How far you can drive on one tank in a Toyota Corolla Cross – and what it costs

Motorists can drive for anywhere from 691km to 837km on a single tank in the Toyota Corolla Cross, depending on the model.

The Cross is South Africa’s best-selling SUV, which is no doubt aided by the fact it offers the most affordable hybrid engine in the country with a starting price of just under R500,000.

Maximizing efficiency

The Toyota is sold with one of two powertrains – both of which employ a 1.8-litre, naturally-aspirated petrol engine as its base.

Four out of the seven models in the lineup use this drivetrain with no additional assistance, which gives the crossover an output of 103kW and 172Nm.

Every Corolla is fitted with a CVT transmission, and puts down drive through the front wheels.

The culmination of these factors is that the non-hybrid Cross has an average fuel consumption of 6.8l/100km, which allows it to travel for a total of 691km on its 47-litre tank.

If you really want to maximize your fuel savings, you’ll need to pick up the hybrid electric (HEV) derivatives, which combine the 1.8-litre combustion engine with a small electric motor.

The e-motor is capable of driving the wheels at low speeds, but the engine will take over once drivers start to go over 30km/h.

While the HEV is not capable of full-electric driving, the benefit of this system is that you are not using the engine at times when it would be running at its most inefficient levels, such as heavy traffic.

The e-motor is powered by a small battery pack, which is recharged by a set of regenerative brakes that convert the kinetic energy from braking into power that is fed back into the cell.

This means that the Toyota HEV does not need to be plugged in an external charger to recoup its energy, unlike a more expensive plug-in hybrid or fully-electric car.

It’s thanks to all of these additions that the Cross HEV boasts a manufacturer-claimed fuel consumption of just 4.3l/100km.

Interestingly, the HEV models actually have a smaller fuel tank of just 36 litres, but the greatly improved efficiency means that it can still out-travel the non-hybrid units with a new maximum range of 837km.

As for what this means in practical terms, the cost of fuel is currently retailing for R22.41 per litre for petrol 95 at inland rates as of February 2025.

Owners with the 47-litre tank will therefore need to spend R1,053.27 to fill up, which works out to an average fuel-spend of R1.52 per kilometre, based on its maximum range.

Anyone with the hybrid’s 36-litre tank, meanwhile, will only need to cough up R806.76 to refuel, which is equivalent to a driving cost of 96c per kilometre.