• Corolla Verso is a totally new car for a new customer
• New package brings unprecedented dynamic feel
• Unique thinking innovates in style and versatility

The new-generation Toyota Corolla Verso is a totally new car. It takes over from the outgoing model not just with a list of improvements and enhancements. This vehicle represents an entirely new philosophy – a complete “out of the box” way of thinking has been adopted by Toyota’s designers and engineers to bring to its customers a new and innovative car that sets new standards in family motoring.

The new Toyota Corolla Verso is a fully-fledged, seven-seat multi-purpose vehicle but with an uncompromised driving enjoyment that will please the most demanding hatchback owners. The latest in new technology and high standards of passive and active safety represent other strong area of this product. In short, it is a car that defines new standards in terms of versatility, modularity, flexibility and resourcefulness, all packaged in a dynamic and elegant design.

Positioning

The new Corolla Verso’s target is to expand Toyota’s share of the compact MPV market and to make a further contribution to Toyota’s outstanding sales success in Europe. Its “raison d’être” is the new type of customers it intends to attract: active adults who live their lives to the full and are looking for something more special than just another hatchback or MPV. And to do that, Toyota creates that special “must-have” feel to the style that makes this car so special as of the first glance. Additionally, the new Corolla Verso will provide a quality feel that will boost pride of ownership.

The new Toyota Corolla Verso will be available throughout Europe with two equipment levels. Both of them deliver the features that the most demanding customers would expect from a compact MPV as standard, complemented by a thoughtful list of optionals (please check Equipment List for further information).

Exterior design

The new Toyota Corolla Verso’s exterior design is the result of a worldwide competition promoted by Toyota. While Toyota Motor Corporation’s design studios in Japan created two proposals, two others were presented by Techno Art Research and Toyota Europe Design Development (ED²), Toyota’s design studio in Europe. In the end, ED² would be the winner of this worldwide competition.

The main responsible for the exterior design was the Italian Elvio D’Aprile. This 38 year-old designer started his career at Pininfarina, where he took part in projects like the Ferrari 550 Maranello, being also with Porsche for some years. In July 1994, Elvio joined Toyota.

His work at Toyota captures some of the dynamism from the sportscar world. Before the new Toyota Corolla Verso, Elvio D’Aprile was also the creator of the Toyota UUV, a revolutionary SUV concept shown at the Geneva Motor Show two years ago.

Elvio’s creativity comes from his emotions: “Instead of looking for sources of inspiration, I prefer to concentrate on finding good ideas by using my emotions applied to quick sketches. At the same time, I keep in mind other exterior factors like design trends and target customer’s profile.”

The initial briefing for the exterior design of the new Corolla Verso was quite clear: it should have enough emotional appeal in order to give a different image of the people who buy an MPV for space, but don’t want to give up on style.

According to Elvio D’Aprile, the exterior design is formed by two entities. The lower part, comprised by the underbumper, wheel arches and rocker panel, is massive and robust, somehow influenced by SUV design elements. The upper part provides a dynamic stance, characterized by the curved roof and third quarter window.

The familiar Toyota bulge on the bonnet becomes even more pronounced, a trend that will be seen in other Toyota models to come. The typical shape of the triangle quarter window and the rear lamp with “inverted L” shape also express Toyota’s design identity. Like other Toyota models, the new Corolla Verso integrates the front bumper and grille into a single part and the hood is placed as backward as possible - this not only achieves a better integration, but also provides improved pedestrian protection. “However, the exterior design doesn’t focus just on Toyota design elements. It also intends to create feelings that customers will perceive day by day, when using their car for their fun or business, with family or alone. We trust that this approach will make our product unique”, stated Elvio D’Aprile.

The car’s proportions seem just right – length, width and height were adjusted in order to provide a very dynamic stance, with strong presence. The low-riding body is accentuated by the impressive 16-inch or 17-inch wheels and large tyres. These features distinctly dissociate the new Corolla Verso from the conventional “boxy” people carriers.

Tread and wheelbase have been increased over the current Corolla Verso to further improve driving pleasure – the wheelbase is among the largest in the segment, which is essential in achieving a good interior roominess. The new Corolla Verso is also one of the widest compact MPVs, which makes it possible to accommodate three adults in the 2nd row seats in full comfort and enhances driving stability. Exterior height was also slightly increased.

In spite of the increase in exterior dimensions and the attractive exterior design, the new Corolla Verso delivers the best aerodynamic coefficient in the segment: 0.30.

This new model is available with a selection of 10 exterior colours. Two of them (Storm Bronze and Frost Blue) are new and exclusively available in the new Corolla Verso.

Interior

The same design concept has been adopted for the Corolla Verso’s interior as for the exterior – using the three key words: High-tech, Quality and Modernity, when drawing and designing this car from scratch.

Out goes “dark and cold” and in comes a subtle and modern acqua-green lighting (an idea carried from the Toyota UUV concept car), more comfortable seating arrangements, redesigned instruments and controls and a greater use of cloth and fabric in the trim. The new lighting contrasts with the larger use of metallic inserts in the centre console, making the interior of the new Corolla Verso a welcoming place to be for long or short journeys.

The uplifting and modern styling is achieved by the arch-shaped instrument panel and the unique combination of chrome accents with the new acqua-green tone. This is complemented with the dynamic 3-spoke steering wheel. Fabric with a simple but eye-catching pattern is used extensively throughout the door trimming.

The fit, finish and quality of the materials used in the interior of the new Toyota Corolla Verso are yet more examples of the improvements introduced by Toyota. Gap and clearance between some components have been reduced by 90% and 40% respectively. These improvements give the cabin a more flush look.

Extensive work was also done to improve the feeling when closing the doors of the new Corolla Verso. As a result, it was defined an optimum placement for the door hinges and an air-tight seal was installed in the locking section. In addition, new door locks for both front and rear doors and the use anti-vibration materials, strategically placed, provide an even more convincing sound and feel for the door-closing. The A and B pillars are now covered with high-quality fabric. This material has also been used for the sun visors.

The Multi-information Display has now been moved to the main instrument panel in front of the driver. The display incorporates trip information such as driving range, fuel consumption, elapsed time and average speed. The whole instrument panel is lit by an Optitron system, which gives the display a rewarding three-dimensional look, finished with protruding rings to enhance appearance.

However, the most distinguishing feature of the new Corolla Verso’s interior is the flat-folding system for the rear seats. Thanks to this unique feature, the new Corolla Verso is the only MPV in the world in which all the 5 rear seats can be flat-folded, creating a completely flat cargo space, without the need of removing any seat from the interior.

Importantly, the flat-folding system is the simplest to operate of all MPVs on the market: with only one operation it is possible to fold down each rear seat. The seats are also the lightest you can find in compact MPVs, which makes the operation even easier and possible for more people.

Behind the driver and front passenger, seating for three occupants has been made possible by providing ample seating width. Each seat of the second row can slide 240 mm back or forwards and recline in an angle of 30 degrees.

Further, a walk-in mechanism that allows easy access to the third row of seats has been incorporated. After pulling the shoulder lever upward, the seatback can tilt forward, which simultaneously releases the slide lock and allows the seat to move forward as well. This mechanism improves entry/exit from the back seats with the operation of a one-touch lever.

32 different seat combinations are now available in the new Corolla Verso. The result of all this excellent seating design is that the new Corolla Verso has a strong combination of versatility, ease of operation, maximised usage space and style.

The interior of the new Corolla Verso was developed to fit almost every size and shape of driver and will comfortably accommodate the heights of more than 95 per cent of the tallest European men going down to the smallest five per cent of European women. For instance, the driver’s seat, together with the steering wheel adjustments, can be set to take people from between 151 cm to 199 cm comfortably.

Both front seats have now a height adjustment mechanism – an uncommon feature in many cars. This feature can vary the seat height by 52 mm. Front seats were also improved in terms of comfort - both have new S-spring seat cushions and contour-mat seatbacks.

The new Corolla Verso has tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustments to further enhance comfort and safety for even more driver shapes and sizes.

After an extensive background study into storage requirements, the result in the new Corolla Verso is a multitude of different storage areas including an upper and lower glove box, a centre box, console box and cup holders.

With all seats up and in place the Corolla Verso will accommodate seven people comfortably but with the seats folded flat the car can be turned into a spacious cargo carrier. The space devoted to cargo will be 1,537 mm long and 1,374 mm wide.

High-tech features

The very latest in satellite navigation – the most advanced system in this segment – is fitted to the new Corolla Verso. In comparison with the previous version, installed in the current Corolla Verso, the new DVD full-map navigation system delivers much quicker and upgraded route search and screen scrolling capabilities, in addition to more pleasant graphics and possibility of customisation for 3 different users. The new navigation system also comes available with a compass mode, which allows the user to visualise a compass with longitude and latitude indications on the screen. In this system, map information for the entire western Europe is available in a single DVD.

The RDS-TMC (Radio Data System – Traffic Message Channel) is one of the most useful tools incorporated in the new navigation system. It enables the system to receive information about the traffic conditions from the local radio stations. By doing so, the navigation system considers this data when performing route search, therefore selecting the least congested route at the moment. Besides the dynamic route guidance capability, the information is also available to be consulted by the user through map icons or a traffic information list. RDS-TMC is available in Denmark, Germany, Holland, Sweden and UK. In addition, a “turn-by-turn” navigation system is also available.

The new Corolla Verso comes with a high quality Panasonic audio system comprising built-in radio, CD-changer, amplifier, and steering wheel controls. The system plays through a high output (40 W x 4 channels) amplifier and among its features are CD-Text support (displays the name of the album and sound track, when available) and Digital Signal Processor (DSP), which enhances the low and high ranges without distorting the mid-range frequencies.

For full appreciation of the sounds produced by the audio system, the Corolla Verso is equipped with six lightweight speakers using neodymium magnets which include tweeters above the instrument panel, 16 cm full-range speakers (front doors) and 14cm full-range speakers (rear doors).

And if music is not enough for passengers in the Corolla Verso, the Toyota In-Car Entertainment system will be. Journeys just fly by when the entertainment system is running and playing DVD films in full stereo. Because it is built into the car, the full quality experience from Toyota is guaranteed.

Using wide format LCD screens mounted in the front seat headrests, the best in DVD films can be enjoyed while two infrared headphones guarantee uninterrupted sound quality. In addition, the DVD player supports other formats, like VCD, DVCD, CD, CD-R and CD-RW. This system can also play MP3 files.

A remote control means everything is at fingertip control and there is even the option for connecting up every type of game console. The screens are controlled independently so passengers can enjoy films or play games together, or turn off when they choose. Expanding the system’s possibilities even further, it is also possible to plug in a video camera through an inverter cable (not included with the system).

A further boost to driver and passenger comfort – while saving fuel – is the Toyota Corolla Verso’s air-conditioning system, incorporating a variable displacement compressor. This varies the capacity of the compressor according to the cooling load or driving conditions of the vehicle (such as acceleration or deceleration). By taking less power from the engine, it actually improves fuel economy and lessens the impact on performance. On a normal use, the variable displacement compressor can promote a fuel saving of up to 3% when compared to a normal compressor.

Making good use of the air-conditioner yet further, Toyota engineers have incorporated the Hot Gas Heater into the diesel-powered Toyota Corolla Verso, a first for the segment (available only in some countries).

At lower temperatures, like below -8° C, normal air-conditioners fail to deliver a satisfying level of heat, especially in diesel vehicles. For this reason, vehicles built for the coldest European countries are usually available with a combustion heater. However, this equipment drastically increases fuel consumption and emissions, and has a low thermal efficiency, which represents an additional burden on the environment.

In order to solve these problems, Toyota developed the Hot Gas Heater. By adding just an electromagnetic valve with an additional orifice and a hot gas tank to the conventional air conditioner, it is possible to have impressive warming power from 8° C to -30° C. This makes the system much lighter and more compact than a conventional combustion heater. In addition, the Hot Gas Heater thermal efficiency is better, making more efficient use of energy and achieving impressive savings in terms of fuel consumption.

In the new Toyota Corolla Verso, the Hot Gas Heater system received modifications that improved its efficiency for exterior temperatures below -30º C. The system will raise the refrigerant’s pressure by heating it in a storage tank.

Adding to the already impressive specification list a host of other clever convenience features have been built into the new Toyota Corolla Verso such as sun visors with new mirror lamps, an electrochromic interior rearview mirror and a rain-sensitive windshield wipers.

Another major improvement in this new car over the current Corolla Verso is the introduction of a one-touch push power button.

In the new Corolla Verso all that is required is to insert a new advanced card key into its slot and push the button to start the engine. For safety, the clutch pedal must be depressed in the manual transmission car and the brake pedal must be depressed with neutral selected in the Multi-mode Manual Transmission version.

The new card key features an unlock and lock button for the doors and has a hidden transponder which sends a signal to start the car once it has been inserted into its slot on the dashboard. The key also signals to an immobiliser ECU which authorizes the power to engage only when it recognizes a legitimate transponder identification.

Inserting the wireless key also releases the electric steering lock – another example of new technology which is making it harder for car thieves. For added security, the system locks all the doors if none are opened for approximately 30 seconds after the doors are unlocked and the ignition key is not inserted in the ignition switch.

Driving dynamics and safety

In its 1.6 and 1.8 litre petrol engines, Toyota already had winning power units, which have already achieved the level of EURO IV emission standards (STEP 4 and cold emission regulations) without sacrificing fuel consumption or torque performance at low speeds. The operation of these engines has been enhanced with the adoption of an electronically controlled throttle in place of the mechanically controlled throttle.

The diesel option added in the Corolla Verso has been significantly improved over the current car. For a start, the new engine is 26 DIN hp more powerful and maximum torque climbs from 215 Nm to 280 Nm, now achieved at a lower speed (2000 rpm and up to 2200 rpm). This engine also equips the new Toyota Avensis and the Corolla Hatchback.

The 5-speed Multi-mode Manual Transmission (M-MT) offering automatic gearing with quick-style manual is available on the 1.8 VVT-i engine. In terms of concept, this is an evolution of the manual transmission, giving drivers the choice between sequential (M mode) or automatic (E mode) gearchange. Using the same mechanical construction of a manual transmission, this gearbox uses two electric motors that work in combination with an electronic clutch to perform quick and seamless gearchanges. This makes the new Corolla Verso one of the few in the segment to have a 5-speed transmission with automatic operation. This transmission also offers the quickest gearchange among others of the same kind.

The system has a smooth take off ‘creep’ function like an automatic transmission and when the driver releases the brake pedal the car starts to generate a small drive line torque. Additionally, if the driver releases the accelerator pedal rapidly the system will keep a current gear position and if the accelerator pedal is pushed down too quickly it will select the appropriate gear. An innovation over previous M-MT transmissions is the Es mode (s stands for sport). When selected it allows quicker automatic gearchange for sportier drive.

Toyota wants the Corolla Verso to be recognised as one of the safest in the compact MPV class, not just in passive safety, but also in the even more important active safety. Toyota is targeting a five-star rating in the tough Euro NCAP tests for the new Corolla Verso and internal tests suggest the car has the potential to achieve this goal.

As a first line of defence, the Toyota Corolla Verso has the Minimal Intrusion Cabin System (MICS), a sturdy safety structure derived from the Toyota Avensis. This innovative protection cage evenly distributes force from collisions and minimises cabin deformation in the event of an accident. In this car, the front pillar flange has been extended and the section connected to the floor reinforced to reduce the possibility of injury caused by car body deformation at time of impact

Further passive safety comes in the form of two-stage airbags for driver and front passenger (with a passenger airbag cut-off as standard), side and curtain-shield airbags as standard. As a first for a C-segment car, the new Toyota Corolla Verso is also equipped with a knee airbag for the driver. This feature not only protects the lower legs, but stops the driver from moving forward and “submarining” in an accident.

The vehicle is equipped with a dual-stage seatbelt warning system (buzzer+light), also derived from the Toyota Avensis. There is also anti-intrusion brake and clutch pedals and replaceable front and rear end parts in the crush zone that effectively absorb impact force.

The same attention is given to active safety. The Corolla Verso features Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), anti-lock brakes (ABS), Traction Control (TRC) and Brake Assist (BA), to ensure the brake pedal is depressed sufficiently at the time of emergency braking. These features are available in every grade.

An exciting development in active safety is, for the first time in Europe, the introduction of the Cornering Assist Monitor, which comprises a camera and a colour display screen. A camera with a built-in prism is installed in the middle of the front grille and sends a picture to the display screen positioned inside the car. When the car approaches a crossing or “T” in the road where it is difficult to see traffic left and right, the image on the display shows a view of approximately 20 metres in both directions on an angle of 25°. This is a support system to help see vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians, thus minimizing danger.

The Toyota Corolla Verso also incorporates the practical Parking Assist system. Through the use of a compact rear camera, the driver can view colour images of the back, which are complemented by helpful guiding lines. These lines auxiliate the driver in parking manoeuvres, both for serial and parallel parking. This system incorporates also a special mode for tight parking places.

As an alternative to the Parking Assist system, parking sensors are also available. 6 sensors installed in the front and rear bumpers warn the driver of possible objects in the proximity of the car through visual and sound warnings. Both the Parking Assist system and the Cornering Assist Monitor are available as optional equipment together with the navigation system.