Topic: Day-by-Day Review: 2013 Toyota Corolla LE; Day 1

[Sir Osis of Liver]

McDonald's 300-Billionth Burger Delayed
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323301104578258113829116672.html

 

[Blueprint]

Toyota Corolla is the perfect kind of car you want your teenagers to drive. Keeping them unenthusiastic, passive and subdued.

 

I was lucky that my parents had a '83 Honda Civic Wagon and it would slow down the stupid things I did but didn't stop me from trying. Four guys in that car doing 140 on the hwy, spinning tires, racing around corners. Of course that car did nothing to subdue me and I can be just as bad many, many years later.

Back to the Corolla....I think its a great car and has a huge market. Not everybody is like us and a lot of people just want an appliance to get them from A to B. Nothing wrong with that. Heck, if they would make a Corolla wagon I would be very tempted to buy one.

Funny enough, I started driving with my parent's 1981 Civic wagon, complete with Hondamatic and manual choke. It would only spin tires in the snow, and (maybe) gravel.

As for Toyota, the new Sentra, with its Altimesque good looks and low prices, seems to be giving the Corolla a hard time in our local marketplace.

[conwelpic]

at that price and not even an engine hood insulation sound pad!

[tooscoops]

when i was going to get a 70 dodge dart back in my college days, i was driving my first car... my 82 lebaron convertible. my dad didn't want me to get it scared about what i would do...

dad - "but if you have this car, you are going to race everyone!"
me - "dad, i race everyone now... i just lose"
dad - "oh, well thats just not right, i guess we should take a look"

he still has the dart in his garage.


this car is vanilla. while those ordering double chocolate, brownie fudge might laugh at those ordering vanilla, at least those people know what they are getting and know it will be exactly what they expected.

[civic_hybrid]

My only comment to James:
Hard to review a relatively unchanged Toyota Corolla when so much in the marketplace has changed.

My question to James:
How does the corolla Fuel Economy compare? It seems to be the elephant in the room here at this price, size and power.

Good luck this week!

[mixmanmash]

2009- engine is new. Lots of misinformation in this thread about what's new, not new, etc.

You are correct.  I made this error.  I got confused between the blandness of the generations.  1ZZ-FE was used from 1998-2008.  2009+ use the 2ZR-FE.  Surprisingly, not much difference in output.

[Snowman]

What a terrible car. The innate awfulness of the Corolla is so bad they have only sold like 40,000,000 of them. Epic fail.

   Failed business model at the highest level.

[Fobroader]

I love the fact that whenever something is mentioned about the  Corolla it instantly generates many pages of discussion.......boring car, reliable, cheap to insure, cheaper to run,  good on gas, people love it, not aimed at the enthusiast market, at all, even a little....any other questions??

[quadzilla]

I love the fact that whenever something is mentioned about the  Corolla it instantly generates many pages of discussion.......boring car, reliable, cheap to insure, cheaper to run,  good on gas, people love it, not aimed at the enthusiast market, at all, even a little....any other questions??

That is the funniest part. IMO any real enthusiast would recognize this and praise the Corolla for what or is that who it was built for. Nothing wrong with the car. Sure its not trendy or has as much content as some imports but its a great and very reliable car that you can count on getting many years of trouble free driving from. If I was looking for a plain vanilla car this would be at the top of my list.

I see the same kind of bashing on bicycle or stereo forums. Everybody has to have the latest, greatest and most expensive of any product and everything other people own is complete junk.

[Fobroader]

 Why would you praise something that is not praiseworthy, at best it deserves a participation medal. Its not a matter of owning the latest and greatest and most expensive car, this forum isnt about that, this isnt the 911 GT2 forum, its cars.ca, everything and anything is welcome. I wouldnt make fun of anyone for owning a Corolla to have to take back and forth to work in bumper to bumper traffic, a Lamborghini would get old quick stuck in traffic, but I dont think you can say that an enthusiast can look at a Corolla and think "damn, that car would be perfect to rip up some backroads on a nice sunday afternoon". Its a boring car, but it serves the purpose for many that look at driving as a necessary evil.

[Snowman]

I drove a beater Tercel for a few years as a commuter unit and at the time I had a Stage 3 WRX. As an Enthusiast I appreciated it simplicity and economics, I would not call the Tercel an exciting car to drive but it performed admirably for its purpose. Basic and reliable A-B transportation. Fack....I mean look at the rear wing! 

[Solstice2006]

Toyota Corolla is the perfect kind of car you want your teenagers to drive. Keeping them unenthusiastic, passive and subdued.

This.

Add low maintenance costs, great reliability and very competitive real world fuel economy and the world beats a path to your door.

My dad has a 2010...not a single problem with it.  That's more than I can say about my MIL's 2012 Mazda3 Skyactiv - had the power steering replaced already, battery wouldn't last a week without being driven in the winter on a brand new car, and poor headlights that barely cover the road - oh wait, Mazda3 has projector-beam vs the multi-reflector in the Corolla...that means that they are better, right?  In practice, I see far more of the country roads at night in the Corolla.

This segment (C) is not about the enthusiast.  Yes, the Corolla is an appliance - A to B without drama or fuss.  It's a commuter car.  It's a good starter-family car.  It's good at what it does, and just because it's slightly feature-poor compared to its competitors does not mean that it is worse.  We're averaging 6.4L/100km consistently and never feel the car is too slow...so the 4-speed is doing its job fine. 

We have rear-facing and front-facing child seats in the back, yet the front seats are both more than spacious (much more than can be said for my Brother's Mazda3), and the price we paid was far less than the Mazda3.  Skip the crap in the LE trim, and the Corolla's a stellar purchase decision.  Try saying the same for the Mazda3 GX.

So what segment is for the enthusiast? Your saying no to the compact, So I guess that means the mid-size sedans as well, the CUV's, the trucks, the vans, so enthusiasts can only drive rear drive cars like a Mustang, or BRZ? 

Sorry to hear about the reliability problems with MIL Mazda3, seems like an isolated incident.  Consumer Reports rates it well, and nothing like isn't mentioned in Mazda forums.  And the Mazda3 has only sold 400 fewer than the Corolla, not bad for a David vs Goliath scenario...

"The 4 speed does just fine" if everybody had that mentality, progress would never be made, no improvements, no innovation.

[Bubba]

when i was going to get a 70 dodge dart back in my college days, i was driving my first car... my 82 lebaron convertible. my dad didn't want me to get it scared about what i would do...

dad - "but if you have this car, you are going to race everyone!"
me - "dad, i race everyone now... i just lose"
dad - "oh, well thats just not right, i guess we should take a look"

   My first car was a '72 Dart and it saw drag strip duty.

My parents are very happy with their 2012 Corolla LE so far.

[johngenx]

Enthusiasts drive based on need a lot of the time.  People have kids, sports, whatever, and a vehicle is a means of transport just like for anyone else.  Some are lucky enough to have the money, time, skill, or whatever to buy/build/etc a truly entertaining automobile.

I love my Highlander for what it is.  It's a floaty SUV that is anything but fun to drive, but can haul five of us and gear to the mountains, handle crappy weather and poor roads, and returns stellar reliability and acceptable fuel economy.  Running it down because it won't take an on ramp with a Miata or BRZ is silly.  Toyota didn't target enthusiasts with it.  It's a massive sales success contributing heavily to Toyota's bottom line.

The Corolla is along the same vein.  They have a huge audience of non-enthusiasts that are looking for nothing more than a fairly simple car that will provide them with economical transport.  They want the styling to be clean, but not flashy, as that helps retain value.  It can't look old in two years.  This is a tough task when you think about it.

Honda took a major leap in the segment in 2006.  That Civic was a risky product.  It broke the Civic styling mold, and could have been a big failure.  It wasn't, but don't think Toyota didn't think "oh, man, what a hard decision."  In many ways, Toyota has more to lose than Honda as their customer base tends to be older and more conservative.

On occasion, I drive our Corolla.  It's a competent car that goes about it's business being barely noticeable.  Exactly what it was purchased for.  And yes, I can't wait to get behind the wheel of the Miata when we get home...

[johngenx]

And the Mazda3 has only sold 400 fewer than the Corolla

In the US?

That's Toyota's main target for the Corolla, Camry, RAV and Highlander.

[X-Traction]

Toyota Corolla is the perfect kind of car you want your teenagers to drive. Keeping them unenthusiastic, passive and subdued.

Oh well, perfect car for the unenthusiast who hates cars.  Perfect for the boring and meek.

I don't get how new drivers are supposed to become enthusiastic, engaged, skilled etc. while being introduced to driving in a vehicle that gets so scorned by the self-proclaimed enthusiasts.  You have to admit that after a while this starts to sound like jabbering.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

For reference.

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/05/usa-april-2013-small-car-sales-figures.html

[Lesley]

LOL, I heard pretty much the same criticisms when I reviewed the Yaris.

Let's face it, not everyone loves cars like we do. A lot of my friends would just rather not have to think about their car - ever. This is EXACTLY the kind of car I'd recommend to a girlfriend who'd be surprised (and blame me) if I helped her find a great deal on a used car... and she had to replace the brakes 10 years later...

[Hammy]

On our recent trip to Myrtle Beach the rental car people asked me if I wanted to UPGRADE to a Corolla from our Elantra rental vehicle for $4 a day...... the look of confusion on my face is probably still engrained on them...... I passed on the upgrade.  Obviously it works on people or they wouldn't ask, I'm just not one of those people.  I love my Optima and would personally never buy a Corolla due to the boring factor being so overwhelming.

http://nlcarblog.blogspot.ca/

[Solstice2006]

And the Mazda3 has only sold 400 fewer than the Corolla

In the US?

That's Toyota's main target for the Corolla, Camry, RAV and Highlander.

Mazda3 sold 400 fewer than Corolla in Canada...where the Compact sells more than the midsize sedan.  So glad to see the Elantra kicking the Corollas butt.  Guess Canadian compact buyers are wiser, I think the message is we need more value for our $, and the Elantra is proof of that.  I respect that some people like vanilla, and high resale value, reliability, and car that doesn't loose style.  But how can people pay more money for a product that hasn't changed (or very little compared to the competition), that has less features (rollup windows, and manual locks, hard plastics just to name a few).  So the sales numbers in Canada, show the competition is tight.

And many people are getting sick of the "Japanese quality saying".  Anytime Japanese quality is mentioned, it's like their talking in 80's and 90's.  We aren't driving german cars with electronic gremlins, or old Chrysler minivans, that need 2 or 3 trannys.  They are plenty of compacts that can easily hit 300,000kms with minimal fuss, other than the Corolla and Civic...

Rank Best-Selling Car April 2013

Rank/Model/Month/% Chg/YTD/YTD % Chg

#1  Hyundai Elantra  5535  + 3.0%  16,872  + 3.9% 
#2  Honda Civic  5424  - 9.7%  16,711  - 17.6% 
#3  Toyota Corolla  4654  + 8.8%  12,535  - 5.3% 
#4  Mazda 3  3281  - 14.6%  12,132  + 2.0% 
#5 Chevrolet Cruze  3264  + 14.4%  9843  + 2.5% 
#6 Volkswagen Jetta  2814  + 17.4%  9838  + 33.1% 
#7 Ford Focus  2757  + 6.4%  7491  - 4.1% 
#8 Ford Fusion  2336  + 20.8%  6734  + 28.8% 
#9 Toyota Camry  2119  + 1.9%  5055  - 22.8% 
#10  Hyundai Accent  2071  - 14.8%  5835  - 20.0%