2005 Toyota Corolla Review

Refining the Worlds Best Selling Car

You never know who youre going to meet on the plane. Traveling back from an event put on by Toyota to test the upcoming 2005 Corolla, I met a lifer. A what? Deborah bought her first Corolla when she was fresh out of high school, and now a successful 39 (ahem) year old clothing importer on her way to Hong Kong, shes on her third Corolla. Yeah, I can do math too. Thats just over seven years of faithful service per car, all of which were running well when she sold them.

Time is about right for a new one, and despite the fact that Deborah can easily afford a more expensive luxury car and regularly gets ribbed by her boss about her plebian choice of transportation (wholl be hardly laughing when his $50K VW Touareg is off to the shop to have yet another problem fixed), shes not about to change alliances.

Deborahs story isnt unusual of course. Glowing testimonies of the venerable economy car are common, reason enough why the Corolla has become a favorite among North American car buyers over the years and the number one nameplate by sales in world automotive history. And just how many years is that? The Corolla has been available in our country for 38 years now.

So what makes it so special? Besides being quite refined for a car in this class and well appointed, its just plain reliable. Theres something to be said for a car that starts up every morning, rain, sleet, snow or pray tell, shine, gets you to work on time without incident and is ready to haul you back safely, in comfort after a long day. More often than not, all the convenience items keep on being convenient long after the warranty runs out too.

Sure the Corolla isnt necessarily the fastest car on the block, its hardly the sexiest from a styling perspective, and doesnt pull stares of envy from complete strangers at bus stops (OK, that last one might be true if driving through Denver in the depths of winter), but on the other hand the Corolla performs admirably, is hardly offensive to look at, and slinks through traffic with stealth agility (i.e. without getting noticed at all) - for some people a very good thing.

Most importantly the Corolla is extremely well made. Exterior panel gaps are tight and perfectly parallel, interior fit and finish is of a higher than average quality, while the materials used are better than average. All the seats, both in front and back, are extremely comfortable and supportive as well.

For 2005 those seats have been reupholstered with nicer materials, while the driver gets vertical height adjustment for an optimized driving position. In case you didnt know, and I didnt until a company spokesman told me so dont feel bad, Toyota actually pulls the Corolla seat frames and overall seat design out of its larger Camry sedan, which shares them with the Highlander, Lexus ES 330 and RX 330 models. An economy car sharing parts with a thirty-five plus thousand dollar luxury SUV? No wonder theyre so good.

This trickle down effect permeates the rest of the cabin as well. For the most part soft touch plastics are used where fingers are more likely to come in contact, giving the Corolla an upscale ambience. Only the center console and armrest seemed a little on the low rent side, common to this class. All switchgear, on the other hand, is very well put together, also feeling like it could pass for Lexus tactile quality and resultantly looking like it will last for a lifetime.

Despite having loyal customers like Deborah, who would no doubt keep buying Corollas even if they werent continually made more civilized, Toyota has improved much of its compact model for 2005. Most obviously a new grille joins an updated bumper and fascia up front, while slightly reworked rear taillights (the integrated turn signal lenses are now clear instead of orange) improve the rear view and new wheel covers (on the base CE) spruce up the cars profile.

I spent a decent amount of time in all trim levels, but was most impressed with the base CE due to its aggressively low price of $13,680 - a mere $110 more than the outgoing model. Certainly its not the cheapest in the category, at least when compared to the domestics and Koreans, but the Corolla has earned the right to cost a little more. Comparatively Hondas $13,010 Civic is slightly less expensive while Mazdas $13,680 3 is priced exactly the same.

Compared to the Honda the Corolla is a literal powerhouse, stomping all over its rivals 115 horsepower 1.7-liter 4-cylinder with an extra 15 ponies of its own. Still the 130 horsepower Corolla, powered by a 16-valve 1.8-liter 4-cylinder with multi-port electronic fuel injection and Toyotas sophisticated Variable Valve Timing -intelligent (VVT-i), is no match in a straight line for the 148-hp Mazda3. With regards to torque, more important for getting off the line, the Honda scrapes the bottom with 110 lb-ft available from 4,500 rpm, while the Corolla comes in second place once again with 125 lb-ft from 4,200 rpm, and the 3 wins the category with 135 at 4,500, albeit not from as low in the rev range as the Corolla.

But ask Deborah, or most other Corolla buyers, what she thinks about speeding away from a stoplight and a puzzled look would most likely cross her face. If the need to make the bank before it closes is priority one, no doubt the pedal will hit the metal with more gusto than usual, and for that the Corolla is more than adequate.

Actually I found it pretty fun to drive when mated to the standard 5-speed manual. The 4-speed automatic sucks a fair bit of power away in the lower rev range but still provides ample get-up-and-go for highway passing and merging onto the freeway. As important its a smooth operator, taking care of shifting duties in an efficient yet anticlimactic manner.

Those last four words are a pretty good description of how the Corolla goes about all of its duties. It efficiently sips away at gasoline, important now that fuel prices are escalating to the point where a gas stations greatest challenge is how to fit an extra numeral onto its price boards, delivering 40 mpg in the city and 53 mpg on the highway. Thats one of the best ratings of any non-hybrid gasoline powered car available, including the Honda Civic and Mazda3. The engines improved fuel efficiency brings it into the more stringent Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) class, which will actually save you money depeneding on which insurance company you use and which jurisdiction you live in.

The Corolla is also relatively well equipped for an entry model, featuring a standard tilt steering wheel, power remote sideview mirrors, a 60/40 split folding rear seat, color-keyed body-side moldings, front passenger airbags with status indicator, an engine immobilizer, UV glass protection, a rear centre seat headrest, a 4-speaker AM/FM/CD audio system, and more.

Other features available include air conditioning with pollen filter, keyless entry and power door locks, plus power windows and cruise control. A few all-new options include a tire pressure monitoring system, door lock shift activation (automatic transmission only), Optitron gauges, and front fog lamps, while a 6-speaker stereo system, aluminum alloy wheels, and ABS equipped brakes with Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD) are still available. By the way, all Corolla models except the new XRS (more on that in a minute) make use of power-assisted front ventilated disc brakes with rear drums.

Toyota offers a few styling upgrades on the Sport package as well, including a rear spoiler, skirt package, special 15 inch aluminum alloy wheels, fog lamps, a distinctive black interior, chrome interior finishes, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, color-keyed outside mirrors, and something the Japanese company calls silhouette lit instrument cluster faces.

For those wanting to turn their Corolla into a little Lexus, Toyota offers leather seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel to go along with the LEs luxurious woodgrain trim, a power glass sunroof, chrome finished interior door handles, new front and rear/side curtain airbags and an anti-theft system.

On the little Lexus theme, the Corolla is extremely quiet at highway speeds due to added sound deadening materials in the A-, B- and C-pillars, doors and floorboards, and a seriously low 0.296 coefficient of drag (Cd) which reduces wind noise. It also boasts a very compliant ride, absorbing nasty bumps and dips with aplomb and managing fast, high-speed corners with excellent balance. This doesnt come by accident of course, but rather the result of a well tuned suspension comprised of MacPherson struts with an anti-roll bar up front and a twist-beam with anti-roll bar in the rear. These are combined with linear control valves in all shock absorbers for a better ride while still maintaining optimal suspension control. Toyota also adds toe-control bushings to bring greater stability during more aggressive cornering and braking. I was actually quite surprised with how agile it is, the obvious result of great effort by the cars chassis engineers, helped along by the addition of standard 15-inch wheels on P185/65R tires (195/65R15 on Sport and LE) - most competitors only come standard with 14s.

In case you were wondering about trim levels and pricing of such, the Corolla will be available in four designations for 2005, starting with the aforementioned CE, followed by the Sport at $14,725 and LE at $14,890. Of course added to these prices are the previously stated options that can push the price up slightly higher. At the top of the heap is the XRS, a model that a Toyota spokesman commented as incorporating “all of the qualities of Corolla, with a little more attitude.” It follows the pattern set out by the top-line Matrix sport wagon and likewise includes a 170 horsepower version of the Toyotas 1ZZ-FE 1.8-liter, DOHC, 4-cylinder with Variable Valve Timing with Lift (VVTL-i) and intelligence, mated to a 6-speed manual transmission - no automatic version has been announced. By the way, a 180-hp version of this engine, similar to what powers the thrilling Celica GT-S, will be the thrust behind the upcoming Lotus Elise. The XRS adds other exclusive features to the performance mix too, and will be priced at $17,455. Expect a full road test review on this one shortly.

While Deborah may not be interested in customizing her Corolla, and my guess most Corolla buyers will feel much the same way, there will be some that will want to spend a little to get a lot more individuality. For these folks Toyota offers a variety of dealer installed upgrades, from handy knick-knacks to a supercharger that boosts power from 130 to 170 horsepower developed by Toyota Racing Development (TRD).

To keep your mind at ease Toyota fits standard advanced dual-stage driver and front passenger airbags along with 3-point seatbelts at all seating positions. Front seatbelts incorporate pretensioners and force limiters plus height-adjustable shoulder anchors. Parents will appreciate ISO-FIX child restraint seat anchors and child protection locks in the back.

The Corolla is built by the award-winning Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) plant in Cambridge, Ontario, one of Toyotas highest quality production facilities worldwide. The Cambridge workers have done such an exemplary job building Corollas over the years in fact, that the facility was chosen to also become home to the recently updated Lexus RX 330. That honor made it the only Lexus plant outside of Japan.

But while Toyota builds the Corolla, in effect its more accurate to say that Corolla is the car that built Toyota. Its an example of how to do things the right way, not necessarily the most expedient, least expensive or flashiest way. Quality takes time to mature, and the Corolla has matured into an extremely impressive vehicle. The 2005 model takes Corolla a step forward in all respects, making it as dynamically capable as it is trustworthy.