Toyota Corolla

Toyota Corolla Models

Three Toyota Corolla models are available: CE, S, and LE.

All Corollas are four-door sedans powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine. All come standard with a five-speed manual gearbox. A three-speed automatic is a $415 option for the CE; a four-speed automatic is an $815 option for S and CE. Side-impact airbags are options for all three versions, but you have to step up to either the S or LE to get antilock brakes.

Most people opt for the S or the well-equipped LE. CE is a low-price car with all but the most basic amenities optional. None of the models are exactly luxurious unless extras are ordered, but they fulfill transportation needs well.

CE gets the plainest interior fabrics, and even a digital clock costs extra. It's hard to imagine anyone but fleet customers will go for a CE without air conditioning. Add much equipment to one and its price begins to climb to that of the S. By ordering options, an S can be equipped to be a virtual twin to the LE. Standard equipment for the top-of-the-line LE includes power steering, variable-speed intermittent windshield wipers, outside temperature gauge, rear-window defogger, and a four-speaker sound system.

Start ordering options and you may suffer sticker shock. The CE's base price appears to put the Corolla squarely in the bargain category, right down there in rock-bottom land with many competitors. But by the time you've driven away in a fully equipped LE the tab has climbed toward midsize territory.

Driving the Toyota Corolla

Overall, the Toyota Corolla offers good performance, handling, ride quality and comfort.

Its all-aluminum 16-valve 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine is powerful, lightweight and economical. Toyota has outfitted this double overhead-cam engine with its VVT-i variable-valve timing technology. Rated at 125 horsepower, this engine gives the Corolla sprightly performance. With the variable-valve technology, it offers strong low-rpm torque, that force that propels you away from traffic signals. Low-rpm torque is especially important when teamed with an automatic transmission and the Corolla works well with the four-speed automatic. At the same time, it gets an EPA-rated 39 mpg on the highway with the automatic. The engine is noisy under hard acceleration. It's much quieter at cruising speeds, though there's an intrusive resonance at 3000 rpm. The transmission, on the other hand, shifts smoothly and responds quickly when called upon to downshift for hill climbing or passing maneuvers.

Judged by class standards, the Toyota Corolla handles well. Power-assisted steering is light but precise. Ride quality is very good, thanks to a relatively long wheelbase, fully independent MacPherson struts on all four wheels and front and rear stabilizer bars on all three trim levels. Nothing short of potholes will disturb the Corolla's occupants. Freeway expansion strips, which create uncomfortable rocking-horse motions on some cars, go unnoticed in the Corolla.

The economy-grade tires are less than ideal, however. They make a noisy nuisance of themselves when asked to carry the car around corners at anything beyond a casual pace, they transmit tread noise into the cabin on the highway, and they lack grip under hard braking. Otherwise, the brakes work well, even after repeated hard use. We recommend ordering the optional anti-lock braking system.

Driving a Corolla equipped with the automatic transmission, I found the brake pedal and throttle a bit close together for my big feet. The pedal arrangement is much better on models equipped with the five-speed gearbox.