The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Introducing a new generation
For 2019 Toyota brings a new-generation hatchback Corolla
DEL MAR, CALIF. » Introducing the 12th generation of the Corolla, Toyota is starting with the hatchback, as it’s been sold in other countries as the Corolla Hatchback. But here it was a Scion product until Toyota canned the nameplate.
While hatchbacks don’t sell as well here as in other markets, Toyota hopes to interest Millennials in them: perhaps Toyota can make the point that their parents really don’t like hatchbacks. That should shoot the youngsters straight to the showroom.
Because this car is really designed to sell well in Europe and Asia, the car is tight and more aggressive than what’s expected. That is not to disparage the Corolla, it is perhaps the largest selling nameplate in the world. Europeans also want more usable space. For them the efficiency of a hatchback has made them as much as 70 percent of a model’s sales.
The rear features a non-metallic rear hatch. This saves weight and being lighter it could lay at a steeper angle – 14 degrees more forward. This makes the car appear more aggressive and less like a traditional hatchback.
Plus, this Corolla is an inch lower, 1.2-in. wider and 1.5-in longer than the Corolla or Scion iM. Compared to that model, it has wider front and rear tracks and at 103.9 in., a 1.5-in. longer wheelbase. All this results in its hood sitting two inches lower, something appreciated from behind the wheel. It is also more attractive and makes clear that it’s a new generation for a new generation of buyers.
The Corolla Hatchback comes in two flavors, the XE and the XSE. The SE is the base model and is quickly identified by the 16-in. wheels and tires. The XSE gets 17, or even 18-in. wheels, adaptive lighting with the CVT, plus nifty things like a power leather and fabric seats and more sound deadening around the cabin.
The cabin is comfortable, particularly the seats. They provide decent lateral support, which is nice to see on a less-expensive car. The instrument panel is well laid out and informative. The dashboard helps to create a feeling of openness to the interior, and the center console organizes the necessary controls logically.
There’s plenty of places for beverages. This is sometimes considered funny by we who write about cars, but it is no laughing matter. So, the front door includes cup holders which can handle 24-oz. bottles. Not to be outdone, the rear seat area includes upperdoor cup holders that can hold 16-oz. bottles.
Usually rather important on a car inexpensive enough to appeal to a younger buyer, the sound system is pretty good. But the premium sound system is quite a bit better. It’s a JBL with eight speakers and 800-watts of sound power. That may not seem like much, but with the size and shape of the Corolla’s cabin it produces a very nice sound.
The Corolla is powered by a 2.0-liter four- cylinder engine producing 168 hp. and 151 lb.-ft. of peak torque. It only comes as a front-wheel drive car. But you can choose either a continuously variable automatic transmission or a six-speed manual.
However, there’s a price to pay in the form of fuel efficiency in choosing the manual. On the Corolla SE base model the manual transmission is rated at 28mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway. The CVT version gets better numbers at 32 mpg city and 42mpg highway. While the numbers aren’t final for the Corolla XSE, the numbers run about two miles per gallon worse, probably because of increased vehicle weight.
While this hatchback has a MacPherson strut front suspension, more appreciated is the multi- link rear suspension. This means the car has the physical systems which allow engineers to tune the suspension well. Plus, it’s just a better system than usually found on small, compact cars.
On the upper trim level when it has the CVT transmission, you can also get Active Cornering Control, which varies the power and braking between to two front wheels to assist the car’s turning.
The biggest deal, equipment-wise is that this is the first Toyota product for sale here to have the 2.0 version of Toyota Safety Sense, the suite of active systems to make driving safer. It includes Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection, Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist. New to the group are automatic high beams, Lane-Tracing Assist and Road-Sign Assist.
But that’s not all. For both safety and better handling, it also gets Toyota’s Star Safety System, which includes Enhanced Vehicle Stability Control, traction control, electronic brakeforce distribution, brake assist, anti-lock braking system, and Smart- Stop Technology. A blind-spot monitor is standard on XSE and available on SE. all Corollas also come with a standard backup camera. In case all this fails to help, the 2019 Corolla Hatchback has seven airbag which are standard.
The target market for the Corolla Hatchback is people younger than 35, with the emphasis on under. Toyota says they see this group as multi-cultural and multi-lingual. Marketing begins later in the summer and will reflect these two characteristics.
The car goes on sale in July. Pricing starts at $19,990 for the SE with manual transmission and add $1100 for the continuously variable transmission. On the Corolla SXE the manual- equipped model begins life at $22,990 and with the CVT its $24,090.