CTC Review: 2010 Toyota Corolla XRS

[Sival]

Agree with that.

The Corolla is the number one selling car in history for a reason.

Because it's
A- Bland.
B- Basic.
C- Has not changed name since its inception (major plus there).

As to being a lot of car for the money... not sure I agree. It's not a bad car, but the compact field has a lot of good choices, most of which can be had for less than the Corolla. For instance, the Elantra, Forte, Focus, Cobalt, Versa (I know the "official" compact is the Sentra, but the Versa is compact-worthy), I may have forgotten others.

[rrocket]

Agree with that.

The Corolla is the number one selling car in history for a reason.

Because it's
A- Bland.
B- Basic.
C- Has not changed name since its inception (major plus there).

As to being a lot of car for the money... not sure I agree. It's not a bad car, but the compact field has a lot of good choices, most of which can be had for less than the Corolla. For instance, the Elantra, Forte, Focus, Cobalt, Versa (I know the "official" compact is the Sentra, but the Versa is compact-worthy), I may have forgotten others.

You are perhaps forgetting the most important thing..the thing the Corolla is best known for.  RELIABILITY.

[ovr50]

In fact (my wife told me this, so it must be true!!), the Pension Seminar speakers for retiring teachers tend to recommend (for those that do ask) the Toyota Corolla as an excellant car for the retired teacher because they are so reliable (along with relatively inexpensive, and bland, like teachers generally are). 

[Ontariodriver]

Agree with that.

The Corolla is the number one selling car in history for a reason.

What are we all...sheep? Baaaahhhhhhh
Railton

No..reliability. This car is the reason GM lost. The Corolla proves you could make a car that doesn't brake and people have brought the Corolla in droves, that and the Civic.

BTW. This Corolla drives really nice and handles well. The styling is a bit of an odd ball, It looks clumsy and I'm not keen on the gap above the headlights and I still prefer last gen. But it is great car thats for sure. 

[Sival]

Agree with that.

The Corolla is the number one selling car in history for a reason.

Because it's
A- Bland.
B- Basic.
C- Has not changed name since its inception (major plus there).

As to being a lot of car for the money... not sure I agree. It's not a bad car, but the compact field has a lot of good choices, most of which can be had for less than the Corolla. For instance, the Elantra, Forte, Focus, Cobalt, Versa (I know the "official" compact is the Sentra, but the Versa is compact-worthy), I may have forgotten others.

You are perhaps forgetting the most important thing..the thing the Corolla is best known for.  RELIABILITY.

This isn't the 80s anymore, a lot of companies have caught up in reliability, and overall reliability of cars is extremely high. So while the Corolla may still have an advantage, the difference is smaller than ever.

[PJungnitsch]

The Corolla proves you could make a car that doesn't brake...

Toyota's been good at that lately. Bad-dum-bum. 

Thank you, thank you. Try the veal.

[rrocket]

This isn't the 80s anymore, a lot of companies have caught up in reliability, and overall reliability of cars is extremely high. So while the Corolla may still have an advantage, the difference is smaller than ever.

 But the Corolla has been a benchmark of reliability for 20+ years.  Unlike the other cars you're referring to, it's no Johnny Come Lately.  And the continued excellent sales of the Corolla (always #1 or #2 in Canada and always in the top 3 in the USA) prove this.

[Ontariodriver]

Agree with that.

The Corolla is the number one selling car in history for a reason.

Because it's
A- Bland.
B- Basic.
C- Has not changed name since its inception (major plus there).

As to being a lot of car for the money... not sure I agree. It's not a bad car, but the compact field has a lot of good choices, most of which can be had for less than the Corolla. For instance, the Elantra, Forte, Focus, Cobalt, Versa (I know the "official" compact is the Sentra, but the Versa is compact-worthy), I may have forgotten others.

You are perhaps forgetting the most important thing..the thing the Corolla is best known for.  RELIABILITY.

This isn't the 80s anymore, a lot of companies have caught up in reliability, and overall reliability of cars is extremely high. So while the Corolla may still have an advantage, the difference is smaller than ever.

Not really. Nissan, Dodge, GM, Hyundai and KIA, Have a long way to go. LOL. Fords trying. Honda almost. Toyota Corollas are rock solid.  

[johngenx]

We needed a cheap commuter car for my wife that would be economical and comfortable for her on her daily drive to and from work.  Why the Corolla?  Simple: value.  We paid $20K all in for a well equipped sedan that rides like a Lexus did not that long ago, has tons of safety features (including side and curtain bags), and costs almost nothing to operate.  Service is cheap.  The 15" tires are a super common size with lots of selection and competition.  Fuel economy is outstanding.  Insurance is so cheap it seems like the insurance company made a mistake on the premium.

Is it exciting to drive?  No, but honestly, after testing most everything in the segment, none of those FWD compacts are what I'd call "exciting."

With just under 50K on the odo, our Toyota has been a paragon of reliability, cost little to service, and performed its mission admirably.

[PJungnitsch]

I see that ESP has finally trickled down to the base Matrix. A hatch Corolla, the efficient 1.8 engine with AC/auto/PW/PL/Cruise/Fogs/Alloys plus ESP/SAB/ABS for 21,700 @2.9/60.

I think my sister paid around 18,000 for a base manual Matrix without ANY of the above features in 2003. No air, no cruise, no ABS, no nothing.

This is going to tempt me if the truck finally quits.

[ovr50]

"The Corolla proves you could make a car that doesn't brake..."

Not to be picky, but actually it does brake, it just doesn't break... 

[2hondas1BMW]

"The Corolla proves you could make a car that doesn't brake..."

Not to be picky, but actually it does brake, it just doesn't break... 

Watch out, the trolls are lurking.

[rrocket]

"The Corolla proves you could make a car that doesn't brake..."

Not to be picky, but actually it does brake, it just doesn't break... 

Actually, the car DOES brake.  It's the driver who doesn't know how to stop the car...

[Spec5]

Much better bang for the buck at this price than when it first came out in what... 2002 or 2003?! It was closer to 30k then. My brother-in-law bought one and I bought my Sentra Spec V. Mine was faster - and just as reliable. Of course his was better looking!

Definately one of the best looking compacts IMO and like most have said - easily the most reliable. Of course my Sentra was never an issue for me - tried as I might to blow it up

[dougjp]

The Day 2 review of the interior sure doesn't sound like " at $22,350 you are getting a lot of car", with its hard plastics everywhere, all black, cloth seats, no padding, headroom problems. Until factoring in the reliability part. How does the interior compare to the Forte?

Isn't this model due for a styling revamp soon? 

[johngenx]

Isn't this model due for a styling revamp soon? 

Uh, probably not, it was new in 2009.

[Sival]

With just under 50K on the odo, our Toyota has been a paragon of reliability, cost little to service, and performed its mission admirably.

So has my ION, so what?

But the Corolla has been a benchmark of reliability for 20+ years. Unlike the other cars you're referring to, it's no Johnny Come Lately. And the cont

By that metric, the Cobalt/G5 twins would have been one of the most reliable cars on the market. Sales don't prove anything except the reputation, and I am suspicious of reputation.

[rrocket]

By that metric, the Cobalt/G5 twins would have been one of the most reliable cars on the market. Sales don't prove anything except the reputation, and I am suspicious of reputation.

My point was, that they have been building and refining this model for MANY years now.  So what does it take for you to accept that the Corolla is uber-reliable?  20+ years of data showing that?  Or are you suspicious of data too??   

[Honda Owner]

Or are you suspicious of data too??

In my case, I only believe empirical data when it backs up my prejudices regarding a given topic.

[Juke1]

Hard plastics and ill fitting panels is very much the new Toyota way for their interiors.  I also dislike this big gap on the hood above the lights, looks like something is missing.  On a number of  light colored models I've seen it's as if the plastic bumpers are color mismatched to the rest of the car, depending on the angle when looking at it.  On the XRS, the big crack on the rear bumper skirt is ugly, why did they not make that one piece?  On the positive side, I do like the look of the instrument panel and agree with wing.

When we drove the Corolla(1.8 LE) while shopping last year we did not like the steering feel at all on the highway, for some reason it always required correction, lot's of road noise, the floor pan felt paper thin.  BTW, it was PDI, before somebody brings it up

No doubt it's the most reliable Toyota one could buy, is it way better that the competition? not anymore I'm afraid, the Elantra tops it in CR ratings.

Cars at 50k that have been troublefree abound, this is certainly not a benchmark for reliability.