Small hybrid SUV gets a fresh face! Will the updated 2025 Toyota Corolla Cross come to Australia to rival the Chery Omoda 5, GWM Haval Jolion, Mazda CX-30, MG ZS?

Toyota is reportedly set to roll out a mid-life update to its Corolla Cross small SUV in Japan that brings fresh looks and the addition of a new GR Sport variant.

As reported by Best Car Web, Toyota Japan will announce this update officially later this month. At this stage it’s unclear if it will come to Australia.

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This Japanese-spec update to the Corolla Cross will reportedly mirror the Thailand-spec update that was revealed in 2024.

A highlight change with this update is the body-coloured hexagonal honeycomb grille and new headlights that create a hammerhead shark-looking front end. A number of Toyota models, including the Camry and Prius, among others, have adopted this look with recent updates.

There is also a slightly different 18-inch alloy wheel design, and an optional adaptive high-beam system.

Another new inclusion is a projection system that shines an arrow onto the road when the indicator is activated to alert pedestrians when you intend to turn.

Inside, there’s a redesigned centre console with a larger gear selector, as well ventilated front seats on certain variants.

The entire Corolla Cross range will reportedly go hybrid-only in Japan. This is already the case in Australia, with the entire range being powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder hybrid powertrain with 146kW of power.

All-wheel-drive variants will reportedly get a new Snow drive mode. The all-wheel-drive system will also engage during lane changes, in addition to when starting off and turning.

Beyond the changes to the core Corolla Cross range, the Japanese market will also reportedly gain the addition of the sporty-looking GR Sport variant, which has been on sale in Thailand for some time now.

It has a special front bumper, unique 19-inch alloy wheels, and sporty bucket seats. It also gets special suspension and electric power steering tunes, like a number of GR Sport variants already do.

Power comes from a larger 2.0-litre four-cylinder hybrid powertrain and will be exclusively offered in all-wheel drive.

The Toyota Corolla Cross was revealed in 2020 and was introduced in Australia in 2022. It’s based on the same TNGA-C platform as the Corolla, as well as the C-HR, Prius and Lexus UX, among others.

There are three Corolla Cross variants offered locally – GX, GXL and Atmos – and the range starts at $36,480 before on-roads, and extends to $50,030 before on-roads.