We put the new Toyota Corolla to the test
YOUR FRIEND OF 50 YEARS: NOT A FLASHY PICK, BUT A SMART AND RELIABLE ONE
Features include lots of legroom, and an exceptional ride over rough surfaces.
For all these years, Toyota cars have proven to be reliable and an easy set of wheels to drive.
And now Toyota has introduced its eleventh-generation Corolla. The Toyota Corolla marked its 50th anniversary last year, and this isn’t an all-new model but a facelift with changes mostly visible on the 1.8 Exclusive model I tested, for which Toyota charges you only R336 300.
And yet Toyota’s sedan still gets little respect from car critics. The 2017 Toyota Corolla doesn’t make great strides in changing that, but there’s still a lot to like.
The outside changes you can see in the pics, and the interior has a fresh and stylish edge to it with an easy-to-use infotainment system, and loads of rear legroom, compared with most other sedans, such as the Hyundai Elantra and Honda Civic.
Like its predecessor, the Corolla has enough space to fit five individuals. Seating position is spot on, you get full leather seats as default, the only thing missing in this model is the heated seats feature which I believe, as this is the top of the range model, should come standard.
This particular model comes with all the safety, comfort and convenience spec that Toyota could throw at it, including rearview camera, ABS with EBD and brake assist, six airbags, cruise control, steering wheel-mounted audio controls and an audio system that can play CDs, USB devices and a Bluetooth connection.
Under the bonnet lurks an unchanged 103kW / 173Nm 1.8 litre engine matched to a six-speed manual gearbox.
The engine performance is best described as acceptable as you can see from the road test data we got at Gerotek.
The ride is exceptional, even over nasty, aggressive surfaces. It remained settled, and the dampers soaking up all the bumps with impressive comfort. The steering wheel felt well-weighted and not overly-assisted as some of its rivals.
What has proven to be a bigger bonus was the 6.9 litres per 100km average fuel consumption the car, beating its claimed 7.0 litres per 100km, which is something that almost never happens these days.
So in 2017, the Toyota Corolla is not a flashy pick, but it’s a smart one. –