http://www.caranddriver.com/news/201...-and-info-news

4 speed auto still?

But seriously, doesn't look all that bad. At least they're trying to avoid having the car look really bland.

 

better looking... but seems like a combo of the Dart and a Focus...

 

 

When I first saw pictures, I thought updated "2008-2011 Focus".

I like the interior, but I think current Corolla looks better.

 

Wow, the new Corolla's wheels appear to be carbon copies of wheels found on several current Ford vehicles, albeit with seven spokes instead of five.

New Corolla:




2013 Mustang:




2013 Taurus SHO:




2013 Explorer Sport:

 

Like most Toyotas, the looks mean nothing to its audience. What surprises me is the outdated mechanicals. This drivetrain is behind the curve in the current car and little has been done to improve the situation. This smells like Toyota's taking a VW-like tack toward watering down evolution in favor of keeping the price depressed as much as possible.

 

That.

 

If it ain't broken - don't fix it.

I drove the current Corolla; it actually drives really well. Its not sporty like Focus, but its quiet, comfortable and roomy.
Corolla buyers care more about fuel economy and resale value than power and the newest gadgets anyways ...

 

that's got to be one of the ugliest cars out there

 

I owned a 2007 Carolla and being 6 foot 3, I swear I could hear clown music every time I stepped out of it. What a refreshing new design from the old!

Not everyone will like it but its a step up from the past I say.

 

I see what you're saying, but there was a hell of a lot of "If it ain't broken - don't fix it." running around Detroit not so long ago. More fundamentally, Toyota rose to its spot on supremely competent vehicles which also drove at the front of the pack. Now they seem determined supremely competent vehicles which follow the lead of others. That change seems ill-advised.

 

My Mom had an '89 Corolla and in 2009 we finally replaced it with the Focus in my sig ... it had served its purpose very well for the 20 yrs she owned it. We got $100 for it on trade-in and we thought we did well. It needed A/C work and exhaust work (near the engine - expensive work).

That being said, I doubt that today's Toyotas have that kind of reliability ... I sold Toyotas for about 6 months back in 2002-2003 and saw all kinds of stuff come through our Service Dept ... not stuff I would've expected "from a Toyota"

Now they release this 2900-lb bag of "meh" with same old mechanicals and a slightly updated design ... this reeks of German arrogance of "We'll build whatever we want and the morons will buy it" (I mean, seriously, a $55k 3-series these days? Really ???)

So nice of them to have a new, slightly more efficient and slightly more powerful engine, but only make it available on ONE model.
I thought the CAFE numbers were only going up, so this "new" engine would certainly help, and it would help all the buyers save some gas money while enjoying a bit more power.
Why wouldn't they make that engine standard?

Not for me, but then again, no Toyota is on my "possible purchases" list ... I think they're all appliances, not cars. Meant for the "sheep" out there ...

 

IMO, the Corolla is still one of the best cars in the class. I test drove pretty much every compact currently available in the USA (before we purchased the Eclipse, my wife originally wanted a new compact car; she didn't like any of them much).
But Corolla was on top of my list. Its roomy, comfortable, easy to drive, gets pretty good gas mileage (26/34 mpg) and since its a Toyota it has good quality and great resale value.

I love what Toyota did with Corolla, I love that they're focusing more on evolution than revolution. They kept everything that's good and improved everything that's not ... which is the same things that Germans have been doing in Europe for a while. An average Corolla's buyer is a family man probably in his late 30s and up and I doubt he's gonna notice that the Corolla has a 4 speed auto (which is, BTW, available only on base models ... better equipped models have a 6 speed manual and CVT). I also doubt he's gonna care if it takes 8 or 9.5 seconds to reach 60 mph (I recently drove the 130 hp Nissan Sentra ... drove pretty well despite only 130 hp). Corolla's buyer cares about space, fuel economy, quality and resale value.

Look at the Dodge for an example - they introduced more FWD compact cars over the past 30 years than anyone else. Omni, K-Cars, Neon, Caliber and Dart. And each one was junk with the exception of Dart (which is too new to tell). When a car is brand new - it will have problems which can be fixed over time. So every 6 years or so Dodge would introduce a new compact and brag how its advanced compared to the last one. And each model would last only one generation and then get replaced with something new. How can you fix issues from a new model if you're gonna replace it with another vehicle as soon as problems start happening?

Think about this, even better ... Imagine how good Lincoln LS would've been today is Lincoln continued the evaluation instead of trying to replace it with the MKS ...

 

I live in a Toyota family. Brother:Camry, sister:Highlander, father:Prius, mom: Landcruiser

All of them are quite roomy and reliable. The Landcruiser is no slouch at 60k+ ouch.

The Carolla I had averaged 40mpg and clocked a cool 90k miles before I traded in it for the New Mustang. Great car... Just not for a big man.

 

When the time comes for a new car, I'm pretty sure I'll go with the Prius C. I have too many gas guzzlers and there are days when I drive 200-250 miles in a day for my job. Gas got really expensive in Wisconsin ($4.29 for 87 this morning).

I test drove one when they first came out ... They are boring as hell, but for 53 mpg city I can live with that.

 

There was a time when you tell one make from another at half a mile. They're all beginning to look alike, or I'm getting old.