Toyota COROLLA ESTATE RANGE
The
Toyota Corolla Estate Is A Good Car. But It Shares Showroom Space With One Thats Even Better. Jonathan Crouch Reports
Heres an interesting question. Why would anyone want to buy a Toyota Corolla Estate when for similar money, they could have the more versatile Corolla Verso version?
Weve worked long and hard researching the answers but they still dont make much sense. Still, for the record, here goes. In choosing the Estate version, you gain around £700 over the cost of a Verso. Estate prices, after all, start at a more reasonable £13,695.
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You also get a marginally greater storage capacity (975 to 973 litres). In addition, the fuel consumption, performance and emissions figures are all marginally better. Balance that however, with what you will have to do without. Corolla Verso customers get more luggage space with all the seats folded (417 to 402 litres).
They also get a clever rear bench that slides back and forth, can be detached or can be reclined to serve as a central armrest with two cupholders. It also includes two built-in child seats. On top of that, Verso buyers also get access to the top (1.8-litre) petrol engine and the plushest (T-Spirit) trim level.
But hold on. Were supposed to be talking about the Corolla Estate here. Dont other rival manufacturers,
Citroen and
Vauxhall for example, also offer estates and
mini-MPVs in the same model range and do quite well at it? The answer is a qualified yes. For one thing, both of the estates in question (Xsara and Astra respectively) sell mainly to company users, for whom red tape prevents them from choosing the more versatile MPV option.
For another, both cars were originally launched without MPV alternatives. Since the arrival respectively of the Xsara Picasso and the Zafira, both makers have been monitoring the viability of maintaining an Estate in their Family Hatchback model line-ups. Rivals like
Nissan have already decided not to bother.
"This car does nothing especially brilliantly but everything pretty well."
Will
Toyota reach the same conclusion? It will be interesting to see. For the time being, weve a smartly-styled Corolla Estate with slightly longer exterior dimensions (4385mm) than those of the hatchback upon which its based. Theres the usual 60/40 split rear
seat which can fold or tumble to create a completely flat load area. Two engines are on offer: a petrol 1.6 VVT-i unit and an 114bhp 2.0-litre D4-D turbo diesel. Prices start at £13,695 in basic T2 trim, with a £1,000 premium should you want the plusher T3 spec and £1,500 if you want the diesel.
The T3 specification, by the way, adds air conditioning, alloy wheels and side skirts to a tally already running to twin front and side airbags, ABS, front electric windows, remote central locking and a CD player. In the latest round of revisions T3 has moved in a more sporty direction meaning that carbon fibre and leather touches make their presence felt in the interior If you want more, there are a couple of useful accessory packs worth looking at. The Cargo Collection includes a boot liner, a seat back storage bag and cargo nets for protection from loose items of luggage. Or theres the City Collection.
Here, you get radar parking sensors to aid you in getting into tight spaces and bumper corner protectors, should you happen to get it wrong anyway. If you owned a previous-shape Corolla Estate, youll find quality to be the first area of improvement in this one. Toyota has quite unashamedly used the
Volkswagen Golf as its quality benchmark and the cabin therefore features silicone-damped grab handles, soft-touch plastics on the fascia, enough rubber-lined recesses to put a twinkle in the eye of a back-bench Tory MP and doors that say thunk rather than ding when they close. Closer inspection shows little evidence of corner cutting.
Its easy to obtain a comfortable driving position and the sheer ease and intuitiveness of all the minor controls is a testament to Toyotas understanding of how we interact with a car. Designed in France, this Corolla is supposed to have been designed with European tastes in mind. Certainly, like many of its rivals, the Toyotas styling does little to betray the parent companys nationality, instead opting for the sort of clean, global village look that many pundits would pigeonhole as Germanic. Youll be able to identify the latest car by the sculpted teardrop style headlamps that give the front end a bit more in the way of personality.
The grille and bonnet have been subtly changed as well as the tail lamps and rear bumper. On the road, this car does nothing especially brilliantly but everything pretty well. If you can afford it, the D4-D diesel is the engine to go for. Its 114bhp is enough to reach sixty from rest in 10.
6s on the way to 116mph. Thats less than half a second and 2mph slower than the alternative 1.6-litre VVT-i petrol unit, the extra torque of the D4-D will more than make up for this tiny deficit with the pulling power through the gears you really need for everyday use. In any case, the Combined fuel consumption figure (50mpg as opposed to 39.
2mpg) makes far more sense. Conceivably, you might buy a Corolla Estate for several reasons. Because you owned one in the past. Because you dislike MPVs.
Or because money is really tight but you really want a new Corolla with extra luggage space. Sorry, none of them are strong enough excuses. This is a good car but its even better in the Verso guise your dealer could probably be persuaded to discount up to. Dont say we didnt tell you.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Toyota Corolla Estate range
PRICES: £12,813-£14,913 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 5-6
CO2 EMISSIONS: 156-172g/km
PERFORMANCE: [1.6 VVT-i] 0-60mph 10.2s / Max Speed 118mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [D4-D] (combined) 50mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags / ABS with EBD
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/heightmm 4385/1710/1520mm
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