A Quest for the family saloon
New Toyota range sees modernised styling, higher specification levels and enhanced safety features
COROLLA. That’s about all you need to say around the braai before everyone has a comment or a story to tell.
It’s never been on the greatest hits list of eye-catching design but it’s been in the top of the sedan sales charts for longer than… well, almost forever.
Stories about Corollas abound from the incredibly high mileage to legendary reliability and rough trips over many kilometres on dirt roads.
As a student working in the Pretoria office of a large daily, the box-style Corolla would be thrashed by photographers and journalists alike to get to stories in record time. There was no air-con, no ABS and vinyl seats yet I remember one of the drivers telling me that one of them had done more than 500 000 kilometres.
Like the Hilux double cab, the Toyota Corolla has become a legend of reliability and solid motoring, and despite an increasing move towards SUVs the Corolla sedan still plays a formidable role in its segment.
This legacy is set to continue with the launch of the latest edition of the Corolla Quest. First launched in 2014, this new Quest is based on the outgoing 11th generation Corolla but sees modernised styling, a higher specification level, enhanced safety features and a new 1.8-litre engine fitted across the three different variants.
The most noticeable difference is the
front bumper that’s been updated and colour coded as well as the rear where the previous chrome number plate garnish has been replaced to match the body colour. The three variants available from next month start with the Standard model, the middle of the range Prestige and tops out with the Exclusive. TSA went on a cost-cutting exercise that included making the production line more efficient, parts sharing as well as the same colour selection as the locally built Hilux and Fortuner and sharing headliner and upholstery fabric. Putting this in place has made it possible to make the Quest a real value proposition ranging from R249 900 to R317 700 depending on what specification level you opt for.
Inside the standard model uses black and blue combination textiles, gets 15-inch steel wheels, radio/CD with USB and Aux and four speakers while the Prestige gets 16-inch alloy wheels, fabric and leather combination, touchscreen DVD audio system with six speakers, reverse camera, cruise control and a leather steering wheel.
The Exclusive, which we drove at the launch in Gauteng last week, gets the addition of temperature control, keyless entry and push button start, TFT colour instrument cluster leather, rain-sensing wipers, LED headlights as well as a 60/40 rear seat split.
The 1.8-litre engine that replaces the current 1.6-litre unit produces 103kW and 173Nm of torque and there’s the option of either a CVT transmission or six-speed manual.
It’s a willing mill even at altitude and the six-speed gearbox proved to be crisp with a light clutch that made driving in various conditions effortless. Also effortless is the CVT but it’s not the best one out there and there really isn’t a comparison to the one fitted to the current Corolla Hatch. It proved to be noisy under acceleration and using the shift option on the gear lever didn’t improve things. It holds the road well though with the identical underpinnings of the 11th generation Corolla. Around corners at speed there was some body roll but keep in mind the vehicle’s life will be spent mostly as family transport and haring around corners wasn’t part of the design parameters.
As a modern C-segment sedan with a large boot and decent finishings, Toyota are on to another winner, especially at the price they have launched it at. And as consumers become more spend savvy, the Quest is hard to beat.