2023 Toyota Prius Earns IIHS TSP+ Award, Corolla Cross Didn't Get Top Safety Rating

The sharper looks are joined by segment-leading safety, which the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recognized in the form of Top Safety Pick+ awards for both the Prius and Prius Prime.

The nonprofit organization also tested the Corolla Cross, which indirectly replaces the C-HR in this part of the world. As opposed to the fifth-generation Prius, the C-segment crossover utility vehicle couldn't do better than Top Safety Pick. The Corolla Cross fell short of the Top Safety Pick+ award because of an acceptable rating in the updated side crash. By comparison, the Prius twins have been rated good.

It's a bit of a shame the Corolla Cross came this close to TSP+, but then again, this result won't go unnoticed by the safety boffins at Toyota. The Prius and Prius Prime aren't without their faults either. According to the IIHS, both are equipped with acceptable headlights. The LED-style project headlights offer inadequate visibility on the right side of the road on straightaways and inadequate visibility in left curves. On the upside, the low beams don't exceed the nonprofit organization's glare limits.

In the case of the Corolla Cross, only the XLE trim level with the optional adaptive lighting system was deemed good. The standard headlights comprise low beams that offer inadequate visibility in multiple scenarios, which isn't exactly surprising for a vehicle at this price point.

The smallest crossover available to configure on Toyota's website as of August 2023 starts at $23,610 for the L trim level with rear-wheel drive. All-wheel drive is optionally available. The internal combustion-only Corolla Cross hides a 2.0-liter mill underhood, which belts out 169 horsepower and 151 pound-feet (205 Nm). Most of those resources are channeled to the driven wheels by a continuously variable transmission rather than a torque-converter auto or a dual-clutch gearbox.

Toyota further sweetens the deal with a hybrid powertrain, which is exclusively all-wheel drive. Rated at 196 horsepower on full song, the Corolla Cross Hybrid retails at $27,970 for the S base specification. The hybrid is estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency at 42 miles per gallon (5.6 liters per 100 kilometers) in the combined test cycle as opposed to 30 (7.8) for the combustion-only Corolla Cross AWD.

The Prius can do better, though. Estimates range between 49 and 57 miles per gallon (4.8 and 4.1 liters per 100 kilometers), which puts the 2023 model year Prius in a league of its own. The EPA hasn't yet tested the Prius Prime, but the plug-in hybrid is estimated by Toyota with an electric driving range of between 39 and 44 miles (63 and 71 kilometers), depending on trim.