Remember the Toyota Corolla's TV commercials from two years ago? "It just wants to have fun." See, now that Toyota is the world's biggest carmaker, they can afford to defend against truth-in-advertising accusations. Still, there could be some unintentional truth buried in there. After all, fun is a form of pleasure, and the Corolla is the most pleasurable car. Since it serves the higher principle, maybe it doesn't need to be fun.
And where do those pleasures come from? Looking nice never hurt anyone. The interior is very inviting with its rich textures, well-placed control, supportive front seats, and useful rear seat. The Corolla S model (which stands for Sport, which refers to appearances only) actually looks classy when dressed up with the optional six-spoke wheels and tasteful spoiler.
Pleasures also come from having a partner that's well-mannered and willing. Driving never feels like work with nicely weighted, intuitive steering. It's never painful when the ride is cushioned. The Corolla takes your lumps for you, whereas the other two pass on the message in the form of kicks and thumps to your backside. The Corolla likes to whisper, not yell; engine, road, and wind are all lowest. Peace and quiet may sound like dull qualities to emphasize, but maybe Toyota had the right approach. Since only so much can be done to make sports cars out of these, why not go for a luxury feel? By being best at eliminating the bad stuff, the Corolla at least secures dominance in being outstandingly unobtrusive.
And while all good things must come to an end, history has proven the Toyota Corolla to delay the inevitable. The Corolla has garnered more Consumer Reports "excellents" in reliability than any economy car over the past decade. Its terms of agreement seem to be this: feed me gas twice a month and feed me oil twice a year, and I will run forever.
When it's buying time, making hardware choices is easy, since there aren't any. Across all three Corolla trim lines - CE, S, and LE - the engine comes one way: a competent, 130-horsepower 1.8 unit that ties the Civic for best gas mileage, yet beats both Civic and Sentra in acceleration. Suspension equipment and tuning are uniform, ditto the brakes, and all wheels are a right-sized 15 inches. Pick the automatic and receive four gears; row your own and get five to play with. The sedan is the sole body type, though that expands to two if you count the Toyota Corolla-based Matrix wagon.
Still, it's not perfect. Like the Sentra, the Corolla downgraded to a beam-axle suspension for last year's redesign, ensuring that both ride and handling are not at optimal levels. As with the other two cars, I wouldn't mind having disc brakes on the Corolla's back end or more than four gears in the automatic. But as the one that's easiest to like, easiest to live with and the most faithful over time, it's hard to imagine a more rewarding relationship.
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