No comment about the LED lights on the corolla?
I really don't like that 'glued on iPad' in the 3. How could they think that looks good?
Also that note about the digital gauges, they do suck the big one. Are they really cheaper than mechanical gauges? Automakers are getting so cheap, the temp gauge is disappearing from most small cars these days too.
+1 on the standard LEDs! The 8th Gen Corolla's headlights were about as bright as a 40w bulb illuminating a roadway. These new headlamps are worldly better, and standard! They make the car feel far more expensive than it is - look at that, perceived value?!
Wanna know why the Corolla sells so damn well? ^^^^ (referring to WRX_Pilot's post) that's why. Automotive enthusiasts care about the drive, but the typical buyer, especially of "econoboxes", cares about value and an absence of compromise. Yes, the car is cheap, but who wants to shell out $20,000+ on something they don't like? Not exactly 'pocket change'.
You all b!tch about the flat seats in the Corolla, yet my arthritis-prone spine prefers the Corolla's seat any day to that rock-hard one in the Mazda. And when my parents got our Corolla, I was pushing for the Mazda 3, but my mother had trouble getting into the car over the lateral bolsters - in other words, THE BOLSTERING DETERRED MY MOTHER FROM ALLOWING MY DAD TO PURCHASE THE MAZDA 3. The bolsters, and the bolsters alone, were enough for Mazda to lose our business. With that being said, dad hated the seat in the Mazda 3 so he wouldn't have bought it either.
Both recognized that the Mazda cornered better, but in their words, the Corolla 'drove' better...
The masses don't care about driving enjoyment in a C-segment car. Our Corolla CE MSRP'd at $19,500 (volume model), so very few will get the 4-speed autobox. The 'new' LE will be the volume seller, as 132hp-CVT combo.
I, too, hate digital gauges - especially in rental cars
If it were my money, I'd probably get the Corolla. They both feel cheap, but Toyota's reputation, resale, and overall value are better. I think the author here truly is wearing Spock ears - half human, half Vulcan - he can't fully take the driving enjoyment out of the equation, unlike the majority of the buying public, whose emotional response is limited to "aww, my car is so cute!"