Toyota is looking to spice up the Corolla sedan line for the 2025 model year with a new FX trim. Based on the Corolla SE, which gets a sportier suspension tune and more powerful engine, the 2025 Corolla FX is lowered and gets retuned power steering for a more nimble feel. It rides on satin-black 18-inch wheels and features a unique rear spoiler. Available exclusively in black, white and dark gray, the FX also gets black finishes on the roof, mirror housings and badging.
Inside, the FX is upholstered in gray cloth with orange stitching and debuts a new, larger infotainment touchscreen. Measuring 10.5 inches, the screen is standard on the FX and will be available on other Corolla trim levels. The FX also features a 7-inch display in the gauge cluster and wireless smartphone charging, two bits it borrows from the range-topping XSE trim.
Otherwise, the 2025 Toyota Corolla FX is equipped like the SE, with standard Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, which includes forward collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, lane departure prevention, adaptive cruise control and traffic-sign recognition.
The FX is named for the Corolla FX16 of the late 1980s, a pioneering hot hatch with a dual-overhead-cam 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that managed just 108 horsepower and 96 pounds-feet of torque (but a joyous 7,500 rpm redline). While the modern Corolla in SE guise outbeefs its featherweight 1980s counterpart by roughly 690 pounds, its 2.0-liter four generates 169 horsepower and 151 pounds-feet, giving it the power-to-weight edge with 18.4 pounds per horsepower, compared to 22.4 for the FX16.
With a redline well shy of the FX16’s and a continuously variable automatic the only available transmission, the 2025 Toyota Corolla FX seems unlikely to generate the emotional response of its namesake. We’ll find out later in the year, though — the FX, like the rest of the 2025 Corolla sedan lineup, will go on sale in the fall
