drove a corolla today....

[LBeard87]

dropped the T4R off at the stealership for its 60k mile service (yikes!) and Branch Toyota in Watertown CT was nice enough to provide me with a courtesy car. a 2009 titanium corolla. I have to say that im not impressed at all compared to other cars in the same category. I test drove a 2009 civic and a 2009 subaru impreza as well when i was looking for a new car. I found that the interior design in the corolla was more on par with the chevy cobalt (probably better though). It just feels cheap with a boring interior and rides terrible. The seat doesn't even go back far enough for my legs to fit comfortably. My knees were around the steering column. Its not like im an overly tall guy either im 5'10". I'm just dissapointed because I know its an entry level, but so are the civic and the impreza and their respective designers make them feel more on par with midsize cars. I guess I just expect better from toyota, especially with their being the even more entry level yaris. any one else have thoughts or experiences?

 

[wombie]

I didn't mind the corolla so much (though after driving a 4Runner for a while everything is a big change). Drove a camry the other day and thought that was really plasticky and low par inside. It grew on me - it's not bad to drive though it feels at times like you are dragging your butt down the asphalt. Have to say though that a rented Chevy Impala we had was far superior (yikes). I suppose it's easy to say that when you can give the car back after only a couple hundred miles!

I tried a Honda civic and thought that thing was horrible. Not only was it like driving a golf cart in terms of power, but it's nearly impossible to see where the hood and trunk end.

Anyone driven a Scion recently? I would have tried one out but didn't have enough time while waiting for my inspection the other day to go for a test drive

(edited to say: I've only driven the entry level Civic...so I'm totally willing to agree that the souped up ones are less golf-cart-esque...but they still are terrible to see out of).

 

[Thai]

dropped the T4R off at the stealership for its 60k mile service (yikes!) and Branch Toyota in Watertown CT was nice enough to provide me with a courtesy car. a 2009 titanium corolla. I have to say that im not impressed at all compared to other cars in the same category. I test drove a 2009 civic and a 2009 subaru impreza as well when i was looking for a new car. I found that the interior design in the corolla was more on par with the chevy cobalt (probably better though). It just feels cheap with a boring interior and rides terrible. The seat doesn't even go back far enough for my legs to fit comfortably. My knees were around the steering column. Its not like im an overly tall guy either im 5'10". I'm just dissapointed because I know its an entry level, but so are the civic and the impreza and their respective designers make them feel more on par with midsize cars. I guess I just expect better from toyota, especially with their being the even more entry level yaris. any one else have thoughts or experiences?

I had the opposite impression. I drove the 2009 Corolla a while back and was quite impress with it. I used to have a 2005 Corolla. Yes, the 2009 interior is a bit cheaper than the '05 model. However, the seating position, the ride comfort, and noise level are light years ahead of my '05. The ride comfort was most impressive. It is not sporty...so, if you're looking for a sporty ride, then it will likely disappoint. However, if you're looking for a comfortable commuter, then i think that it is class-leading in this aspect...and is confirmed by most magazine road tests. Toyota apparently paid close attention to seating comfort for the driver and it is certainly better than my '05 Corolla. The road/wind noise is also class-leading, which is true when i testdrove both Civic and Corolla...and confirmed by C&D road test noise levels. Not sure whether you tried it or not, but the '09 Corolla does have tilt and telescoping steering.

Again, it is not a sporty car like the Mazda 3 or Civic, but i think that it is an extremely comfortable commuter car, which is the crowd that Toyota was aiming for. For me, the ride itself was better than even the Camry's. Also, it beats the Civic in that VSC and TRAC are now standard feature on 2010 models. These two safety features are absent on Civics.

 

[LBeard87]

Thai: i agree. the '09 is lightyears ahead of the '05. im more basing this off of the quality of materials and overall execution. the future wifes '02 civic feels so much nicer than the corolla. its not the end of the world, only have to drive it for until tomorrow morning.

 

[Burt]

i did end up with a Yaris rental earlier this year. What a POS. The small Toys may be reliable, but a cheap piece of junk. What's with the instrument cluster located in center top of dash board???

 

[BROOKLYN]

i had a 2004 corolla s briefly (rear ended) anyway i loved it.it wasent the fastest but overall it was great and durable. im also a fan of the matrix. the 2009 looks good but as far as perfomance or reliablilty i dont know.

 

[JAC]

I owned an 08 Yaris sedan(4-door) for a year and traded it in for a 2010 Kia Soul Sport back in april...because I wanted something roomier and with some little more power. The yaris are ok if you want a reliable DD car.... is also a very nice looking small car . I gives you around 36-37 mpg. Not too many cars can beat that. I wouldnt say is a piece of Junk. Its one of the nicest in his class. And the center instrument cluster ?..you get use to it after driving it for a while.

 

[jharris2]

i did end up with a Yaris rental earlier this year. What a POS. The small Toys may be reliable, but a cheap piece of junk. What's with the instrument cluster located in center top of dash board???

I had one on a business trip a couple of weeks ago. The instrument panel location did not make sense. And there was no room behind the rear seats -- barely enough for a backpack and briefcase.

 

[ForeRunnerSi]

dropped the T4R off at the stealership for its 60k mile service (yikes!) and Branch Toyota in Watertown CT was nice enough to provide me with a courtesy car. a 2009 titanium corolla. I have to say that im not impressed at all compared to other cars in the same category. I test drove a 2009 civic and a 2009 subaru impreza as well when i was looking for a new car. I found that the interior design in the corolla was more on par with the chevy cobalt (probably better though). It just feels cheap with a boring interior and rides terrible. The seat doesn't even go back far enough for my legs to fit comfortably. My knees were around the steering column. Its not like im an overly tall guy either im 5'10". I'm just dissapointed because I know its an entry level, but so are the civic and the impreza and their respective designers make them feel more on par with midsize cars. I guess I just expect better from toyota, especially with their being the even more entry level yaris. any one else have thoughts or experiences?

To make a statement like that, just tells me that have never driven or rode in either car. My mother has had 2 corolla's on one of my friends has a cobalt and I can tell you that the interior on the corolla may not be as flashy with painted chrome pieces that deteriorate in a year or so or trim pieces that randomly fall off, but its defiantly worlds better.