If you’re in the market for an exciting sports car that will get your adrenaline pumping and turn heads as it goes by, you’re probably not looking for a Toyota Corolla. The Toyota Corolla has been a steady but boring model that has been on the market for decades, and it is known for its fuel efficiency, reliability, and safety features, definitely not for a powerful engine, exciting handling, or smooth acceleration. The Corolla has been considered a mediocre car for a long time now, but Toyota set out to change that in recent years. The 2021 Toyota Corolla Hatchback seems to be a step in the right direction. 

The Toyota Corolla has been mediocre for years

Nobody has purchased a Toyota Corolla in recent years because of a super-powerful engine, flashy exterior, or luxurious interior. The Corolla has always been an overall good machine, but it just hasn’t brought anything especially new or exciting within the last decade. As a result, it has regularly been considered a middle-of-the-pack vehicle for its mediocre showmanship and lack of state-of-the-art features. 

In the past few years, Toyota has clearly tried revamping the Corolla to make it more appealing for consumers. In 2018, it introduced a hatchback and added Apple CarPlay to its standard features list, and in 2020 it got a full redesign. Both of these upgrades helped the image of the Toyota Corolla, but it wasn’t until the 2021 model was released that people really started to take notice of the Toyota Corolla again. 

An overview of the 2021 Toyota Corolla Hatchback

Although the Toyota Corolla has never been associated with the word “cool” or “stylish,” the full redesign that came for the 2020 Toyota Corolla improved on its design and made the car look more modern and sleek than ever. It might still not be the most beautiful vehicle in any parking lot, but it is certainly easier on the eyes than past iterations, thanks to its angular front headlights and uniquely polygonal front grille. The rear also looks better, featuring thin taillights that are connected with a stylish crossbar, and it dons the Toyota logo in the center just above it. 

The interior is pretty good too, but nothing more. It’s made with decent materials and is overall OK, but it doesn’t have any major factors that will really knock anyone’s socks off. The front seats are comfortable, but the rear ones lack a bit of leg and headspace. 

As far as infotainment goes, the 2021 Toyota Corolla now comes with Android Auto standard, and it also has Amazon Alexa, Apple CarPlay, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment center. These infotainment features were a nice surprise for people who didn’t expect something quite as modern as a Wi-Fi hotspot when they were just looking for a modest vehicle that could get them from point A to B. 

The 2021 Toyota Corolla starts at $20,025, and the hatchback version starts at $20,665. 

Why did the hatchback model earn a spot on MotorTrend’s list?

MotorTrend recently released their list of the top hatchbacks one can purchase in 2021, and the 2021 Toyota Corolla Hatchback ended up in the No. 2 spot. The reviewers at MotorTrend appreciated its 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine’s performance output of 168 hp, and they liked the sporty feel it provides. They did note that the hatchback does have more cargo space than the regular Corolla, but that it’s still quite as much room as other hatchback competitors.

The 2021 Toyota Corolla Hatchback may have lost to the 2021 Honda Civic Hatchback on this list, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Toyota has made excellent strides in improving the Corolla in recent years. It will certainly be exciting to see what other features they add to make it even better.