New Corolla

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Well, this is “only” the Chinese version of the Corolla.
But many have said (and many haven’t) it is pretty much what the new Corolla will look like in the US.
An OK looking car.
To me it doesn’t look as “together” as the new Civic.
But it might also be quieter and more luxurious.

Different things for different people….

Conversation 28 comments

  1. I for one like it quite a bit. My friend has an 06 Civic Hybrid, and I am not impressed with it at all.

  2. Actually, I like it! I might have made it a bit less bulky-looking, but this design really matches the new Toyota brand image (ie. Yaris & Camry)

  3. Hey Vince..
    Doesn’t look much different than the current Corolla.. How is this supposed to compete with the Civic? It won’t.. Looks like Toyota is asleep at the wheel.. eh, who really cares? let someone else design a better car anyway!

  4. I’ll wait for the 12,000 dollar Chinese knock-off in 2009 😉

    This is ok. I don’t hate it, but it sure does Not make me drool in anticipation of it’s arrival at my local dealership!
    At least Hyundai changed the Whole body/looks of their 07 Elantra(vs last generation).
    This looks like they dropped a yaris fornt end on a slightly larger 06 Corolla body. Yawn.

    They waited 1 whole extra year to introduce this!?!?! Why?

  5. Looks like the current Corolla with a Camryesque front. New Civic is much better. And the current Mazda3 looks sportier. The new Rabbit looks just as dull but more grown up.

  6. Let’s recap…

    Next Year: Toyota will have the newer Camry and a new Corolla. Honda will have a new Accord and a newer Civic. Nissan will have a new Altima and a new Sentra and a new Versa.

    Mark my words, GM, Ford, and Chrysler will be forced out of the car business!!!

  7. New Corolla Will Sell
    Toyota did a good job on this re-design in my opinion.

    The new Corolla love it or leave it will sell and sell big. You don’t have to like the re-design.

    Just remember that this car is one of the top selling vehicles in the US and people don’t buy this car for ‘sexy’ looks. They buy it for economy, dependability and value. A hard combo to beat no matter what you or I think.

    Jac

  8. I dunno. by the time trade in for my car happens, I’ll be nearly 50 in a few years. Still,…. I will give this a look.
    Only Toyota’s I like are the Prius( which is a rip-off price right now, due to demand), and the Scion tC.

    Everything else is ok, but not enough for me to wanna dish up the bucks right now.

    (Note: The Bucks: I know many people making barely 8-10 per hour want a Long Warranty, thus, they buy either a new Accent,for example, or an 06 Elantra, for 14K-15K).
    These folks , well, are middle aged, also(well, 30’s and 40’s)… and they want warranty(since most don’t even drive 7000 miles per year), so, fi they are gonna spend their cash, they want it all( this is also helping GM, locally, with the Cobalt—why, i dunno— and Aveo, now that they have a 5/100K warranty. Suzuki is laso benfitting with the “cheap” sx4 and forenza sedan, and 7/100K drivetrain warranty. The like Honda and Toyota, but want the warranty, sinc emost are paying 66-72 months on a new loan, due to their unfortunate situations Can’t say that I blame ’em for wanting more-warranty).

  9. This is Chinese/Taiwan/ASEAN market Corolla. USDM Corolla WILL NOT, I repeat, WILL NOT be the same thing. Interior will be virtually identical with this and JDM model, but exterior will differ.

  10. Looks hideous just like every other blender styled Toyota.

    And how is this “new”, looks like they are copying Ford and just changing front clip and taillights. Hardly looks any different..

  11. wow there is so much to love in that new corolla its a car that will sell BIG! mark my words…im ready to buy the current one if this thing takes too long to come out.

    Hey Vince, around when is this going to hit the US market?

  12. Corolla’s have always been good, practical and non-descript…. if this is the “new”? You can assure that it will remain a good, practical and non-descript car. It will go pretty much unoticed.

  13. Most of us have a connection to the cars we drive as an extension of our personalities. However, I have to agree with Jac here. I work in a company where the parking lot is flooded with these things. The people who buy them do not care the least bit about style or performance. That’s how Toyota’s gotten away with reworking the same under-whelming basic car for years and selling it as something new. The owners here are primarily the most academic and dull individuals you’d ever want to meet, and look like they dressed themselves out of a dumpster each morning. And they make plenty of money. Why, then, would they care about having a great car for the price? Its not economy. It’s their personal take on life – the car is just there to move them (sad!). Get it cheap. Have it run whether you maintain it or not. Do as little as possible (except carry their bodies) so it doesn’t impact their lives in any way. So, why not have it be as dull and one-note as they are?

    Don’t get me wrong. I do like some of Toyota’s recent design approach in the latest Camry/Low-end Lexus. But I would never buy one after having driven their cars (via Hertz) many times and after having owned Mazdas, Hondas and Acuras. The Toyotas just never FELT sure footed, responsive or quality-built. The only thing that surprises me is how Toyota’s sales are climbing to the level they are when they peddle and design such machinery.

    Not surprised by the dull ‘redesign’. Not waiting to buy it either. If you’ve driven the last Corolla and the current Civic – you know what I’m talkin about…. They’re night and day in performance. Its just a different philosophy of how to build a car. I expect the next Corolla will carry on the same banner. And thankful Honda is a different kind of company.

  14. I have to agree with Jac. I work in a company where these things fill the parking lot. The people who buy them dont care about performance or style. They only want something that runs, doesn’t have to be maintained (til it stops working), and doesnt affect them in any way. Just moves their bodies. And, why not? They are the dullest and most academic sort you’ll ever see, who look like they dressed themselves out of a dumpster. Why then care about what the car is like? The ones I spoke to make plenty of money, yet complained that the Civic was too expensive. So, there ya have it.

    From my own experience having driven Toyotas via Hertz, I found them to be underwhelming at best. So there’s no reason to expect this new Corolla will be any different. They’ve gotten away with restyling the same mediocre mechanicals for years. That’s why they make so much more than Honda per vehicle. Honda actually re-engineers a new vehicle. Its a different design philosphy that you can feel when you drive them. The small Toyotas have just never FELT sure-footed or solidly built. Its apparent after coming home from a trip to my Honda. They’re like night and day.

    Dont get me wrong….Toyota will sell lots of Corollas. They’ll be bought because they’re cheap and reliable. Not because they’re equal in performance or style to anything else. My guess is that Toyota understands this. And has designed a car for those people’s expectations. So don’t expect to be wow’d by the new versions good looks or incredible handling.

  15. Unfortunately, Honda drivers aren’t any less dull.
    The faster all these Toyohonda buyers move to cities and start taking public transport, the better the roads for the rest of us, who actually have an interest in the cars that we buy.

    Who in their right minds would ever be waiting breathlessly for a Toyota Corolla?
    Have we lost our collective minds?!

  16. if it gets 40 mpg, priced 16-20K, it’ll sell.

    I will test drive one, but I will make sure to get a few cups of high powered Turkish Brewed coffee, first, as not to fall asleep during the drive(lol).

  17. Toyo Sludge said…
    I hope this bland toyota is the new corolla, the new sentra looks like it would easily eat it up!

    8:39 AM
    —————————–
    I concur about the new Sentra. I just got the booklet today on Sentra!
    I had a 1990 sentra xe, great car, but our 1997 200sx( a 2 door sentra) was junk by 66K… the timing gear tooth chipped, and the timing chain slipped oen notch, but made the car’s timing go off(thrown off) just enough the car would run, but start hard, many times(thought it was due to cold)… long story short, car died, needed new timing chain and gear, work done to starter(rebuilt) and ignition coil and of course spark plugs.
    It wasn’t the same after this, even(this was 2001).
    Have been highly nervous of Nissan ever since(and recalls with Altima, Sentra, same thing of stalling, enbgine issues past few years) well, …
    But, CVT…. that is a different ball game, yes?( Vince?)…..not timing gear, etc, to worry about(well, exccept the CVT chain…)

    Anyhow…. Toyota will sell a lot. Not to enthusiasts, though, unless they are looking at most MPG they can get in this class( should be 40 as the current Corolla gets 37 hwy, with automatic)…the new Sentra gets 36 with CVT.
    Of course, they show the trunk open, seats in rear folded down, and a 26″ mens moutnain bike easily tucked into the turnk/bnack seat, and you can close the trunk(almost as good as a hatchback).
    Anyhow… the older ladies will go wild over this 😉

  18. Don’t get too excited about the Sentra. It lost a recent Car and Driver (or Motor Trend, I can’t remember) to five other contenders. It came in DEAD LAST, or 6th, in other words.

    The finishing order went as follows:

    1st VW Rabbit
    2nd Mazda 3s
    3rd Honda Civic LX
    4th Hyundai Elantra SE
    5th Toyota Corolla LE
    6th Nissan Sentra

    The BRAND NEW Sentra lost to the OLD Corolla, because the Sentra had poor, unsporty driving dynamics.

  19. Hey, I checked out that Car and Driver article. It is embarassing for them how the artcle is “FULL” of contradictions. For example, they rate the front seats low on their chart, yet on the written part of the article, they say the front seats are as comfotable as a Barcalounger, then they rate the engine/NVH low, yet they say that it the powrtrain was wonderfully hushed. As well, the ride is rated low on their “chart”, but comments in the article say that the shocks are obviously calibrated for “PLUSH RIDE QUALITY”. This book is garbage from top to bottom. How can anyone read and believe anything Car and Driver has to say. They are full of complements, then they say the exact opposite. I would suggest you get a better source. Nissan Sentra is King!

  20. On Motorweek.org….
    they have a long term update on Honda Civic, a little under 33 MPG!?!?!?! 12,000 miles, ti should be broken in, and no, they do not “test track” it daily, either
    I mention this because Civic is “40MPG” is One of the ‘big deals” they use to sell the cars(and for kids under 21, tuners, it’s “cool”).

    I know, for example, our 2005 Scion tC, automatic was EPA @ 29MPG hwy… guess what, after 7,000 miles…. we started climbing in numbers, up to 32-34MPG HWY( at nearly 70,000 in 27 months of ownership).
    So, Toyota/Scion seems to get MORE MPG than they advertised, but
    Honda(s) don’t?

    Just curious…. if this is truth, I’ll wait for the Corolla(08 model).

  21. is for the current 2007 CE(?) Corolla. All sounds good. nearly 40 MPG(new one may excel past this 40 MPG with automatic, which is a good thing).I hate to admit it, but this may be my next car. The Prius = Too Much $$$ and, the Civic is nearly 20K for what I want. If this is 17-18,500, for what I want… is above avg in all aspects, I guess I’ll consider one.Note: I have heard rumors of a CVT replacing the automatic(just like Nissan’s Sentra now has).That car gets 36 Hwy with CVT.(07 sentra does not have telescopic steering, and why not?It cost what a Fusion, Optima and Sonata I-4 does, top model, and has less equiptment?)….New Corolla(intermet rumors) say Corolla will also have tilt/telescopic steering column(think top model Elantra has this available? Or is it on all models?).Anyhow… personally, I am rooting for the new Lancer…overall(looks good)… but, if the 2 year( be buying about 09) relibaility is not good… guess I can suffer with a non-descript Corolla. At least they last for a million years.

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