2008 Toyota Corolla Review

Specifications

After seven very successful years with hundreds of thousands of units sold, there seems to be little expressed love in the media and on the streets for the Corolla. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why this is the case, but I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that it’s because it isn’t interesting. I say this earnestly because it’s unfortunate; for all of its anonymity and ordinariness, it’s a car that’s perfectly matched for 95-percent of what people buy cars for. It drives fairly well, is rock solid, and with proper maintenance stands a good chance of lasting your entire motoring life. Anyhow, this is the last year of this particular Corolla body style. The tenth and next generation car, whose platform has been in production since this time last year elsewhere in the world, will be shown to the masses next month, making another chapter in the book of Corolla. So, this in mind, a quick review of the current Corolla is worth one last thorough read before turning the page.

It is a pretty safe bet to assume what to expect with the next Corolla even before seeing or reading about the actual changes. Toyota, being a fairly conservative and predictable firm, will offer up more interior room, more trunk space, and better safety. It will have more pep in its step, and the car will inch forwards in the subtle ways that people fail to immediately notice, like reducing the lift-over height for the trunk lid, adding a telescoping steering column or a little button on the key fob to remotely pop the trunk. But these additions, these oh-so-minor yet important changes wouldn’t be possible or even noteworthy if not for the reputation that Toyota’s C-segment model has built over the years. No compact car is better associated with reliability or durability than the Corolla. If you don’t believe me, have a look in the classifieds and you’ll see that the Corolla holds its value extremely well … especially when you line it up with some of the compact offerings from here in America or Korea.

Inside and out, it might not be much to look at, but its lines are unlikely to offend anyone and it’s so very solidly screwed together. The only noises I heard from the cabin were the jingle of keys from my keychain, no squeaks or rattles. The seats aren’t too bad either; they’re not particularly comfortable, but they’ve got a surprising amount of under-thigh cushioning and they’re six-way manually adjustable. The body too is uninspired; it is tall and narrow as per the “sky’s the limit” tendency amongst small cars, and the styling is like the box on wheels that a child would sketch out, but modernized with curves. As my colleague Mr. Yarkony said in his review of the Corolla CE last year, all its look says is that “It’s a Car” – nothing more, nothing less.

As far as Corollas go, this test vehicle is fairly ritzy. It’s a CE model, but it features most of the luxury goodies on offer like power mirrors and windows, keyless entry, A/C with pollen and deodorizing filter, alloy wheels and even a moon roof. But no ABS. Toyota, I’ve noticed, hasn’t even bothered to make ABS standard in any of the models, which, after a quick glance on the road and dealership lots will tell you, is the volume seller. ABS is available as an option on all models, which is a shame considering a growing number of cars in the Corolla’s price range, including its key rival the Honda Civic, Volkswagen Rabbit and Jetta, etc., include it as standard. It’s particularly unfortunate considering the car’s brake pedal is like a two-position switch – off and locked – during spirited driving. It’s eager to lock its front brakes because the bargain B-Traction and B-Temperature rated Goodyear tires it is equipped with have precious little grip. It is quite easy to step over the line and lock the brakes resulting in something we saw during our testing evaluation; flat spotting.

Tires are the weakest link in the Corolla’s line of dynamics. The suspension is tuned to be quite firm, with less body roll that I anticipated. The steering is light, precise and true to inputs, and it doesn’t lose power assistance under hard cornering, an alarming trend appearing in some of its rivals. Nevertheless, I can easily see the roots of the performance XRS model here and makings of a good sport compact car underneath its cloak of anonymity, perhaps something Toyota could take advantage of with a real “Sport” model in this next generation, and not just one that’s been on a shopping spree at the visual accessories department.

And then there’s the fact that the Corolla just plain works on the road. The four-speed automatic is geared in such a relaxing way that it donates much of the feisty VVT-I engine to fuel economy rather than outright hustle, which is just fine by me. The engine is also a decent unit too, once again yielding the gas mileage that most buyers want to see. Keep in mind that Lotus uses a modified version of the high performance motor built off of this block in its Elise and Exige S; yes, the ZZ-series engine, not a Honda K20A or a Volkswagen 2.0T. Ergonomics are hard to fault too, with controls that fall easily to the hand, a sporty looking three-spoke steering wheel and a shifter that’s right where you’d expect it. The stereo is mounted a bit on the high side though, but there are lots of covered storage bins underneath it to compensate.

Unlike here in North America, Toyota has made a desperate effort in Europe to convince people that the Corolla isn’t boring, and that it too can make a hip and happening compact car. For the first time in, er, nine generations, the car isn’t called the Corolla overseas, but the Auris. No, that doesn’t have anything to do with the Yaris, but the two share a similar sort of look and pronunciation (oww-ris). No such luck for North America where the upcoming Corolla will probably be as ordinary and as plain looking as the current

generation car with the exception of Toyota’s new corporate face as appearing on the Yaris and Camry.

While Honda is out proving that left of center styling can function as mainstream, this is not a path that I can see North American-destined Toyota products following. The Corolla has found success in consistencies, using conservative, risk-aversive maneuvers; if it were a person, it would invest in a bank, rather than a hedge fund and would fold in poker rather than risk bluffing on a pair of threes. But that’s what has kept its appeal broad and people coming back for the past four decades, and as has been said many times, more than 30 million buyers around the world can’t be wrong.