Yup. The expectations are set higher and to a point since cars are bigger for safety reasons (crumple zones, airbags) and have more pedestrian safety features like spring loaded hoods, it invited incremental additions until the new price points were set. A spartan 19K car isn’t going to sell as well as a CarPlay equipped 23K car.
No, it's better than that. Inflation adjusted, this $23k corolla costs less than a base model 1995 Corolla. That one had an MSRP around $12k
There has been real price decrease in small cars!