Top Safety PickTop Safety Pick criteria

2021 Toyota Corolla

small car / 4-door sedan

Award applies only to vehicles with specific headlights

2021 Toyota Corolla 4-door sedan
2020 Toyota Corolla shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Side: updated test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Standard system
Superior
Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)
Standard system
Superior

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use
+

Other available safety features

  • Optional blind spot detection
  • Standard lane departure warning & prevention

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2019-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2019 Toyota Corolla SE 4-door hatchback

The Toyota Corolla hatchback was redesigned for the 2019 model year. It replaces the Corolla iM hatchback. The Toyota Corolla sedan was redesigned for the 2020 model year (the listed ratings do not apply to the 2019 Corolla sedan). Driver-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test of a 2019 Corolla hatchback conducted by Toyota.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTN1809
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 5
Footrest (cm) 2
Left toepan (cm) 2
Brake pedal (cm) 5
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 1
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 4
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 2
Upper dash (cm) 4
Lower instrument panel (cm) 4

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTN1809
Head
HIC-15 203
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm) 6
Maximum Nij 0.17
Chest maximum compression (mm) 25
Femur (kN)
Left 0.9
Right 0.5
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 1
Right 0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.54
Right 0.46
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.6
Right 2.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 78
Right 60

About the small overlap front test

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2019-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2019 Toyota Corolla 4-door hatchback

The Toyota Corolla hatchback was redesigned for the 2019 model year. It replaces the Corolla iM hatchback. The Toyota Corolla sedan was redesigned for the 2020 model year (the listed ratings do not apply to the 2019 Corolla sedan). Passenger-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test of a 2019 Corolla hatchback conducted by Toyota.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on passenger side

Test ID VTP1826
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 5
Footrest (cm) 1
Right toepan (cm) 4
Center toepan (cm) 4
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 1
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm) 2
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 4
Upper dash (cm) 4
Right lower dash (cm) 3

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTP1826
Head
HIC-15 151
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm) 44
Maximum Nij 0.44
Chest maximum compression (mm) 22
Femur (kN)
Left 0.4
Right 1.6
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 2
Right 4
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.56
Right 0.64
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 2.7
Right 2.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 52
Right 46

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTP1826
Head
HIC-15 95
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.0
Extension bending moment (Nm) 8
Maximum Nij 0.19
Chest maximum compression (mm) 29
Femur (kN)
Left 0.6
Right 0.8
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 1
Right 2
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.31
Right 0.28
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 0.0
Right 0.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 35
Right 56

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2019-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2019 Toyota Corolla SE 4-door hatchback

The Toyota Corolla hatchback was redesigned for the 2019 model year. It replaces the Corolla iM hatchback. The Toyota Corolla sedan was redesigned for the 2020 model year (the listed ratings do not apply to the 2019 Corolla sedan). Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test of a 2019 Corolla hatchback conducted by Toyota.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1817
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 1
Left (cm) 4
Center (cm) 2
Right (cm) 4
Brake pedal (cm) 5
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) -1
Right (cm) -3
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 0
Rearward (cm) -3
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 1

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1817
Head
HIC-15 204
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 15
Maximum Nij 0.20
Chest maximum compression (mm) 28
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.8
Femur force - right (kN) 0.7
Knee displacement - left (mm) 1
Knee displacement - right (mm) 1
Maximum tibia index - left 0.72
Maximum tibia index - right 0.62
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.2
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.4
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 69
Right 75

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2019-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2019 Toyota Corolla SE 4-door hatchback

The Toyota Corolla hatchback was redesigned for the 2019 model year. It replaces the Corolla iM hatchback. The Toyota Corolla sedan was redesigned for the 2020 model year (the listed ratings do not apply to the 2019 Corolla sedan).

Two side tests of a 2019 Corolla hatchback were conducted, one by the Institute and the other by Toyota. Ratings are based on both tests and apply to both the hatchback and redesigned sedan.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier (left edge of photo) just after the Institute's crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment (Institute test car shown).

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag in the Institute's test.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTS1814 CES1809
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -17.0 -19.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1814 CES1809
Head HIC-15 294 181
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1 0.8
Compression (kN) 0.2 0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 23 21
Lateral force (kN) 1.2 1.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 31 25
Average deflection (mm) 28 20
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 4.20 3.52
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.42 0.24
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 3.1 2.5
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.8 1.2
Combined force (kN) 4.8 3.6
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.8 0.7
L-M moment (Nm) 118 112
A-P moment (Nm) 20 35

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1814 CES1809
Head HIC-15 111 127
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.1 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.8 0.6
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 24 23
Lateral force (kN) 0.8 1.0
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 26 23
Average deflection (mm) 22 20
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.20 2.28
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.31 0.23
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.1 0.0
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.2 1.1
Combined force (kN) 1.2 1.1
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 1.8 1.4
L-M moment (Nm) 236 226
A-P moment (Nm) 79 -102

About the original side crash test

Side: updated test

Rating applies to 2019-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Toyota Corolla LE 4-door sedan

The Toyota Corolla hatchback was redesigned for the 2019 model year. It replaces the Corolla iM hatchback. The Toyota Corolla sedan was redesigned for the 2020 model year (the listed ratings do not apply to the 2019 Corolla sedan).

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side airbags.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbags.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES2233
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -16.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES2233
Head
HIC-15 99
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Compression (kN) 0.6
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 28
Lateral force (kN) 1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 41
Average deflection (mm) 33
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.32
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.75
Pelvis
Combined force (kN) 6.0

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES2233
Head
HIC-15 150
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.3
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 35
Lateral force (kN) 1.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 28
Average deflection (mm) 21
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.16
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.38
Pelvis
Combined force (kN) 4.6

About the side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2019-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2019 Toyota Corolla SE 4-door hatchback

Overall evaluation
Curb weight2,998 lbs
Peak force15,653 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio5.22

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seat
Geometry
Backset (mm) 24
Distance below top of head (mm) 6
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 12.7
Head contact time (ms) 56
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 193

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Ratings are given for 2 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

  • XLE trim equipped with Advanced Lighting package
  • XSE trim equipped with Advanced Lighting package
Low-beam headlight typeLED projector
High-beam headlight typeLED projector
Curve-adaptive?Yes
High-beam assist?Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination High-beam assist credit

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good on both right curves, fair on the sharp left curve and inadequate on the gradual left curve.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was good in all 4 tests.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway, on both left curves and on the gradual right curve.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • XLE trim equipped with Advanced Lighting package
  • XSE trim equipped with Advanced Lighting package
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED projector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Applies to 2019-22 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 88.2 m None
Straightaway left edge 45.8 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 69.4 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 48.1 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 67.3 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 46.0 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 130.4 m
Straightaway left edge 127.0 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 81.2 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 81.5 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 71.4 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 69.7 m

Trim level(s)

  • L trim
  • LE trim
  • Hybrid LE trim
  • SE trim
  • XLE trim
  • XSE trim
Low-beam headlight typeLED projector
High-beam headlight typeLED projector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination High-beam assist credit

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on the left side of the road and inadequate on the right side. On curves, visibility was fair on both right curves and inadequate on both left curves.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was fair on the gradual right curve and inadequate on the sharp right and both left curves.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway and all 4 curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • L trim
  • LE trim
  • Hybrid LE trim
  • SE trim
  • XLE trim
  • XSE trim
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED projector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Applies to 2019-22 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 76.9 m None
Straightaway left edge 45.0 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 58.3 m None
250m radius left curve, right edge 36.3 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 50.4 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 40.2 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 137.5 m
Straightaway left edge 123.5 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 68.9 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 63.8 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 53.3 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 50.1 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

  • Standard Toyota Safety Sense 2.0: Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2019-22 models

Superior
Superior
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

About the original front crash prevention test

Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)

System details

  • standard Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection

Overall evaluation

This rating applies to all 2019-22 models

Superior
Superior

Crossing child

  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

Crossing adult

  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

Parallel adult

  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 37 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 26 mph. A warning was issued 1.8 seconds before impact.

About the pedestrian front crash prevention test

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2020-24 models

Overall evaluation
+
extra LATCH positions
Vehicle trimL
Seat type cloth

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor and the ability to borrow lower anchors from the other seating positions.

Note: When anchors are borrowed, they aren't available to use in their designated positions.

Overall evaluation
+
extra LATCH positions
Vehicle trimL
Seat type cloth
1 2 3
GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol
Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol
Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol
Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
2
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
Can be borrowed from 1 and 3
3
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

3

Lower anchor A
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 75
Lower anchor B
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 75
Tether anchor
Location Rear deck
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 22

2

Lower anchor A
Lower latch is shared for this seat position
Lower anchor B
Lower latch is shared for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location Rear deck
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 23

1

Lower anchor A
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 77
Lower anchor B
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 78
Tether anchor
Location Rear deck
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation