2022 Toyota Corolla

2022 is the last year the volume LE used the 139-hp 2ZR-FAE 1.8L; the 169-hp 2.0L was reserved for SE/XSE and only became standard across the gas range for 2023. 139 hp sits essentially at the floor of the 130–520 hp sedan band.

The volume LE's naturally aspirated 1.8L peaks at 126 lb-ft at a high 3,900 rpm, barely above the 120 lb-ft floor of the sedan band; even the optional 2.0L only reaches 151 lb-ft and no turbo is offered.

Toyota publishes no 0–60 claim. The 1.8L/CVT powertrain is unchanged from 2020–2022, and MotorTrend's instrumented 2020 Corolla XLE (same 1.8L/CVT) ran 10.2 s — slower than the 9.5 s end of the sedan band, so the item scores 0. The 2.0L SE/XSE is roughly two seconds quicker.

The 1.8L is smooth and lag-free at part throttle, but with 139 hp and a high torque peak it has to be worked hard for merges and passing, where reviewers describe it as buzzy and strained — below the 2.0L SE/XSE and below turbocharged rivals like the Civic 1.5T and Sentra-beating Mazda3. Predictable rather than refined.

The 1.8L LE uses a conventional belt CVT (EPA 'variable gear ratios') without the launch gear of the 2.0L's Direct Shift-CVT; it is smooth and never hunts, but holds high revs and drones under load. SE/XSE get the better Direct Shift-CVT with 10-step sequential mode, and the SE offers a rev-matching 6-speed manual — a rare choice in the class.

Every 2022 Corolla sedan — gas and hybrid — is front-wheel drive only; the electric-rear-motor AWD option did not arrive until the 2023 Corolla Hybrid.

Three choices covering mainstream needs: the 139-hp 1.8L, the 169-hp 2.0L (CVT or 6-speed manual) and the 121-hp Corolla Hybrid. No turbo, AWD, plug-in or EV variant, and the hybrid was a single FWD LE grade in 2022.

The volume LE's 1.8L/CVT is rated 33 MPG combined — two MPG below the 2.0L LE that replaced it for 2023, and roughly mid-band for a gas sedan. The single-grade Corolla Hybrid's 52 MPG is far better but is not the representative trim.

30 MPG city is the LE's weakest figure — no stop-start and no electric assist. The Hybrid's 53 MPG city is the strongest argument for the electrified option.

38 MPG highway is solid for the class, though the 2.0L SE's 40 MPG shows the older 1.8L CVT is not the most efficient gas Corolla on the highway.

A 13.2-gallon tank at 33 MPG combined gives roughly 436 miles — lower-mid band for a sedan. The Hybrid's smaller tank still stretches to about 588 miles.

EPA's current-basis estimate for the LE is $2,050 a year on regular — mid-band for a sedan; the Hybrid saves about $750 a year. Note EPA reprices these with fuel prices, so the figure reflects today's basis rather than 2022's.

Every 2022 Corolla sedan — 1.8L, 2.0L and Hybrid — runs on 87-octane regular with no premium recommendation and nothing to plug in.

NHTSA rated the 2022 Corolla sedan 5 stars overall with five stars in every frontal, side barrier and side pole result. The four-star rollover rating (10.5% risk, no tip) is the usual result for a front-drive compact sedan and doesn't pull the overall rating down.

The 2022 Corolla sedan earned IIHS's top award, the TOP SAFETY PICK+, with Good ratings in the driver-side and passenger-side small overlap tests, the moderate overlap test, the original side test, roof strength and head restraints. It sits at the bottom of the top band for three reasons. The award covers only cars built after November 2021, because earlier 2022 builds had Marginal headlights. The updated side test comes back only Acceptable. And this is the year before Toyota added rear seat-belt pretensioners and load limiters, which IIHS's updated moderate overlap test, introduced later, punishes. The 2023 car, which had those belts, still rated Marginal on that test.

Every 2022 Corolla trim, including the base L, comes with Toyota Safety Sense 2.0. That includes pre-collision braking that detects pedestrians in low light and cyclists in daylight, Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control on CVT models, lane departure alert with steering assist, Lane Tracing Assist, Road Sign Assist and automatic high beams. Adaptive cruise and lane centering on the base car are better than many rivals offered at this price. The gap is blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert: it is standard only on the upper XLE and XSE trims and optional or missing on the L, LE and SE, so many Corollas leave the lot without it. TSS 2.0 also lacks the Proactive Driving Assist that 3.0 added in 2023.

In IIHS testing, the standard TSS 2.0 Pre-Collision System earns Superior for vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention and Superior for daytime pedestrian detection. At night it rates one step lower, Advanced, and part of that night credit comes from the high-beam assist. Strong vehicle and daytime results with a weaker night result put it at the top of the middle band, a bit below the 2023 car's TSS 3.0, which rated Superior at night.

Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert only warns the driver. It doesn't steer, doesn't brake automatically when reversing, and has no safe-exit alert. It is standard only on the XLE and XSE, while the volume L/LE/SE trims go without it or pay extra. No 2022 Corolla sedan offers a surround-view camera. This puts it in the lower half of the middle band.

Every 2022 Corolla comes with Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist and Lane Tracing Assist from TSS 2.0. Lane Tracing Assist only centers the car while the radar cruise is on and lane lines are clear, so there is no separate centering mode. Reviewers found the 2.0 tuning more prone to drifting and handing control back than the 3.0 system that replaced it in 2023. It works, but drivers can't fully rely on it.

Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control comes standard on CVT Corollas, which is nearly all of them. It can slow to a full stop and resume, and pairs with Lane Tracing Assist. Toyota's tuning is conservative, with generous following gaps and slow resumes. There is no lane-change assist, no navigation-linked speed control, and none of the Proactive Driving Assist added with TSS 3.0. The 6-speed manual SE gets a version that doesn't work at low speed.

No 2022 Corolla trim offers hands-free highway driving. Toyota's hands-free Teammate/Advanced Drive system was limited to the Lexus LS and Mirai, and the Corolla's Lane Tracing Assist requires hands on the wheel.

None of the 2022 sedan's headlights rate Good. Cars built after November 2021 get Acceptable LED headlights with high-beam assist on every trim, and the XLE/XSE Advanced Lighting package with curve-adaptive lights also rates only Acceptable. Early 2022 builds, made before December 2021, have Marginal headlights on every trim. Acceptable on the volume trims, with Marginal on part of the model year, puts this in the low-middle band.

Slim A-pillars and a low cowl give good forward and three-quarter sightlines. The shallow rear window and thick rear roof pillars create blind spots over the shoulder, and the only standard camera help is a backup camera. Blind-spot monitoring is limited to upper trims and there is no surround view. That adds up to average visibility with clear blind zones.

IIHS rates the LATCH hardware Good, with extra positions: two full LATCH seats plus a middle seat with a tether anchor that can borrow the lower anchors from the seats beside it. The limits are space, not hardware. About 34.8 inches of rear legroom makes a rear-facing seat tight, and three car seats across isn't realistic.

Five-passenger compact sedan on all grades.

Average front headroom for the class.

Mid-pack front legroom.

Adequate rear headroom despite the sloping roof.

Rear legroom trails the Civic (37.4 in) and Elantra (38.0 in) by several inches.

Below-average trunk for a compact sedan.

Ordinary storage: door pockets, a small console bin and a 60/40 folding rear seat; no standout solutions and a smallish trunk.

Front seats are comfortable and supportive, but the LE has a manual driver seat and the rear bench is cramped for adults on long trips.

The multi-link rear suspension gives the LE on 16-inch wheels a smooth, composed ride; SE/XSE on 18s ride firmer.

Road noise is a recurring complaint, and the 1.8L engine drones under hard acceleration.

Automatic climate control is standard, but heated front seats appear only on XLE/XSE, and there is no heated wheel, ventilated seats or rear vents on the volume LE.

2022 was the last year Toyota sold the entry L grade, which opened at $20,175 before the $1,025 delivery charge, or $21,200 delivered. That is below the floor of the sedan band. The L was dropped for 2023, when the LE became the base car at $22,645 delivered.

The LE with the 139-hp 1.8L is the Corolla's volume seller. A typically equipped example with common packages lands near $22,300 delivered, below the floor of the sedan band. Even the loaded XSE stays around $27,000. The sticker price understates what many 2022 buyers actually paid, because chip-shortage dealer markups were common that year.

The 1.8L 2ZR four and its CVT are long-running, high-volume parts with cheap, widely stocked components. ToyotaCare also pays for scheduled service in the first two years, so running costs are among the lowest in the compact class. This sits slightly above the 2023 estimate because projections for the earlier car start from an older baseline.

Residuals are one of the Corolla's strongest ownership numbers. Strong used-car demand, Toyota's reliability reputation and light incentive spending keep depreciation shallow. 2022 cars also benefited from inflated used prices in 2022–2023, but sources disagree widely, so this sits at a consensus midpoint just under the refreshed 2023 car.

This is Toyota's standard bumper-to-bumper coverage. It sits at the floor of the segment band, matching Honda and Mazda but two years short of Hyundai and Kia.

The 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain term is at the bottom of the segment band and half of Hyundai/Kia's 10-year/100,000-mile term. Toyota's 10-year hybrid battery coverage applies only to the Corolla Hybrid, not to the gas LE scored here.

ToyotaCare covers factory-scheduled maintenance for 2 years/25,000 miles, plus 2 years of unlimited-mileage roadside assistance. That is real included coverage that Honda and Mazda don't offer on a compact sedan. It falls short of Hyundai's 3-year/36,000-mile plan, and the 2022 car's pre-refresh Entune 3.0 system offered thinner connected-service trials than the 2023 refresh, so it sits mid-band.

$22,300 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (60% retained, or about $13,380) leaves about $8,920 in depreciation. Add the projected $4,000 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $12,920 in total.

The 2022 Corolla is a carry-over third year of the twelfth-generation (E210) sedan that launched for MY2020, and it now has real owner data rather than a prediction. Both major sources agree it is top-tier: J.D. Power gave it the Compact Car award in the 2025 Vehicle Dependability Study, which surveyed 2022 model-year owners at three years, and Consumer Reports rates it more reliable than other cars of its model year. It is a mature, settled version of the generation, before the 2023 refresh changed the gas engine line-up and infotainment.

Toyota has been at or near the top of Consumer Reports' brand reliability rankings throughout the period that matters for a 2022 car, and well ahead of the industry average in J.D. Power's dependability studies. It sometimes trails a few low-volume or luxury marques on J.D. Power's PP100 list instead of ranking top-five outright, which keeps it just short of the ceiling.

The 2022 sedan has an unusually clean recall record. The NHTSA flat-file feed lists no campaign that names the 2022 Corolla. It falls between the 2020–2021 occupant-classification-sensor recall (23V-865) and the 2023 campaigns (the 23V-480/25V-040 spiral-cable airbag recall and the 24V-878 steering intermediate shaft recall), and none of those reach MY2022. One aggregator counts two minor recalls, so the score stays below the very top rather than assuming a perfect record.

The volume 2022 LE uses the 1.8L 2ZR-family naturally aspirated port-injected four with Toyota's CVT. It is one of the most proven small-car engines on the road, in Corollas since 2009 with a deep high-mileage record and no systemic failure mode. The SE/XSE 2.0L M20A Dynamic Force engine, with its launch-gear Direct Shift-CVT, is newer and has a shorter record, but it has shown no red flags. 2022 predates the 2023 switch to the 2.0L as the only gas engine, so the volume car runs the older, better-proven unit.

This is the Corolla's clear weak spot. The E210 cabin has a clean design and stitched dash trim on upper trims, but hard plastics cover the doors and lower dash, and the armrests are thinly padded. Reviewers judged it behind the Honda Civic, Mazda3 and Kia Forte, the cars it is cross-shopped against. It stays out of the bottom band because the plastics are well grained, the switchgear is solid, and the price is low.

Body assembly is consistent, with no pattern of panel-gap, water-leak or structural complaints, and the J.D. Power award reflects few problems at three years. Owner forums for this generation do repeatedly report interior rattles from the dashboard, the shroud around the windshield camera and the passenger seatback. That is generally solid with scattered complaints.

Toyota's network of 1,200+ US dealers is one of the densest in the country, so service is reachable almost anywhere, including small markets. Service satisfaction is good but not class-leading in J.D. Power's CSI, where lower-volume brands often edge it out.

This is close to the best case in the market. The Corolla is the best-selling nameplate in automotive history, so OEM and aftermarket parts are abundant and cheap, every independent shop knows the car, and the volume car's 1.8L engine is shared across a large Toyota parts pool. RepairPal puts annual repair cost about a third below the compact average.

Small screen by current standards; 8 in is the largest offered for 2022.

Entune 3.0 keeps physical knobs and buttons but is slower and less polished than rival systems; it was replaced by the new Toyota Audio Multimedia for 2023.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard but wired-only on every 2022 grade; wireless arrived with the 2023 multimedia system.

Basic voice recognition plus Amazon Alexa and Scout GPS Link phone-based navigation; no embedded navigation on the volume LE.

Six-speaker base audio is adequate; a JBL nine-speaker 800-watt system with subwoofer is optional on XLE/XSE and SE CVT.

Analog gauges with a 4.2-inch TFT multi-information display; a 7-inch MID is available, but there is no full-digital cluster.

The Entune 3.0 head unit is not over-the-air updatable; Toyota's OTA-capable multimedia arrived with the 2023 refresh.

Remote Connect (lock/unlock, locate, remote start on smart-key cars) comes with Audio Plus on XLE/XSE/SE, subscription after trial; the volume LE gets Safety Connect and Wi-Fi Connect only.

Two USB ports standard with no dedicated rear ports on the LE; Qi wireless charging only in an XLE/XSE package.

Smart Key and push-button start are standard on XLE/XSE but only in the LE Convenience Package; no phone-as-key.

Backup camera standard; no 360-degree camera, and parking sensors are not offered on the volume LE.

No head-up display offered on any 2022 Corolla sedan grade.

Four-door access and LATCH are fine, but 34.8 in of rear legroom makes rear-facing seats tight and the 13.1 cu ft trunk limits stroller-plus-groceries runs.

NHTSA 5-star overall and IIHS Top Safety Pick+ (built after Nov 2021) with TSS 2.0 standard on every grade; blind spot monitoring costs extra.

Smooth ride, but a cramped rear seat, no rear vents or rear USB on the LE, and a small trunk for four people's luggage.

Easy, smooth and predictable in traffic with full-speed adaptive cruise on CVT models; the 139-hp 1.8L feels slow merging.

The 1.8L LE returns about 33 MPG combined on regular fuel, with cheap tires and parts.

Compact 182 in footprint and a tight 35.6 ft turning circle; backup camera standard but no parking sensors on the LE.

No published tow rating and a 13.1 cu ft trunk; not a work vehicle.

Excellent mechanical reliability and a fleet/rideshare reputation, but a light compact sedan not built for hard use.

Only accessory roof cross bars; no onboard power or work provisions.

About 435 miles per tank and standard adaptive cruise with lane tracing, offset by highway road noise and a tight rear seat.

FWD only for 2022 with low ground clearance; handles graded gravel and a roof rack, nothing more.

The 60/40 folding rear seat helps with long items, but the 13.1 cu ft trunk and sedan opening limit bulky gear; no hitch.

The TNGA-C chassis with multi-link rear suspension is secure and composed; SE/XSE/Apex are sharper, while the LE on 16-in all-season tires is competent but unremarkable.

Light, precise but numb electric steering on the LE; the firmer calibration was reserved for the Apex.

Adequate, predictable brakes with a progressive pedal; stopping distances are middling on economy tires.

The 1.8L/CVT is smooth around town but slow and strained when pushed; Toyota replaced it for 2023 with a 2.0L about two seconds quicker to 60.

The 1.8L drones under hard acceleration as the CVT holds revs; quiet at a steady cruise.

Tight turning circle for the class.

Good seat and wheel adjustment range and physical climate/audio controls; low seating and thick rear pillars hurt rear visibility.

The 1.8L LE is a competent appliance; the 2.0L SE/XSE and manual Apex add some fun but are not the volume trim.

Every 2022 Corolla, down to the ~$21,200 L, comes standard with Toyota Safety Sense 2.0: pre-collision with pedestrian detection, full-speed adaptive cruise, lane tracing and road sign assist. It also gets LED headlights, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and two years of ToyotaCare. The volume LE adds an 8-inch screen, but it keeps the 139-hp 1.8L, and blind-spot monitoring, push-button start and heated seats require moving up a trim. An Elantra or Forte puts more visible content in front of the buyer for similar money.

The sticker prices are strong value. The whole gas range stays under ~$27,000 delivered, and the single-trim Corolla Hybrid LE returns 52 mpg combined for about $24,500. Best-in-class resale and cost-to-own stretch the money further. The base engine is slow, though, and the trunk is small. The redesigned 2022 Civic and the Elantra give more performance and space per dollar, and 2022 markups often erased the Corolla's price advantage at the dealer.

2022 was the widest Corolla sedan lineup of this generation. It ran from the L through LE, SE, XLE and XSE, adding the SE and XSE Apex Editions with sport suspension, the SE Nightshade, a rare 6-speed manual on the SE, and the hybrid LE, for about $21,000 to $28,000+. The gaps: there was no AWD on any version and only one hybrid trim. Toyota cut the gas range back for 2023.

The Corolla was America's best-selling compact car in calendar 2022, at roughly 219,000 units. That was well ahead of the newly redesigned Honda Civic (~142,000) and the Hyundai Elantra (~117,000), despite chip-shortage production limits that cut volume across the industry.

Toyota has the strongest mainstream-brand reputation in the US for dependability and resale, and the Corolla name stands for a car that won't let its owner down, which pays off at trade-in. It is respected more than desired, though. The sedan has no performance halo of its own, so it lacks the enthusiast pull the Civic gets from the Si and Type R.

2022 was one of the worst years in memory to negotiate a Corolla. The chip shortage left dealer lots nearly empty, there was effectively no factory customer cash on the sedan, and markups of a few thousand dollars over sticker were common, up to ~$5,000 in tight regions. What remained were regional TFS APR-cash financing offers and loyalty, college-grad and military rebates.

2022 is the third US model year of the E210 sedan, which arrived for MY2020 on the TNGA-C platform, and the last year before the mid-cycle facelift. Toyota announced that update in June 2022 for MY2023, bringing TSS 3.0, new multimedia, the 2.0L on the base trim and a hybrid AWD option. A 2022 buyer got a current-platform car whose tech and base engine were superseded within months.

Reviewers recommend the Corolla for its reliability, efficiency and safety, and IIHS named the 2022 sedan a Top Safety Pick+ (for cars built after November 2021). It rarely wins comparison tests, though. 2022 was the year the all-new 11th-gen Civic took North American Car of the Year and a 10Best, and testers routinely ranked the Civic and Mazda3 ahead of the Corolla for driving and interior quality.