Topic: CD Article: 2007 Toyota Corolla LE

[UmroAyyar]

I am so amazed after reading the story that the Corolla still gets a thumbs up.  It is a bland, boring and uninspiring car and if any of the American cars had such poor fit and finish it would have been blasted.  Let's face it - Toyota and Honda have lost considerable ground in the past few years to their American counter parts.  GM is producing amazing vehicles - the Aura, Enclave, STS, SKY, outstanding pick ups and large SUVs and now the new Malibu.  It's exciting to watch what's next with GM.

Toyota and Honda - snoozers.  BORING with a capital B.  The next generation Corolla does not create any excitement either.  And with quality continuing to slip I have to wonder why anyone even bothers anymore?

Can I borrow your time machine? I would like to check the yet-to-be-released next generation Corolla. 

[mar1990]

Can I borrow your time machine? I would like to check the yet-to-be-released next generation Corolla. 

I would like to borrow the time machine after him to check stock prices and lottery numbers!

We have the 03 Corolla.  Would we choose again?  It would still be on the list, although there are several other contenders in today's market.  At the time (and still true today) reliability was paramount.  We still have the Windstar  we had back then and acknowleged that it will require periodic repairs, so I wanted to reduce the risk with the second vehicle. 

Perhaps the quality has gone down.  I can't say.  I  haven't been in a new one.  But the perception I am getting about Toyota is that they are starting to focus on market share and being number #1 in sales, cutting corners, rather than slow and steady and keeping quality #1. (except in Canada, where they are screwing us in MSRP ) 

I think the Koreans are doing to the Japanese in the 2000's, what the Japanese did the the Americans in the 80's/90's.  Maybe when that physicological barrier is hit year after year (Toyota #1), will the American companies will put a bigger focus on "sustainable" quality rather than focus on meeting this quarter's sales results.

[safristi]

My time machine says this afternoon is the FUTURE suckers....... and I'm gonna be 4 hours OLDER.....but more handsomer and hungry cos the fridge is empty....WOW I'm glad I asked the GENIE those 3 QUESTIONS?

[Julie]

Julie, I disagree with you on the interior. It looked better than other competitors at the time. I find the fit and finish excellent.

The fake wood trim looks good in the article's pictures, but I remember it as looking obviously fake in 2005    Anyways, it was the whole feeling sitting inside. As if, "This is it? This is their top of the line? No tilt/telescoping wheel, plastic-y++ steering wheel, loud-ish turn signal... Well, it's subjective huh. Depends on what your expectations too. Guess I was wanting more at the time. The Honda Civic's EX's interior impressed me. Soft touches, etc.

Okay, maybe not the fake wood, but compared to lets say, a Cavalier/Sunfire or a Impreza...i'd prefer the interior of the Corolla. 

I see your point. I agree with you.

[Julie]

  Man you guys seem harsh on the corolla. when I bought mine in 05 I had a set budget, a limit to how far I was willing to drive to a dealer and a daily hour drive to and from work so fuel economy was important. Where I live, in this size of car it was a choice of focus , cobalt, neon, the corolla or the civic.
  the Honda dealer acted like I had the Plague, so that's a lossed sale for them, can't say what it drives like. The neon failed to impress me, the focus I test drove had a rattle that was annoying, the cobalt actually seemed pretty decent and I seriously considered it but for the same level of equipment a Corolla CE C package was just over 2 grand cheaper and seemed to have better fit and finish then the others. It is only the fact that I'm able to pay more and my willingness to drive farther has changed which has let me start to look for something more interesting. In the same situation I was in then I would still be one of the "idiots buying one".
  Are there better options out there? depending on where you live and what the dealers are like not necessarily.  Is it kind of boring to drive daily? Yeppers. But it is the only vehicle I have ever owned that hasn't Had a single thing go wrong in over two years or almost 70000 KM and I still have to say it has been great value.

People are harsh on this forum for Corollas. Would be same thing I imagine for Neons, Cobalts, etc. The folks here are driving enthusiasts, so that's why you get that flavour. When I first saw that they had posted a review of this, I thought, oh oh, it's going to get battered. KRS, the majority of people are very cool here, and wouldn't laugh at anyone who bought one.

[safristi]

Julie ...IT IS....."COBLATS"...."EONS" & "CRULLERS" get yer spelling CORRECT O Mundo.....

[Cortina]

People are harsh on this forum for Corollas.

I agree, Toyota Corollas are really the quintessential of automobiles.(straight face)

I do find most ordinary Joe cars once you have driven them for a month, they become dull, and It Is the newness of ordinary cars, that make them seam Interesting.

[random006]

People are harsh on this forum for Corollas.

I agree, Toyota Corollas are really the quintessential of automobiles.(straight face)

I do find most ordinary Joe cars once you have driven them for a month, they become dull, and It Is the newness of ordinary cars, that make them seam Interesting.

They certainly are the common coin of the automotive realm or so it seems and certain colours reinforce the sameness of it all.  A colleague of mine and his wife have owned a beige Corolla for about 7 years now and put on about 100,000 Kms.  Flash forward to 2007 and the test car we have before us is.... a beige Corolla!  Talk about not messing with a good thing. 

[safristi]

HE hasn't touched his wife in 7 years.................

[2JDM]

I am so amazed after reading the story that the Corolla still gets a thumbs up.  It is a bland, boring and uninspiring car and if any of the American cars had such poor fit and finish it would have been blasted.  Let's face it - Toyota and Honda have lost considerable ground in the past few years to their American counter parts.  GM is producing amazing vehicles - the Aura, Enclave, STS, SKY, outstanding pick ups and large SUVs and now the new Malibu.  It's exciting to watch what's next with GM.

Toyota and Honda - snoozers.  BORING with a capital B.  The next generation Corolla does not create any excitement either.  And with quality continuing to slip I have to wonder why anyone even bothers anymore?

You related to Barrie by any chance? 

I started to notice that most Corolla drivers are seniors. 

[Arctic_White]

I just don't quite understand why all this Corolla bashing. 

[rrocket]

My Echo is about as dull as they come.  But damn...it sure does the job of commuter exceptionally well.  And reliable and cheap to run (48 US MPG avg.)??  I'm about as big as an enthusiast as there is...but man...some cars just kick ass as basic commuter cars, and you have to respect them for it.....

[initial_D]

My dad has a 2000 Corolla CE, Beige in color.   Must be approaching 100,000KM, all it ever need was the scheduled fluid changes, and tyres, and a second set of brake pads since new. I think he can still get $6000 for it. He got it in the fall of 1999, and almost 8 years later, it ran as good as it was new. He paid about $19,600, including the GST, and still able to get about 30% of it back. That is about $1700 per year, $142 per month cost of using it, minus gas and other stuff. Can't think of any car that is cheaper to own and operate, no trouble whatsoever. It is not a fun to drive car, but it serves it purpose well, and it is almost like ... A Rock!  

[KRS]

People are harsh on this forum for Corollas. Would be same thing I imagine for Neons, Cobalts, etc. The folks here are driving enthusiasts, so that's why you get that flavour. When I first saw that they had posted a review of this, I thought, oh oh, it's going to get battered. KRS, the majority of people are very cool here, and wouldn't laugh at anyone who bought one.

  Julie I have been looking over the old posts on the forum and it does seem pretty balanced, with out a lot of flame war nonsense. I can't say I'm worried about people laughing at me, but I can say that In all the cars I've owned there has been something about each that made it enjoyable in some way and while my little Toyota isn't an amazing driving experience it has its good points. I have a motorcycle and my AMX when I want to have more fun but the bike and the AMX aren't winter vehicles and with the driving I do I save in gas more then the car costs me, by not using my truck, any time gas is over 82 cents a litre.  In fact i get better mileage with the corolla then I get on my bike. The only thing that would change my purchasing decision If I had to make the same purchase with the same limitations today, is that a Hyundai dealer is also within reasonable distance.
  To be honest I'm looking to replace the corolla now but I can see why someone would consider it today even if they have a Mustang or WRX already. I guess I have a different horses for different courses mindset.
   

[initial_D]

A friend just bought a new Corolla to replace the Mazda he drove for 14 years. He must know something I don't!

Is there a reason why both of you are leaving the Ford Family all together? 

[gotak]

When the Corolla was new it was competitive. Since then it's no longer the perfect basic transport. Things have moved on and frankly you can get similar reliability from a new Civic with better features and safety. Maybe they are doing deals on the Corolla to keep them moving off the lot I don't know. For me I'd only consider a Corolla it provide better value and I can only see it doing that by being a lot cheaper then a Civic.

[KRS]

When the Corolla was new it was competitive. Since then it's no longer the perfect basic transport. Things have moved on and frankly you can get similar reliability from a new Civic with better features and safety. Maybe they are doing deals on the Corolla to keep them moving off the lot I don't know. For me I'd only consider a Corolla it provide better value and I can only see it doing that by being a lot cheaper then a Civic.

 
  I appreciate what your saying and in a larger center where you have access to more dealers it is understandable and a good thing. When your choice of dealers is more limited though, the dealership experience can make the features of the car irrelevant. If I had to be treated like I was by the Honda dealer you could plate the civic in gold and offer it for a dollar and I wouldn't be interested.

[Mitlov]

Can I borrow your time machine? I would like to check the yet-to-be-released next generation Corolla. 

http://www.netcarshow.com/toyota/2007-corolla/

Okay, it's not a time machine, it's the European release.

[Mitlov]

My Echo is about as dull as they come.  But damn...it sure does the job of commuter exceptionally well.  And reliable and cheap to run (48 US MPG avg.)??  I'm about as big as an enthusiast as there is...but man...some cars just kick ass as basic commuter cars, and you have to respect them for it.....

Yet when I can spend just a teeny bit more and get a Fit Sport, which is just as good as a basic commuter car but also fun, "basic commuter cars" become hard to justify.