[AJCC23]

I agree. I kept hearing about how painfully slow the Cross is.
I just returned from an 8-hour round trip out of state where we were on interstates, city streets and 2-lane country roads. There was only one time, while merging onto an interstate with an 18-wheeler bearing down on me, that I wished for more power. It does just fine and we got over 30 mpg. I can't complain.

I think it's mostly about the American obsession with "me go faster than you!" and if people drove for best MPG (as they ought to, given oil is finite) the whole "need for speed" would seem childish, which I think it has been for a long time.

Rapid takeoffs from a stop are one of the most wasteful habits, since the car lacks momentum and it's all up to the engine.

If you can keep up OK and don't need to tow, it's no big deal. You just don't put yourself in situations where acceleration is your only way out. The herd always wants to go fast, so you try to stay away from it, and push the engine only when forced to.

 

[AJCC23]

I put deposit down on a hybrid and one of the reasons was this and the other one was range. But now that I check the hybrid is just 0.5 seconds faster in 0-60 compared to the FWD ICE Cross and the gas tank is smaller, so gives you the same range. For me it is not worth it.
I drive the cross daily, mostly fwy and it is fine. I have had sport, turbo cars, etc but this is a commuter and it does the job. Won't win any races, but I live in LA, can't go anywhere with the traffic anyway.

It's actually about 1.5 seconds faster off the line, if you're comparing AWD versions of each, and the hybrid has more torque from the electric motor, though combined torque of the gas/EV system is an elusive spec. 0-60 times on flat roads don't tell the full story on power, e.g. diesels usually pull better on grades but are slower on flats.

The 400+ mile highway cruising range of the hybrid should exceed the non-hybrid, regardless of the smaller tank to compensate for battery/weight. If you hypermile the hybrid, that gap could widen. Another plus of the hybrid is that the eCVT is known as a very reliable automatic transmission. No belts to worry about, rather internal motor-generators working in tandem.

I like the front end of the non-hybrid better (no dark "nose" effect), and some reviews claim it has better brakes, but the hybrid's regen should make the pads last a lot longer. If you don't want to pay as much up front, the hybrid isn't as frugal but it would compensate over time. A downside of any hybrid is that it won't move if the main battery dies.

 

[AJCC23]

I know the AWD difference, but here in Southern CA I don't need AWD, have the FWD ICE. The one negative about the Hybrid for me is the AWD as with one ruined tire I would need a set of four.
I agree on the range if one hypermiles. I am already getting 40+ MPG on the ICE, so would probably do fine with the hybrid. Also agree the true and tested eCVT is a plus.
If I didn't already own the ICE, it was easier. Right now, I will loose close to 7K to get from and ICE XLE to a Hybrid SE.

To each their own, of course.

The Corolla Cross isn't full time AWD like a Subaru, though, where the tire dimensions get pickier.

 

[AJCC23]

"The one negative about the Hybrid for me is the AWD as with one ruined tire I would need a set of four. "

Since AWD in the hybrid is a rear electric motor independent of the front drivetrain, it may be a lot more forgiving of unequal diameters. Not like a Subaru system where everything has to be in a certain balance.