How to pimp your Toyota Corolla ride

THE Toyota Corolla has been a favourite of South African motorists since its arrival in the late 1970s. Its reputation for economy, performance and reliability has earned it an enviable position among motoring enthusiasts and pragmatists alike.

This week, we are proud to feature one of a growing number of female motor enthusiasts. Avaleen Naidoo, 25, is the owner of this week’s featured vehicle, a 1998 Toyota Corolla 160i GLE Automatic.

Naidoo, a receptionist at an umhlanga-based molecular imaging company, is from Sastri Park, Phoenix. Her hobbies, apart from her car, are attending car shows with her boyfriend, TV and shopping.

Naidoo’s Corolla boasts the minimalist performance of an uprated 50mm exhaust system, with a performance branch which adds additional grunt and tone to the factory standard fuel-injected, multivalve, double overhead cam power plant.

It also boasts a lowered suspension system consisting of compressed springs and shortened shocks which produces a 60mm drop all around.

A set of 15 inch BBS mag wheels, 9j at the rear and 8.5j upfront with a 0 offset, are matched to a tetrad of 165/50/15 stretch rubbers.

This Corolla boasts a Kenwood head unit, a Star Sound preamp, a pair of JVC 6x9s and three sets of splits. The install also flaunts a 12-inch Star Sound subwoofer wired to a 6500w Powerbass amplifier.

Naidoo spent an undisclosed sum on the build,saying it was worth it.