• More rear seat passenger space over the hatch
• Boot space betters Ford Focus and SEAT Leon estates
• Gesture-powered tailgate available

How much space is there?

The Toyota Corolla Touring Sports has a longer wheelbase over the standard Corolla hatch, which results in excellent interior space. Visibility is generally good all-round, while large door mirrors, a rear-view camera and light steering allows for easier low-speed manoeuvres.

Rear seat passengers will reap these benefits with extra legroom and headroom compared with the hatchback, which is a little tight for adults. The Corolla still isn’t as spacious as a VW Golf Estate or a Skoda Octavia, but you could happily take four six-footers on a long trip inside.

Boot space isn’t far off rivals with 600 litres on offer. It’s a useful space too, with plenty of practical features like LED lights and aluminium rails to help slide heavy packages.

Boot space and storage

Measuring 1,067mm by 1,055mm, the big and square load area claims to be accommodating enough for a 29-inch frame bike with wheels and saddle in place. The boot floor can be moved to maximise space or to create a flat load floor, plus it’s reversible with a second, hose-down rubber surface. A gesture-powered tailgate is also available, which will open with just a sweeping motion of your foot beneath the rear bumper.

Opt for the 1.8-litre engine and the capacious boot offers 598 litres of space, which is just shy of the Volkswagen Golf Estate and its 605 litres, but beats the Ford Focus with its 575 litres. The boot floor is low, square with a small storage cubby either side. Choose the 2.0-litre and this suffers from a smaller 581-litre boot. There’s also a raised floor due to the larger battery, but doesn’t rob as much space as it does in the hatch overall.

Extra storage around the interior isn’t particularly remarkable. You get a pair of cupholders on the centre console for 500ml-sized bottles and a rubberised tray large enough for smartphones located ahead of the gearlever. There’s a front centre armrest, a wide glovebox, but while the door bins may be large, access is limited for bigger items. The phone tray also won’t accommodate one that’s plugged in, which is annoying if you’re using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

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Safety

• Awarded five stars by Euro NCAP in 2019
• Plenty of electronic systems as standard
• Seven airbags standard across the range

The Toyota Corolla Touring Sports comes with a suite of sensors and cameras as standard, packaged together to be called Safety Sense. This includes lane-departure warning and traffic sign recognition, but there’s also a new wider angle and higher resolution camera making night-time pedestrian and day-time cyclist detection possible.

Every model has seven airbags, Isofix attachments on the two outer rear seats, electronic stability control and tyre-pressure monitoring system. Adaptive cruise control is also standard, unlike some rivals that charge extra and the only optional extra is the heads up display, which claims to be one of the largest on offer.

The hatchback version was tested by Euro NCAP in 2019 (pre-facelift form), and scored an impressive five stars. There are few structural differences between this and the estate version, so the result stands for the Touring Sports, too.