2009 US Toyota Corolla

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Of course, in keeping with the Corolla tradition, it is boring.
What did you expect?

But I think this time, they’ve outdone themselves. This makes the 2 year old Civic look like the Starship Enterprise.
Even the Camry looks futuristic next to it….

Conversation 32 comments

  1. Is this the same Corolla that they went back to “tweak” once the Civic came out?…………….I wonder what the pre-tweaked model looked like.

  2. Ok, Mr. Vince – nice tease…ha ha ha

    Where are the REAL pictures of the ALL NEW Corolla that Toyota promised?

    🙁

  3. working for an organization that sells Nissan and Honda, a major concern/ interest is what the new corolla would be. Whew! , are we ever happy to see this, a combination of old, stale corolla with a mix of camry. We couldn’t be happier and toyota dealers couldn’t be more let down. A good friend of mine that works at the local toyota store said his dealer principal was overheard saying, “where were the stylists, on vacation?”

  4. I think they should of taken some of the styling from the Matrix. It’s styling is a lot more radical than this Corolla, and I think it would have looked good. But instead, they give us this thing 🙁

  5. Really? is this it? if so, arrogance is in very very deep at toyota, i think/feel that they are of the mindset of, “hey stamp toyota on it and the ignorant sheep will still buy it, even if we recalled a ton of cars” this is a shame!

  6. It really isn’t fair to toyota . All this style and quality backlash. Take it easy on them. Did anyone ever stop to think that maybe no one showed them the new civic, or sentra or even mazda 3 for that matter. You are all assuming that they knew what they were up against! PLease give toyota a break, they are going through a very tough recall time right now!

  7. This car looks great, and will continue to look good as it ages. The interior is much more on the softer, luxurious side than all the other competition (civic sentra etc). Overall an excellent car, theres a reason why the Corolla is the best selling car in the world – RPM

  8. One word: REFRESH. I figured that it would happen, but they should have done something to look different… Honda did..I don’t like the look of the new civic either, but at least Honda changed it from the older model.

  9. I THOUGHT this car was going to be nice. It isn’t remotely interesting.

    This car is to other cars what an enema is to a physical exam. Not good.

    Why didn’t they just save their money and just redo the interior on the old model?

    NO ONE WOULD’VE NOTICED — or they would’ve noticed about as much as they will this thing.

  10. I heard that the Preliminary MPG is 35 hwy/27 city!? I hope not! That’s worse than now(08 EPA rules)… of 37 Hwy, 29(or is it 30) City.
    Hmmmm.
    No 3 door, like some of us had hoped?
    No auto-manual shifter(doesn’t the Mazda 3 have this)?
    And, the looks…. yes, this car looks 1-2 years old already.

    I wonder, if the MPG is true… why?
    Then it hit me: They want to sell more(costly) Hybrids!
    Camry Hybrid…40 MPG.
    Prius: 48 MPG…
    All larger, more costly cars.
    Didn’t Toyota go on and on about “a hybrid version for every model” just last year?
    Where’s the Corolla Hybrid(like the Civic)?
    These guys have mush for brains, or just greedy(or both)?
    I had HOPED for a “cheap” car(not Civic) with 40MPG hwy, with an automatic.
    This may not be it.
    We won’t know until official(EPA) tests have been done, and this is on sale in Feb 08.
    I am shocked at the low MPG guesstimates, even by Toyota.
    Our tC gets nearly 32 MPG avg( 65% hwy, rest city)….with automatic, 160HP.
    The dealership told me today the Matrix would get estimated 30 MPG(and 2 less HP!).
    It’s slightly larger than the tC, but not that much, is it?
    Maybe 1/3rd of a foot, tops.

    If the tests indicate 38 MPG is possible(or higher)… and MSRP’s aren’t insanely high(like the Saturn 3 door Astra coming out)….I MIGHT check one out in the Spring.
    Only reason to buy one is MPG right now, and if it is 35-37MPG.. I’ll buy an Elantra, instead.
    Or wait for the VW Jetta, and spend a few grand more,a nd get the clean diesel, 50 MPG + Hwy, 40+ MPG City.
    Or wait for 2009(either MY or CY…) CR-Z/”Family” Hybrid(whatever it will become) car.
    This is BLAH.
    CR-Z styling, although it’ll be towned down , is still 30 years ahead of this!
    This looks like a melted- yesteryear(in a bad way) car design.

    THEY WAITED A YEAR TO RELEASE THIS!? WHY?
    To get more $$$ off of a paid-off design; the last gen Corolla?

    The Sentra looks better.
    This DOES beat the new Focus( I saw one… 2 door, UGGGH!) yesterday… and the Focus makes this look like a Lexus.
    Maybe Toyota should just have a new Focus on their lots to make this look great?
    Park one next to a XRS….lol…
    Only Ford(and GM?) could make the Corolla look desirable

  11. Good enough. They don’t want to make it look goofy like the Matrix cause their customers won’t buy it. This looks like a good appliance.

    This thing is 2″ wider than the current model…so that helps.

  12. I have tired to figure out why American market tends to get more of the boring Japanese cars as compare to their home market. For example, the Altima, Maxima,Camry and Accord are very bland and still people buy them. I guess the Japanese looked at some American cars as far as dimensions and design
    and tried to copy them, while JDMs are more unique,
    different, and attractive. I guess when Ford and GM
    and Chrysler raise the bar on their designs, Japan will
    bring more attractive designs to this country.

  13. Is it just me, or does this interior resemble that of the previous generation (2003-2007) Accord? It almost looks like they took a scion tc and blended it’s interior with the old accord’s.

  14. Apparently, they had a plan in 2002 and stuck with it. I remember when the 2003 Corolla was made to be revolutionary….and they’ve made the excuse to themselves thinking that they could carry on that revolution for a decade or more…..they are resting on their laurels to the extreme on this one. Rarely does a toyota gets THREE refreshenings…

    So….what was the old redesign supposed look like since they felt “forced” to change it because of the civic’s design?…and delay it for more than a year?

  15. I have the same question, if they were forced to change whatever they had when they saw the new honda civic and Mazda 3, what did they had?/ the exact old model with different wheels?

  16. Anonymous said…
    This is actually more pathetic than the new Focus. Toyota is on the downslide.

    October 31, 2007 6:04 PM

    ——————————
    Sorry 2 Dis-Agree.
    You are either a Big 3/Ford fan for life, or UAW’er, otherwise..you wouldn’t say this.
    The new Focus hit lots just last week, where I live, and the Coupe(front end is WORSE than in photos, believe me! I was gonna go for a test drive, but Drove By, instead…it was/is that bad)……
    is horrid.
    Sorry.
    The Sebring is horrid( I know, a Midsized car vs Small…still, it’s ugly) also.
    This is passable, but, it is not “WOW, I gotta have it” looks, by no means.
    This makes the Jetta look sharp(well, about a tie…) and as one person mentioned, the new Jetta will get around 50MPG….hybrid-like numbers, for a similarly sized/HP car.
    No spark plugs to worry about, either, or battery packs, or urea injections.
    Honda’s CR-Z, too, as someone said, even with a regular engine( supposedly, it will have a normal gas engine and hybrid) will easily outclass this thing, unless you need room for 4(real room).

    Guess the 3 door might be the next tC?

    I would take this over any Big 3 small car, for MPG, at least, and resale value.
    Just in shock. I still think it is boring.
    If they ever have sales like they do on 07 and 08 model Corollas(already)….maybe. 15-16K right now can get a fairly loaded Corolla, and 17K with sunroof.

    Like the guy said: CR-Z, or VW Clean diesel Jetta…both better looking(well, Jetta, it’s about a tie..both kind of bland)…but way more MPG (probably for 1-2 K more).

    The Suzuki SX4 Sport- sedan is sharper looking!

  17. Ok, Is it me or does the front end look exactly like the last mazda Protuge they made before it became the Mazda 3, which by the way looks ten thousand times sharper then this brand new Corolla. All i have to say is that its outdated, at least the europeans get a nicer interior.

  18. O.K. Let’s revue. First we had the so called redesigned Avalon, then the all new Rav-4. The all new Highlander continued the trend of ‘The Song Remains the Same’and now we have the(all new)Corolla. Let’s not forget the all new Land Cruiser too! Toyota will keep making the same looking models over and over again until the buying public realizes that they have been duped, which will probably be quite a long time since Americans will buy anything!!!

  19. WTF??? I’m so disappointed at this. I thought they were supposed to come out with a coupe and/or a 3 door sport hatchback! Instead it’s another set of Sedans. Well atleast I hope the color options are better than the ones they have already.

  20. After seeing it 100 times, it is tolerable. Not great, but nothing Sebring-bad, either.
    I would rather drive the new Astra coming out, but it is going for 100-200 shy of 20,000(the 3 door) with automatic alone. Add a few more options, and it’s 21-22K MSRP, and I say no.

    I agree with the one guy saying he thought there would be a coupe or 3 door. I was hoping for a 3 door, also. With 3-doors, this might not look so bland.

    35MPG? Hope not that low.
    38 MPG would be better. That’s what the Civic gets, right?

  21. Civic: NO OPTIONS AVAILABLE… you take what they give you….you want cruise/automatic/sunroof? Pay top dollar.
    Want automatic/cruise? Pay mid-level pricing.
    Want a car, no automatic, maybe 4-5 colors, no A/C? Spend nearly 16K for one.
    I know, I looked.

    Toyota gives you 5 variants( no coupe/3 door, which is not good)…
    and OPTIONS on many model levels.
    None of this “take it,and no options, of pay 2 K more for next level up car”.

    That’s a plus these days. I think even Hyundai is doing this on the Elantra, and Accent, or offering maybe a FEW(way less than just a year ago, before the New Versions came out)…fewer than ever before!

    Not cool!

    If road tests show this thing can get more than 35MPG(at least 37-38, mainly hwy cruising)….by Spring.. I will try one.

  22. There is definitely a design shift at toyota. There new products appear to be melting, with no defined lines? I think Nissan has a concept with the same styling. Are they doing this to make the vehicles more areodynamic?

  23. I’m not going to lie, Ford’s new Focus might be more appealing to me than this. They didn’t change hardly anything.

    Civic FTW.

    MR.

  24. I like the sporty version.

    It’s interesting that you started posting on this 10th gen Corolla on October yet this one was already out in Japan two years ago.

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