2022 Toyota Corolla Cross Australian pricing guide: How much you should expect to pay for the new Nissan Qashqai, Honda HR-V and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross rival

Toyota has revealed pricing for its much-awaited Corolla Cross in Japan, allowing us an insight into how much the critical new small SUV could cost when it arrives in Australia.

While the pricing for now is only for the Japanese market, the brand’s Australian arm has confirmed the Corolla Cross will be sourced from Japanese production lines rather than Thai ones, making a spec-for-spec comparison with the also-Japan-sourced Corolla hatch indicative of what pricing should be in Australia.

As expected, the Corolla Cross will be available in either non-hybrid or hybrid forms, with both front-wheel-drive and hybrid-only all-wheel-drive variants. The all-wheel-drive variant uses an E-Four system similar to the smaller Yaris Cross, driving the rear axle via an electric motor only.

Prices for the Corolla Cross kick off from the equivalent of $25,255 for the base front-wheel-drive non-hybrid GX in Japan and reach up to the equivalent of $40,396 for the top-spec ‘Z’ E-Four hybrid.

For reference, the Corolla hatch in Japan ranges from the equivalent of $27,382 to $35,864, and while Japanese-spec Corollas are offered with an entirely different engine and transmission combination (either a 1.2L or 1.8L four-cylinder with or without hybrid) compared to Australian ones, the price range is very similar.

The Corolla Cross SUV will sit above the Yaris Cross and alongside the C-HR, but below the RAV4, and it will likely come equipped with similar equipment to the Corolla hatch with which it shares its underpinnings. It is likely the Corolla Cross will be fitted with the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine for non-hybrid models (125kW/200Nm) rather than the 1.8-litre used in Japan and Thailand (103kW/177Nm), while carrying over the 1.8-litre hybrid (90kW combined) as used in other markets.

If we expect pricing from the mid-to-high-$20k region to the early $40k region by the time the SUV arrives in Australia as seems reasonable, the Corolla Cross will place pressure on the smaller but almost-as-expensive Yaris Cross and similarly priced C-HR. Despite this, Toyota Australia has committed to all three models for our market going forward, with marketing and sales chief Sean Hanley telling CarsGuide “I don’t believe there will be cannibalised sales”.

“Corolla Cross will be brought to the market at the right time – active lifestyles are changing; it’s the right time to bring in an expanded SUV range,” he said.

The Corolla Cross does not yet have an official launch date in Australia, with its suggested arrival window out as far as late 2022. Although the SUV's launch date in Japan is mid next month, local media has reported the order books have been suspended due to the industry-wide semiconductor shortage issue. It will go into battle against other popular SUVs in the small- to mid-size category like the Honda HR-V, Kia Niro, Nissan Qashqai, and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, all of which will have a hybrid option.