Introduced in March 1992, the new Corona made its European debut at Geneva Auto Show. In Europe the Corona was known as the Toyota Carina E and it replaced the Carina II (T170).

The Carina E was built at Toyota's new factory at Burnaston, near Derby, England, United Kingdom, but the early cars and all GT-i models were built in Tsutsumi, Japan. The cars were imported in Europe from the third quarter of 1992 until the opening of the Burnaston factory in December that year.

For the Japanese domestic market, the Corona's platform twin the Carina received different bodywork.

This generation of Corona received a redesign to be larger, heavier, and have the completely rounded, aerodynamic shape of the 1990s. The exterior dimensions and engine sizes remained in compliance with Japanese size regulations so as to continue to offer a product for Japanese buyers wanting to reduce their annual tax liability.

The five-door model was called the Corona SF in Japan, while the station wagon had become a separate line there, from 1993, called the Toyota Caldina.

The T190 is the last Corona for most export markets. It was marketed as Corona Absolute in Indonesia, or Corona Exsior in the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.

In mainland Europe, the Carina E was offered in XL and GL trim levels, but in UK they were marketed as Xi (1.6-liter), XLi (1.6, 1.8-liter), SLi (1.8-liter), GLi (1.6, 1.8, 2.0-liter), GTi (2.0-liter, no estate) and Executive (2.0-liter, no estate) between 1992 and 1996. Diesels were available as the 2.0-liter XLD and GLD trims. From 1996, the S (1.6-liter, hatchback only), GS (1.6, 1.8-liter), CD (1.6, 1.8, 2.0-liter), and CDX (1.8, 2.0-liter) trims replaced the previous trim level scheme. Diesels were now the 2.0-liter GS and GL trims. The high performance GT-i with 3S-GE engine was offered in small numbers in certain European countries. All versions (apart from GTi/Executive) were available as a four-door saloon, five-door hatchback or five-door estate car. Badged as a Carina, this was the 1993 Semperit Irish Car of the Year.

It was also sold in New Zealand, but not Australia. Engines were the same as the Toyota Carina E, except there was no diesel variant. The station wagon variant was a badge-engineered Toyota Caldina. The sedans and liftbacks were assembled in Thames, New Zealand, while the wagon was imported fully built up from Japan. The locally assembled cars also received special spring and damper combinations (again developed by racer Chris Amon) as well as some other changes.^[41]

In the Philippines, the Corona was only available with the 2.0-litre 3S-FE engine throughout its production from 1993 to 1998. Early examples of the Corona T190 (ST191) looks similar to the 1992 Japanese spec model. It only has the 2.0 EX Saloon variant, with a choice of a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission. The 1995 model has the facelifted exterior, having the front and rear bumpers with the black trim, and the standard three-piece rear spoiler. The Exsior was introduced in 1996, this time with extended bumpers and red/amber tail lights and garnish. Another variant of the Corona Exsior was the LE, which had genuine leather seats, faux dash wood panel, and electronic air purifier/ionizer as standard equipment. It was eventually replaced in 1998 with the Toyota Camry XV20.

Production in Japan ended in 1995, but in Europe and South East Asia lasted until the end of 1997, when replaced by the Avensis, which was also built at Burnaston.

Corona EXiV (T200)[edit]

The T200 series Corona was sold as the continuation of the Toyota Corona EXiV hardtop sedan, while the Corona Coupé's successor was relocated to Toyota Vista Store locations and reintroduced as the Toyota Curren.