Toyota COROLLA (2001 - TO DATE)
MODELS COVERED: (3/4/5dr hatchback/saloon/estate/Verso
mini-MPV 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 petrol, 2.
0 diesel [T2, T3, T Spirit, T Sport])
BY ANDY ENRIGHT
The
Toyota Corolla was for a very long time something of an enigma. How could this car land the title of Worlds Best Selling Car whilst at the same time being thoroughly dull? The 1997 generation Corolla started to put a bit of substance behind the sales, but it wasnt until the Mk 10 model appeared in late 2001 that Toyota genuinely had a car to be proud of. With excellent build quality and a range of top-notch engines, the Corolla put up a worthy challenge to cars like the
Ford Focus and the
Honda Civic. With three and five door hatches, a saloon, a compact estate as well as Verso mini-MPV models, four trim levels and six engines to choose from choice isnt a problem for Corolla buyers.
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Used car buyers benefit from Toyotas peerless reputation for reliability and a market that hasnt quite realised what a great car the Corolla is.
Designed in France, the latest Corolla is tightly priced from £10,800 and, having been designed with European tastes in mind, and delivers on both these fronts. Like its rival, the
Fiat Stilo, the Toyotas styling does little to betray the parent companys nationality, instead opting for the sort of clean, global village styling that many pundits would pigeonhole as Germanic. Not so. Yes, theres more than a hint of
Audi A3 in the rear three-quarter view of the three-door variant and the interior is Teutonically dark: but then, were getting used to seeing that. Modern car design now transcends national borders, and the Corolla is prima facie evidence. Quality is the first area of improvement.
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. Although the steering wheel only adjusts for height, 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. The Verso
mini-MPV variant is interesting, with the usual five seater slide/tilt/remove capability for the rear seats, although some will doubtless baulk at the rather strange broken back styling last seen on the Alfa 75. It also features a different fascia to the more mainstream models with a dash-mounted gearstick in the style of the
Honda Stream.
Predictably it also includes a good deal more cubbyhole and stowage space.
Prices for the most common hatchback Corollas start at £6,600 for a 1.4-litre T2 three-door on a 51-plate with the five-door car commanding an extra £175. An equivalent year T3 will hover at around £7,100 for a three-door car with a T-Spirit five-door fetching nearly £8,200. If its choice youre after, the big selling 1.
6-litre model probably offers the richest pickings. These open at just under £7,300 in T2 three-door trim ranging up to £11,000 for an 04-plated five-door T-Spirit. Add £400 if you dont fancy changing gear yourself. The 1.
8-litre T-Sport will command a sticker price of just over £9,000 again on the 51-plate. Diesel versions of the Corolla are well worth tracking down with both engines well up to snuff. Expect prices to start from £7,800 for a T2 with T Spirits priced from £9,200. If you need a little extra utility, the Verso mini-MPV is a very worthwhile choice.
Underrated by many car buyers who instead opted for cheaper Xsara Picasso and Zafira models, the Verso starts at £7,400 for a 1.6-litre T2 with 1.8-litre power costing from £8,000. The pick of the Corolla line up is arguably the 90bhp Verso 2.
0-litre D-4D with prices starting at £7,800 on a 51 plate.
The Corolla has forged a reputation for monotonous reliability and while drivers of old Corollas may well have hoped in vain for a broken timing chain or an electrical fire to interrupt the cars clockwork tedium, theres no such issue with this version. As long as the service records have been properly adhered to, its difficult to imagine a more trouble-free car in its class a testament to both Toyota and the workers at its Derbyshire factory.
(approx based on a 1.6 five-door T3) Although pitched a little above what youd expect to fork out for
Vauxhall or
Ford spares, Toyotas parts pricing policy has come under the microscope of late with the result that many prices have been frozen or reduced. A clutch assembly will cost in the region of £130, whilst an exhaust is around £330. A new starter motor retails for around £150, although a replacement headlamp will be in the region of £200.
Repair costs have been kept down with a consequent effect on insurance premiums.
Being a new design from the ground up, body stiffness is massively superior to its baggily shopworn predecessor. Although the Corolla cant deliver the aggressive handling of a Ford Focus, it nevertheless cosies up to the Golf and the Fiat Stilo in the go/stop/steer department. Somewhat disappointingly for such an otherwise clean-sheet design, the engines have been lifted from the current Toyota team sheet. A 97bhp 1.
4-litre opens negotiations, followed by a 110bhp 1.6 and a 135bhp 1.8. For the first time in years, performance enthusiasts have a Corolla worthy of their wedge with the 187bhp 1.
8-litre flagship T Sport version. Those looking for a decent diesel are well served by two variants of the 2.0-litre common rail, offering up either 90bhp or a perky 110bhp. The T Sport is worth a look if you cant get along with a Civic Type-R and cant stretch to a Ford RS Focus.
The five-door option also means it can double up as viable family transport. The 1.8-litre powerplant is smaller than the 2.0-litre engine fitted to the Civic and despite its flatter feel, it generates a higher specific output, breaching the 100bhp per litre mark thats such a benchmark for quality normally aspirated sports powerplants.
Honda are slightly irked at being pipped to this by Toyota, but the fact remains that the Civic will hit 60mph in 6.8 seconds and the Corolla, well, it cant. A combined fuel consumption figure of 34mpg is some recompense, but you dont buy a car like this to watch the pennies.
The Toyota Corolla is at last a car of which owners can be proud. Its also quite an unusual range insofar as the halo model designed to boost the ranges image the T Sport probably the least convincing of the lot. The best buy is definitely diesel and quite possibly the unsung Corolla Verso mini-MPV variant. Whichever model you choose, expect matchless reliability and commonsense design.
Excitement may be in short supply, but the Corolla more than makes up for a slight lack of charisma in other areas. Its a car that rewards you over time; a car that impresses you with small touches betraying a manic depth of engineering. If you know cars youll appreciate quite what a solid used buy this Corolla represents.
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