Venerable Toyota Corolla rolls on as an inspiring hybrid

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen here and in the Cruisin’ News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news & marketplace."

Sacramento, California -- What sells?  Toyota knows.

Give the motoring public a car that is affordable, attractive, reliable and possessing a pleasing touch of performance and handling ... and the world will beat a path to your dealership door.

It has worked for years with the venerable Toyota Corolla.

The tradition goes on with the recently tested 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid SE AWD sedan.

Looking for a safe and sane vehicle for your recently-turned-adult kid?  Need a second car to handle the chores essential to maintaining the household?  Is your budget tight, but you desperately need a new car to keep over a decade or more?

This Corolla deserves your attention.

OK, this is hybrid model, so you're going to pay for some technology.  And my ride was dressed up with a $1,220 SE Premium Package that included a blind spot monitor, power exterior mirrors with turn signals and a power tilt/slide moonroof with a sliding sunshade.

Even with all that, the bottom line on the sticker was a most reasonable $30,388.

The hybrid payoff on the other side of the coin is evident: 47 miles per gallon in the city and 41 mpg on the highway.

The hybrid powertrain includes a 1.8-liter, four-cylinder engine.  The gas-electric combination generates a max 138 horsepower, enough muscle to handle all the driving chores.  Handling is excellent, particularly in dicey city traffic.

I was particularly impressed with the safety technology stuffed into the latest Corolla, including pre-collision and pedestrian-detection systems.  Simply put, the Corolla is not basic, bare-bones transportation; it has features one expects to pay for to obtain a near-luxo midsize model.  Advantage: consumer.

Some have knocked Corolla's "vanilla" styling in past years.  That argument won't hold water for 2023.  Toyota added sporty, aggressive styling with new front fascia and 18-inch Gloss Graphite-colored alloy wheels. There's a color-keyed spoiler on the back end as well.

The Corolla earned a fistful of max five-star ratings in federal government crash tests, including five stars on the overall score.

In sum, the Corolla remains the Everycar, appealing to seemingly every taste.  I'm betting that this 12th generation Corolla will sell just as well -- if not better -- than those early-generation models that captured our attention.