The 2025 Toyota Corolla Cross is a cute compact SUV. There’s nothing exceptional about it but it looks good, rides well, and can comfortably carry a few people and their cargo. Today we’ve tapped our Canine Correspondent Bramble (Australian shepherd/golden retriever mutt) to help us decide if it’s a good car for dogs and their owners.
Now that cars are getting too big for normal parking spaces, I’m starting to miss the small SUVs of the ’90s. Remember the first-gen Toyota RAV4? It was tight inside but versatile, practical, and good on gas. I was hoping that the Corolla Cross would be a return to that, but, believe it or not, this new car is still over a foot longer than that old RAV4. And to be brutally honest, the interior materials don’t feel as robust as I remember the ones in the ’90s model being, either.
On the upside, the Corolla Cross Hybrid claims an impressive 42 mpg in combined driving and is an IIHS Top Safety Pick—smoking Toyota’s old SUVs on two important metrics. Bramble, however, was more interested in things like door sizes, window height, and accessibility.

Hop-in Heights
Rear Seat Ease of Access: 🐶 🐶 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️
Cargo Area Ease of Access: 🐶 🐶 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️
The Corolla Cross is physically on the lower side for an SUV but still notably taller than most cars. Larger dogs and athletic dogs will have no problem getting in, but smaller and/or older pooches will need some help. Luckily it won’t be hard to heave most animals into one of these vehicles.
Creature Comfort



Rear-seat roominess: 🐶 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️
Rear climate control: 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️
Cargo area roominess: 🐶 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️
Snout access to rear window: 🐶 🐶 🐶 🐶 🐶
A medium-sized dog takes up quite a bit of the backseat. The rear climate system is just two little vents behind the console. On the plus side, there’s not much for a dog to break. But they’re pretty weak. A large dog plus a kid would be tight; a large dog plus a baby seat might not be viable. The cargo bay behind the second row could be a little more comfortable for an animal, but of course, they’ll lose window access. Bramble pretty much filled out the whole cargo area, and she’s decidedly not large.
Interior Materials



Hard surface scratch resistance: 🐶 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️
Soft surface rip resistance: 🐶 🐶 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️
Ease of cleaning: 🐶 🐶 🐶 🐶 ⚪️
The hard plastic surfaces and felted flooring in the Corolla Cross’ cargo bay felt very thin. Having seen interior trim pieces of other recent Toyota and Lexus products not hold up well against canine fingernails, I’d be wary of how well this car’s interior will hold up against paws and claws. Covers are strongly recommended.
Pet Accessories

Variety: 🐶 🐶 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️
Quality: 🐶 🐶 🐶 🐶 ⚪️
Style: 🐶 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️
Usefulness: 🐶 🐶 🐶 🐶 ⚪️
Toyota offers a range of pet travel products, mostly made by the established dog brand Kurgo. They have Toyota part numbers but don’t appear to have any Toyota branding. If you’re shopping through Toyota, you’ll find them on the automaker’s site filed under Accessories, Interior, Driver Convenience, Pet Products. I’m sure the parts desk guy at your dealership will be happy to order them for you, too.
Kurgo generally makes good stuff and stands behind its work, and Bramble regularly uses one of its harnesses. We had a Kurgo seat cover that did break, but a free replacement was quickly dispatched when I complained to the company. The new one has held up well.
Prices listed on the online catalog look pretty comparable to other retailers.
Versatility



Kennel capacity: 🐶 🐶 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️
Room for a big family: 🐶 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️
The Corolla Cross’s back seat can drop and split, giving you some flexibility in how you transport big items. The rear cargo door is also fairly wide considering the vehicle’s size. But the back seat fills up quickly with bodies; more than four living creatures of any species will be tough in this thing.
Verdict



Bramble’s ride rating: 🐶 🐶 🐶 ⚪️ ⚪️
Bramble was perfectly comfortable in the back seat of the Toyota Corolla Cross and appreciated how easily she could access the rear window. It feels like an OK vehicle for a small family with a single dog, but you’ll outgrow it quickly if there are a lot of breathing beings in your family.
The Corolla Cross’ size, design, fuel economy, and safety ratings are appealing at the vehicle’s entry price. But the interior materials aren’t particularly confidence-inspiring; Toyota’s plastics have been a bit of a letdown to me in the last few years. In short, if your family and dog are relatively small, this is a fine getaround car. Put some protective products in place before you load up your animal, though.

Need To Know
Modern Toyota hybrid vehicles use an interior vent below the rear seats to provide cooling air to the hybrid battery. You’ll want to make sure that’s not covered by a dog seat cover or clogged with pet hair for any prolonged period to keep the battery healthy.
Curious about the dog-ability of any other cars? Reach out to the author at andrew.collins@thedrive.com and check out our deep catalog of dog reviews!