It seems like the local automotive industry is catching up with the electrified trend. Proof of it is the steady arrival of electrified models from various car companies. Two of them are the electric-powered Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid and the electric-driven Nissan Kicks e-Power.

We’ll pit these electrified crossovers together to see which of them best suits your budget and your motoring needs.

Powertrain

The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid is powered by a 1.8-liter gasoline engine paired with a motor generator. Together, the setup makes a total of up to 120 horses with 142Nm of torque. Shifting is done by a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Meanwhile, the Nissan Kicks e-Power is propelled by an AC Synchronous Motor mated to an automatic single-speed transmission. In terms of power, the aforementioned setup grants the Nissan Kicks e-Power with 134hp and 280Nm of pulling power.

Both powertrains still require fuel. With the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, you’ll get 12 kilometers per liter (kpl). The Nissan Kicks e-Power gives you more with 22kpl.

With better power and fuel efficiency, we give the round to the Nissan Kicks e-Power.

Exterior

The front fascia of the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid houses a pair of bi-beam LED headlamps with LED daytime running lights (DRL) and LED fog lamps. The lighting setup flanks a large gun metallic grille. At the rear are a set of LED rear combination lamps with LED line guide.

The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid rides on 18-inch alloy wheels.

The Nissan Kicks e-Power, on the other hand, wears the black double V Motion grille bordered by full LED headlamps, DRL, and fog lights. Likewise, the rear lights of the Nissan Kicks e-Power are LED.

It sports a smaller set of wheels at 17 inches.

Both crossovers are neck and neck in the round so we’ll call it a tie.

Interior

The interior of the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid has plenty of amenities for the driver and its passengers. The seats and the steering wheel are all wrapped in leather. The seven-inch instrument cluster features a combination of digital screens and analog gauges while the eight-inch infotainment system boasts both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

The Nissan Kicks e-Power also has a modern-looking interior with Zero-Gravity seats for the driver and the front passenger. The seats and the steering wheel can also be optioned in leather. It packs a similarly sized (seven inches) digital instrument panel paired also with an eight-inch infotainment system — also with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

While both electrified crossovers have nearly identical interior appointments, we give this round to the Nissan Kicks e-Power because of the really comfortable Zero Gravity seats.

Safety

Both vehicles boast an impressive suite of safety features with the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid having the Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) suite which includes a pre-collision system (PCS), automatic high beam (AHB), lane trace assist (LTA), lane departure alert (LDA), and dynamic radar cruise control (DRCC). These are on top of the standard safety features like an anti-lock brake system (ABS), vehicle stability control (VSC), and hill start assist control (HSA).

Nissan equipped the Kicks e-Power with the Nissan Intelligent Mobility. This safety suite rivals Toyota’s TSS with features like intelligent around view monitor (IAVM) intelligent forward collision warning (IFCW), intelligent emergency braking (IEB), driver attention alert (DAA), hill start assist (HSA), and e-Pedal Step. Like the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, these features come on top of standard ones like ABS, vehicle dynamic control (VDC), and an anti-theft system.

With virtually similar safety features, this round is a draw.

Verdict

The Nissan Kicks e-Power emerges as the better electrified crossover. It has a more powerful and a more fuel-efficient powertrain, plus it’s got Zero Gravity seats. It is also priced better.

The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid is priced at P1.665 million. Meanwhile, the Nissan Kicks e-Power ranges from P1.209 million to P1.509 million.

Photos from Toyota and Nissan

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Curated cabin: know what’s inside the Nissan Kicks e-Power

2021 Toyota Corolla Cross: Should you buy one?