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In
2001, I wrote about the 9th generation Corolla like this:
"Corolla
never raised my curiosity. In car enthusiasts point of view, it always
lived under the shadow of arch-rival Honda Civic. Then, why were there
so many people buy the Corolla? what made it the no. 1 best seller in
history, with 28 million people purchased 8 generations of Corolla
since 1966? From the beginning, the Corolla’s winning formula has been
reliable, economical and good after-sale service. This latest Corolla
is more or less so."
Now we can use the same descriptions for the 10th generation Corolla,
which was born in Japan in October 2006 (remark: sorry for the late
report !). The only facts needed to be updated is that 4 million more
Corollas had been produced since then. Corolla continues to be the
fastest selling car in Toyota as well as in the world. In 2005, some
1.36 million Corollas were produced in 16 countries, more than
Volkswagen Golf, Honda Civic or anyone else.
That said, the most popular does not equal to the best. The 10th
generation Corolla is still a conservative family car. It is available
in two forms – sedan (called "Corolla Axio") and estate (called
"Corolla Fielder"). It wants to please the majority customers –
Japanese, North American, Latin American, Chinese, Australian... so it
sacrificed the most demanding motorists in European countries and
offered them with the Auris hatchback instead. Some European countries
are offered with both Auris and Corolla, which target at young drivers
and old drivers respectively. This mean car enthusiasts like us are
unlikely to like Corolla as much as Auris, let alone the dynamically
superior Golf and Focus.
In the making of the 10th generation Corolla, its Japanese project
leader wanted to make it appear to be younger and sportier – when did
you associate these two words with Corolla last time ? probably not
since the 1983 AE86 Corolla coupe, ironically. Unfortunately, to
attract younger customers and to keep existing old customers are two
mutually exclusive missions. To satisfy both requirements resulted in a
rather compromised design. It looks neither dynamic enough nor
civilized enough. Admittedly, Toyota's Japanese designers are not as
talented as those at Mazda or Honda, although unquestionably better
than the designers of Nissan Tiida.
The cabin is not much better. It looks outdated in design compare with
the latest European cars, and an even bigger contrast to the
spaceship-like Civic. Quality of plastic has been improved a little,
but you won't say it match Volkswagen. Ambience becomes lighter and
more airy than before, but the faux wooden trim is not very tasteful.
Space is competitive rather than outstanding. Rear passengers enjoy a
flat floor, but the narrowness of the cabin means it fails to fit 3
adults.
Mechanical design continues to be conservative to keep cost down. It
rides on MacPherson struts suspension up front and torsion beam
suspension at the rear. Steering is assisted by pure electric to save
fuel and production cost. Predictably, the chassis becomes stiffer and
NVH has been improved, just like any new cars. What you might not
expect is some high-tech optional equipment available to the Japanese
car, such as radar cruise control, rear view monitor, intelligent self
parking system (already used in Prius and Lexus LS460) and a
Mercedes-like pre-crash safety system which activates braking and
tighten seat belts automatically when the radar detected a possible
collision.
However, these equipment does not help its dynamic behaviour. On the
road, the Corolla is every bit a civilized family car. Its strength is
smoothness – the 136hp dual-VVT-i 1.8-liter engine and CVT transmission
run smoothly, the ride is soft and supple and the cabin is generally
well insulated. In other words, it is very relaxing to drive. Its
weakness is the lack of excitement – light and numb steering,
understeer, average body control and lack of torque on all petrol
engines. The petrol engines consist of 97hp 1.4-liter VVT-i (Europe), 110hp 1.5-liter VVT-i (Japan), 124hp 1.6-liter Dual-VVT-i
(Europe) and
136hp 1.8-liter Dual-VVT-i (Japan). Only the European 2.0 turbo diesel
engine provides good mid-range punch.
No matter which engine or which body style, the new Corolla is not much
fun to drive. It is a good car to own, unquestionably, but it lacks the
subjective ingredients to please car lovers, whether it is styling,
performance, handling, innovation or character. Yes, the most popular
does not equal to the best. Far from it, actually. |
