CVT Hybrid is Lethal in the snow! 2023 / 2024 Toyota Corolla Touring Sport Mild Hybrid Review

Welcome back to Automotive Tales and our review of the 2023/24 Toyota Corolla Touring Sports Hybrid 2.0 CVT. A great all round family estate car with a nice mild hybrid power unit and a strange but fascinating CVT that turns out to be rather lethal in the snow!
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[@peterhenderson2787]

There is the "B" selecter on the automatic gear box. The point of this mode is to apply moderate engine braking when going down hill.

[@udolfseelenfrost16]

Half of the video is him complaining about the lack of engine break, meanwhile the engine break is one gear shift away....

[@automotivetales]

Did try it… didn’t help! And I tried a number of time!

[@TheJura91]

There is no B mode on 2 litre hybrid. B mode is only in 1.8 engine. 2 litre has padles on stearing wheel and u can use those to select gear ratio to slow down car.

[@jhonnypusong6906]

Your foot is too heavy mate. That’s why a lot of people hates cvt because of the noise. Most them watching carwow racing performance.😁 That car is not for big foot. 😅

[@automotivetales]

Me? Heavy foot? I don’t know what you mean 😂😂 it does go well when you provoke it but you are right - the noise is weird. I really enjoyed it when we were just driving about normally 😊

[@littlestinker9716]

The hybrid Corolla uses a planetary gearset. Toyota calls it eCVT but It's not a CVT in any traditional sense. Lack of engine braking seems super wonky. My 2016 non-hybrid Corolla has a traditional CVT without a mechanical first gear. My CVT does aggressive engine braking when going downhill. There's also a "B" position on the shifter to force engine braking.

[@automotivetales]

I tried that ‘B’ position thinking that would do exactly this but there was no discernible different from behind the wheel… it was a pretty steep hill tbh, but I’ve driven it a few times in a trad auto and had significantly better control. This aside it’s a really interesting and smooth box!

[@carmanick]

The Corolla hybrid is as hybrid as you comes, as you've explained. It is a fully optimised and integrated hybrid setup. Nothing mild about it! Testament to how impressive the Toyota hybrid system that architecturally it is basically the same

[@kotfast]

My friend... you have no clue about what you are driving. Mild-hybrid is not the same as full hybrid. Mild-hybrid has a ISG or ASG (no time for clarification), and that's not an electric motor, only a powerful generator. A full hybrid has an electric motor, so it can drive on electric power. On a second note, a CVT doesn't have anything to do with a torque converter, that's transmitting power trough the viscosity of a fluid. Please do yourself a favor and do some research before talking about certain subject, or just don't get into that detail. Wish you all the best

[@automotivetales]

Thanks for the feedback.

[@barrycrosby8602]

A few inaccuracies in the video, being a toyota Corolla touring sports owner, 1st the car has b mode on the selector which is for downhill braking and secondly the car can be locked or unlocked without using the fob just put your hand behind the handle and it will unlock then press the handle to lock

[@automotivetales]

Maybe with the cold it wasn’t working as that was my first reaction as our v60 does the same with the handles and I just couldn’t unlock it that way. Either that or it’s turned off as a hire car 🤷‍♂️ I did try the B mode but didn’t help me control downhill speed at all - granted it was a v. steep road but it just didn’t help at all. I’m sure it’s smart but having ultimate control with a manual box would still be my preference I think.

[@peterhenderson2787]

You got it wrong with the car keys. If you had just touched the car handle with the keys in your pocket the car would have opened!

[@automotivetales]

Ever day is a school day! Good info, thanks for sharing 🙂

[@petertysoe3832]

The difference in mpg between the trim levels is because of the wheel sizes: the lowest spec has 16", mid-range have 17" and top spec have 18". Lower profile = less mpg (and a harder ride).

[@automotivetales]

So much info coming in on the comments - it’s almost an excuse to go skiing again and do a new video! 😂 thanks for the input!

[@alancrisp1582]

😱 Wow, you are a very brave man driving 🚘 in those weather conditions. I myself would have stayed at home !!...

[@ivanidread]

His video shows "B" mode on the gear selector. That is what he should have kept it in to arrest his speed on those slippery downhills. Maybe then the ECVT would not be so "lethal". Note: In North America it's available with electric on-demand AWD. That might be helpful in the snow as well.

[@automotivetales]

tried that on one of my previous trips down the mountain and it didn't really seem to work like you would expect from holding a gear on a manual, auto or DSG type semi-auto box, it just seemed to keep running away with itself. It was pretty dam steep (more so than it looks on the camera) mind you!

[@ivanidread]

@@automotivetales Thanks, good to know! I am awaiting delivery of a Canadian spec. Corolla Hybrid with the e-AWD. I've been wondering what it's like in winter weather.

[@tomasjakubik7653]

Are you sure you had 2.0 version ? 2.0 version does not have space in boot in right corner because there is a battery. But you have there Toyota bag, time 1:24 and even on left side there is a ski boot. At 5:19 trunk is definitelly not 2.0. I gues you had 1,8 version. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6eVhGaugd6jgMk at 15:37 this is trunk of 2.0

[@rumax3440]

It's 1.8, In 2.0 there is no "B" position too.

[@andersforsman4289]

In the wrong hands, many things are lethal... Slightly apply brakes will only use regenerative braking. It takes some experience to learn how the braking works in Toyota hybrids, as there are three different ways braking is preformed by the system. Regenerative braking, physical brakes and regenerative+physical brakes. If these Toyota Hybrids have serious issues going down steep slippery hills, I' m sure they wouldn't have these as rental cars. It would have been a very known issue in these environments since long time ago. I think you only had a bad experience during some special driving conditions in an unfamiliar car.

[@jannes9945]

Damn. I thought it had e-CVT with transaxle. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@pugman111]

I use b gear In The snow.no issues. Just lift off way early and engine breaks for you. Find it better than manual

[@0bzen22]

Hey, nice. I got the same colour, trim and engine. Really like it so far. The S-gear can apply some very aggressive engine breaking. There's like 9 levels (?). The Cross would be better at this for sure.

[@automotivetales]

Good to know! How do you get that to kick in? when I tried the lowest setting on the gearbox (I think its marked as 'B') it didn't seem to do much. As it has no 'fixed' gears I couldn't see if there was a way to set an amount of engine braking but I had only had a few days with it.

[@0bzen22]

@@automotivetales hmm I don't have a B. It's been replaced by a engine breaking selector 'S', that you can increase or decrease. I've got the 2.0L 2023 model, maybe that's new,. Or is it a 'gear simulator', 'S' for Sequential? At the end of the day, it applies engine breaking. That's what the dealer said, it's for mountains and steep descents. I have paddles too, I never use.

[@pugman111]

Your over speeding and driving like a lunatic

[@automotivetales]

I was gathering speed because of how steep the road was not throttle application and trying to avoid the brakes before reaching the tarmac as I couldn’t get it to hold the speed using gears, but it was indeed getting to over speed!

[@stewartmungin5166]

You said the heated seats and wheel were good. What about the main heater ?

[@automotivetales]

That was pretty good too but it almost doesn’t matter if you have warm hands and a warm… erm… butt 😃😂

[@maxuk5023]

I do not understand why manufacturers keep on pushing out the CBT. There are no discernable real advantages apart from a theoretical slight fuel saving.

[@asimsparks]

CVT is the only transmission that can be used in a proper hybrid vehicle. Merc and BMW hybrids are just normal vehicles with an electric motor slapped in .

[@beanapprentice1687]

It’s not a belt driven CVT. It’s a planetary gearset, and it is integral to the functionality of the hybrid system.

[@0bzen22]

Yeah it's very clever, unlike the belt-type CVTs. It's from the old Prius Synergy-Drive technology from way back, and it's used on every Toyota Hybrid. They must be doing something right.