Japan.

Toyota New Zealand however, made a strong case for the earlier iteration of the wagon and today, we have the 2023 model which has caught up with the shapely appearance of the hatch.    

At one point, an uncharitably minded critic could have called the Corolla wagon a little ‘porky’, but not anymore. It’s sleek, borderline sporty and looks purpose-built and crafted.

What’s more, it handles as its appearance suggests – no, strike that; it handles far better than its appearance suggests – almost a sport-wagon. Hmm, is there a GR model in the wings, TNZ?

Never say never, but for now, the Corolla is the quintessential ‘little’ wagon, which means it has some significant advantages.

It is for example, easy to drive the wagon in town where its compact size works to its advantage or as a long-distance runner, where its extended body makes for a very stable and well-balanced ride.

 It can carry more than a Corolla hatchback – actually, a lot more, with 392 litres stacked in behind the back seats and blah blah litres if you fold those back seats down.

And speaking of the back seats, that’s where you’ll find the hybrid battery pack well, if you rummage around under the seats that is. This is where Toyota stashes the lithium-ion battery, which is smaller and lighter for the 2023 model to give better electric performance.

Yes, the wagon can operate on pure electricity alone for a little while, but the battery and 70kW/185Nm motor work best when they are working with the 1.8 litre petrol engine.

And this is good because it requires drivers to pay attention to what the car is doing.

For example, you can bring the Corolla wagon up to speed using engine and motor, then lift off the accelerator which shuts down the petrol engine, allowing the motor to efficiently maintain speed – even on slight inclines.

So, it’s clever? Yes, very much so. For this generation – the fifth in Toyota’s hybrid system development – the control system has been significantly improved, allowing for smoother transition between petrol and electric power, faster charging ability and quieter operation overall.

It has to be said, this is a workhorse vehicle and as such, frills and frippery should not be expected. That being said, features like smart entry and push button start, climate control air conditioning, eight-inch colour touchscreen infotainment suite for Android Auto connectivity as well as wireless Apple CarPlay, voice recognition, and Bluetooth-ery are all in place.  

For Company Vehicle readers especially, it is unfortunate that the Toyota Corolla wagon – while we consider it to be an exemplary workhorse for any fleet – does not come with a five-star ANCAP rating, which may limit its acceptance into some fleets.

To explain, this vehicle does not come into Australia and therefore is not tested as a matter of course.
 
The Corolla wagon has the Toyota Safety Sense package of the five-star hatch, which sets it up well for an ANCAP rating should it ever be tested. In terms of active safety features, the wagon only lacks the rear cross traffic alert and secondary collision braking system of the hatch.

While it lacks one airbag – six against the hatchback’s seven – it does take dynamic guidelines for the reversing camera rather than the static ones of the hatch. Fair trade in our eyes.   

If your inhouse fleet policy calls for a five-star ANCAP vehicle, we would suggest the Corolla wagon be awarded a special dispensation as we believe its overall package to be worth considerably more to a New Zealand fleet user.

In terms of its efficiencies, the safety features it does have and the fact that as a driving machine, the Corolla wagon is far – far – better than its humble workhorse nature suggests.