5 Reasons you should never have to drive a Corolla
10-20-2009, 11:12 AM
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5 Reasons you should never have to drive a Corolla
Unless you get stuck with at as a rental fromt eh airport. The funny part of this to me is that it comes from "Green Car Reports" so even the enviro folks dont want to drive a Corolla 
http://www.greencarreports.com/blog/...ar-rental-lots
http://www.greencarreports.com/blog/...ar-rental-lots
2010 Honda Civic
This industry stalwart has faced off against the Toyota Corolla for generations. After each generation, the Civic just keeps getting better and better.
While Honda makes some bizarre styling choices, they're at least clever or unique and always wind up working very well. (Who thought that dashboard on the latest Civic that looks like E.T.'s Mothership landing would be so nice and easy to read? I guess Honda did.)
And bravo to Honda for continuing to sell manual transmission versions of their fine Honda Civic models in the North American market. Fun to drive and cool to look at (although they're everywhere), the Honda Civic is the perfect Toyota Corolla antidote.
2010 VW Golf TDI
With a slight restyle for the 2010 model, VW chisels the exterior in a more masculine direction and ups the bling factor in the interior. I have never seen so much chrome on a dash from a car in this price class.
But the pretty dash is nothing compared to the upgraded materials and the fact you can finally get the TDI motor in the Golf.
Mechanicals for the 2.0-liter turbodiesel are carried over from the Jetta, so expect 140 horsepower and 263 pound-feet of torque with 30 mpg city / 41 mpg highway. Although that's a great fuel economy reading, many owners report up to 60 miles per gallon on the highway.
How would you do, ya think?
2010 Mazda3
The all new Mazda3 is all swoopy curves and a giant, toothless goofy grin. It's a five-door hatchback unlike any you'll find from any other manufacturer. Some of the styling cues are so over the top only a brand like Mazda (with their zoom-zoom) could pull this off.
The best part of the Mazda3 is that it looks fast just sitting still. Do be aware that drivers over 6'3" can have trouble getting comfortable in the drivers seat. But with a driving experience like this, that's really their loss.
(One note to Mazda: The nav screen needs to be bigger. The baby screen gimmick doesn't work)
2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
This is the perfect ride for a family of five. The cargo area is ridiculously huge, larger than in a Nissan Murano. But the parents still get some driving fun as they take the kids back and forth to school and on those weekly runs to Costco.
The Touring can include a slick-shifting 5-speed manual transmission that helps keep the engine seriously on the boil. Plus, it's a Hyundai, so you get the 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. Sometimes I think I trust a warranty a lot more than a carmaker's reputation for quality.
2010 Smart ForTwo
Even this impractical and ridiculously styled four-wheeled phone booth would be a better choice than a Toyota Corolla.
At least the Smart ForTwo is inexpensive, gets you noticed, and has plenty of room for two and a week of groceries. What more do you usually need? Especially if the only person who rides in the car with you is your dog.
This industry stalwart has faced off against the Toyota Corolla for generations. After each generation, the Civic just keeps getting better and better.
While Honda makes some bizarre styling choices, they're at least clever or unique and always wind up working very well. (Who thought that dashboard on the latest Civic that looks like E.T.'s Mothership landing would be so nice and easy to read? I guess Honda did.)
And bravo to Honda for continuing to sell manual transmission versions of their fine Honda Civic models in the North American market. Fun to drive and cool to look at (although they're everywhere), the Honda Civic is the perfect Toyota Corolla antidote.
2010 VW Golf TDI
With a slight restyle for the 2010 model, VW chisels the exterior in a more masculine direction and ups the bling factor in the interior. I have never seen so much chrome on a dash from a car in this price class.
But the pretty dash is nothing compared to the upgraded materials and the fact you can finally get the TDI motor in the Golf.
Mechanicals for the 2.0-liter turbodiesel are carried over from the Jetta, so expect 140 horsepower and 263 pound-feet of torque with 30 mpg city / 41 mpg highway. Although that's a great fuel economy reading, many owners report up to 60 miles per gallon on the highway.
How would you do, ya think?
2010 Mazda3
The all new Mazda3 is all swoopy curves and a giant, toothless goofy grin. It's a five-door hatchback unlike any you'll find from any other manufacturer. Some of the styling cues are so over the top only a brand like Mazda (with their zoom-zoom) could pull this off.
The best part of the Mazda3 is that it looks fast just sitting still. Do be aware that drivers over 6'3" can have trouble getting comfortable in the drivers seat. But with a driving experience like this, that's really their loss.
(One note to Mazda: The nav screen needs to be bigger. The baby screen gimmick doesn't work)
2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
This is the perfect ride for a family of five. The cargo area is ridiculously huge, larger than in a Nissan Murano. But the parents still get some driving fun as they take the kids back and forth to school and on those weekly runs to Costco.
The Touring can include a slick-shifting 5-speed manual transmission that helps keep the engine seriously on the boil. Plus, it's a Hyundai, so you get the 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. Sometimes I think I trust a warranty a lot more than a carmaker's reputation for quality.
2010 Smart ForTwo
Even this impractical and ridiculously styled four-wheeled phone booth would be a better choice than a Toyota Corolla.
At least the Smart ForTwo is inexpensive, gets you noticed, and has plenty of room for two and a week of groceries. What more do you usually need? Especially if the only person who rides in the car with you is your dog.
10-20-2009, 11:52 AM
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From input from a prior Corolla owner:
My Dad owned a Corolla (94), and currently has a Matrix (wagon variant), I owned 3 Corollas (91 x2, 02), all 5 of the above with manual transmissions. That being said, I completely agree with the above on any Corolla 03 and newer. And any year with an automatic. Until recently, Toyota had 1st and 2nd gears the same ratio for MT vs AT, but AT had just 1 gear, which was a longer(?) gear ratio than the 5th gear for MT. This made 1st and 2nd about the same between the two transmissions, which puts you around 45-50mph, at which point the MT can still keep accelerating, the AT hits a wall of air that it can't accelerate through.
Prior to the 2003, the Corollas were continually getting wider and slightly longer, with more powerful engines, and only slightly increasing weight. For the 01-02 model (identical), the Corolla was at it's widest without a height increase, and with the most powerful engine yet, and while 120hp stock is tiny, the weight was around 2600lbs still. Not exactly Miata range, but it wasn't that far off either. With a MT, my 02 had plenty of 'get-up-and-go', though winning any drag race was out of the question. With 195 width tires and a pre-tensioned strut bar, that car was very flickable, even more so once you add lowering springs. Yeah, it's still a Corolla, still failwheeldrive, but for a young kid out of school, it was still very fun to drive set up like that. And 40mpg wasn't uncommon. I did alot of stupid stuff in that car, regularly topped 100mph, got 11(?) speeding tickets, burned through ~6 sets of tires and ~5 sets of brakes over the 97,000 miles I had it, dealt with a blown engine and then a fried transmission from faulty dealer work on the engine (yeah...I know) a failed lawsuit (faulty lawyer). But still, other than dealing with getting screwed in the end, I don't regret owning it and doing almost 100k in it, and my experience with it is certainly not the stereotypical perception of owning a Corolla. I shocked alot of people with what I could do with it. After getting into Autox now with the 8, I still think that the 01-02 Corolla would be a decent AutoX car. Not as good as a Miata, and for the money I would still get a Miata, but far from terrible. I always mentally exclude the 01-02 MT Corolla when bashing on it, because it really doesn't deserve it.
Then Toyota got on the fail boat. The continued increasing the engine power faintly, but they increased both the height of the body, as well as the height off the ground, making the 03s and subsequent years look pinched when viewed from the front or rear. I will never forget one enthralled reviewer that loved "it's SUV-like stance". WTF people. First for making it appear that way, and second for loving it.
They also managed to make their already fast disappearing MT (something like 11% of 02s were MT) even worse, and still took a while to get their AT up to at least 4 gears. 3 just doesn't cut it with less than 130hp on today's roads without a owner warning to never take it on the highway.
Toyota is working on turning the Corolla into the Camry (it's bigger than the Camry was back in the 90s), since the Camry is moving to the Avalon, and the Avalon is becoming a Lexus (paying $40k for a Toyota without even getting the Lexus brand name and dealer backing is just stupid)
I recently drove several hours through southwestern PA and wester MD in my Dad's Matrix, loaded with 5 of us, so plenty of extra weight. I was utterly shocked at how non-existant the clutch was, and I kept checking the mirrors to see if I left the engine behind. Seriously. I could not tell where the clutch engagement point was. I would get to even a mild hill at the speed limit of 65, and in 5th gear, the speed would start plummeting. I would drop to 4th, and it would keep dropping. I kept having to go to 3rd to maintain even 40mph on most of the hills in western MD, down to 2nd at ~30mph for several. Granted, there was an extra ~700 lbs in the car, but still, it was....pathetic.
I haven't seen anything new from them in a while, typical Toyota resting on it's past laurels without bothering to improve here and today. The 2010 Corolla would have been a good car if it was introduced 7 years ago.
My Dad owned a Corolla (94), and currently has a Matrix (wagon variant), I owned 3 Corollas (91 x2, 02), all 5 of the above with manual transmissions. That being said, I completely agree with the above on any Corolla 03 and newer. And any year with an automatic. Until recently, Toyota had 1st and 2nd gears the same ratio for MT vs AT, but AT had just 1 gear, which was a longer(?) gear ratio than the 5th gear for MT. This made 1st and 2nd about the same between the two transmissions, which puts you around 45-50mph, at which point the MT can still keep accelerating, the AT hits a wall of air that it can't accelerate through.
Prior to the 2003, the Corollas were continually getting wider and slightly longer, with more powerful engines, and only slightly increasing weight. For the 01-02 model (identical), the Corolla was at it's widest without a height increase, and with the most powerful engine yet, and while 120hp stock is tiny, the weight was around 2600lbs still. Not exactly Miata range, but it wasn't that far off either. With a MT, my 02 had plenty of 'get-up-and-go', though winning any drag race was out of the question. With 195 width tires and a pre-tensioned strut bar, that car was very flickable, even more so once you add lowering springs. Yeah, it's still a Corolla, still failwheeldrive, but for a young kid out of school, it was still very fun to drive set up like that. And 40mpg wasn't uncommon. I did alot of stupid stuff in that car, regularly topped 100mph, got 11(?) speeding tickets, burned through ~6 sets of tires and ~5 sets of brakes over the 97,000 miles I had it, dealt with a blown engine and then a fried transmission from faulty dealer work on the engine (yeah...I know) a failed lawsuit (faulty lawyer). But still, other than dealing with getting screwed in the end, I don't regret owning it and doing almost 100k in it, and my experience with it is certainly not the stereotypical perception of owning a Corolla. I shocked alot of people with what I could do with it. After getting into Autox now with the 8, I still think that the 01-02 Corolla would be a decent AutoX car. Not as good as a Miata, and for the money I would still get a Miata, but far from terrible. I always mentally exclude the 01-02 MT Corolla when bashing on it, because it really doesn't deserve it.
Then Toyota got on the fail boat. The continued increasing the engine power faintly, but they increased both the height of the body, as well as the height off the ground, making the 03s and subsequent years look pinched when viewed from the front or rear. I will never forget one enthralled reviewer that loved "it's SUV-like stance". WTF people. First for making it appear that way, and second for loving it.
They also managed to make their already fast disappearing MT (something like 11% of 02s were MT) even worse, and still took a while to get their AT up to at least 4 gears. 3 just doesn't cut it with less than 130hp on today's roads without a owner warning to never take it on the highway. Toyota is working on turning the Corolla into the Camry (it's bigger than the Camry was back in the 90s), since the Camry is moving to the Avalon, and the Avalon is becoming a Lexus (paying $40k for a Toyota without even getting the Lexus brand name and dealer backing is just stupid)
I recently drove several hours through southwestern PA and wester MD in my Dad's Matrix, loaded with 5 of us, so plenty of extra weight. I was utterly shocked at how non-existant the clutch was, and I kept checking the mirrors to see if I left the engine behind. Seriously. I could not tell where the clutch engagement point was. I would get to even a mild hill at the speed limit of 65, and in 5th gear, the speed would start plummeting. I would drop to 4th, and it would keep dropping. I kept having to go to 3rd to maintain even 40mph on most of the hills in western MD, down to 2nd at ~30mph for several. Granted, there was an extra ~700 lbs in the car, but still, it was....pathetic.
I haven't seen anything new from them in a while, typical Toyota resting on it's past laurels without bothering to improve here and today. The 2010 Corolla would have been a good car if it was introduced 7 years ago.
10-20-2009, 06:26 PM
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I own a '98 corolla and use it as a dd. I take it to campus (bad drivers and door openers at school). I refuse to drive my crystal white ' 09 GT to school.
Its economical, reliable and the a/c works. Boring yes, but I don't have to put money into it and don't care if it gets a ding or two or three while in the parking lot. It sure beat that pos cavalier I use to drive.
I'll probably replace it with a Mazda 2, when it comes out.
Its economical, reliable and the a/c works. Boring yes, but I don't have to put money into it and don't care if it gets a ding or two or three while in the parking lot. It sure beat that pos cavalier I use to drive.
I'll probably replace it with a Mazda 2, when it comes out.
10-20-2009, 10:13 PM
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I'd rather drive the Corolla than a Smart Fortwo. I've read nothing but bad things about the Fortwo.
The new Corolla is just bland bland bland. But at least it doesn't get bad gas mileage for the size and doesn't drive like a rocking horse.
The new Corolla is just bland bland bland. But at least it doesn't get bad gas mileage for the size and doesn't drive like a rocking horse.
10-29-2009, 10:04 PM
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Last year, just for grins I test drove the Corolla XRS and I believe it was the worst car Ive ever driven. Even my parents '07 Civic seems 100x better then the Corolla. Of course having an 8, any regular econobox will seem like garbage. If I wanted a econobox I probably wouldn't mind the Civic, except that HUGE dashboard bothers me. I'd probably opt for something like the Jetta TDI. Can't wait to test drive the Golf TDI either.
10-30-2009, 11:02 AM
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I own a '98 corolla and use it as a dd. I take it to campus (bad drivers and door openers at school). I refuse to drive my crystal white ' 09 GT to school.
Its economical, reliable and the a/c works. Boring yes, but I don't have to put money into it and don't care if it gets a ding or two or three while in the parking lot. It sure beat that pos cavalier I use to drive.
I'll probably replace it with a Mazda 2, when it comes out.
Its economical, reliable and the a/c works. Boring yes, but I don't have to put money into it and don't care if it gets a ding or two or three while in the parking lot. It sure beat that pos cavalier I use to drive.
I'll probably replace it with a Mazda 2, when it comes out.
10-30-2009, 07:46 PM
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For a cheaper small car, I'd look at 2, Fiesta, Fit and 500 (depending on price).
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