Author: John Oxley

Yes, the Toyota Corolla just moved up a couple of notches, with styling and interiors that will give the Volkswagen Jetta and the Opel Astra - not to mention the bottom of the BMW 3-Series range - lots of room to sit up and take notice.

It's designed from the ground up to be completely new, and probably only the gearboxes are carried over from previous models.

Why didn't we mention the engines when we talked about giving the Europeans the runs? Well, only BMW can offer variable valve timing in its 16-valve engines' specification, whereas the Corolla gives it on EVERY model from the new 1.4i right through to the top-end 1.8i versions.

Oh, and if you think it's only cosmetic, well, forget it. We spent two days and 900 km with the new cars, and we can tell you they feel good, they drive well, and when you drive through ANY town between Cape Town and George (which is where we went) they make you FEEL good.

Styling won't be out of place in Paris (against the Peugeot 307), in Britain (against the latest Ford Focus) or in Germany (against the upcoming Jetta 5). And standards of finish and the quality of trim are definitely on a par with the 3-Series.

What's more, there's more space in the back than the Jetta, the 3-Series, and as much as the Peugeot.

OK, but Toyotas carry premium pricing, right?

More features

Not this time. Prices have gone up less than 4% on the outgoing models, but guess what? Not only do you get more features for your money, as well as the above mentioned space (including a bigger boot), grace (better ride qualities, lower noise) and pace (better acceleration and top speed, coupled with lower fuel consumption).

But you get a 5 year/90 000 km free service plan thrown in. Which means you'll only pay for consumables. The rest is on the house.

Before I go into details, let me tell you there are three engines, all with VVT-i (intelligent variable valve timing). This means engines designed to give you great bottom end pulling power, coupled with high top end power and excellent economy.

Three motors are on offer: a 1.4i producing 71 kW at 6 000 r/min and 127 NM at 4 800 r/min; a 1.6i with 81 kW at 6 000 r/min and 146 Nm at 4 400 r/min and a 1.8i giving 100 kW 6 000 r/min with 171 Nm at 4 400 r/min.

Which compares emphatically against its opposition.

There are currently 11 sedan models (with hatchbacks to follow later), as follows:

Range and prices

Corolla 140i R103 175
Corolla 140i GLE R127 340
Corolla 140 GLS R136 760
Corolla 160i R136 395
Corolla 160i GLE R144 795
Corolla 160i GLE A/T R157 220
Corolla 160i GLS R152 420
Corolla 160i GSX R169 695
Corolla 180i GLE R155 220
Corolla 180i GLS A/T R166 265
Corolla 180i GSX R180 120.

Before I go into details about what each model has got (which is a comprehensive mixture based on market positioning) I'm going to tell you about each car I drove, and what I felt about them.

But first, all models get power steering, tilt adjustable steering, remote central locking, and transponder in key security systems, with alarms. And fuel tank capacity has been increased to 60 litres.

There's new suspension at the rear, with a beam axle with trailing arms and coil springs to give better ride and handling while at the same time allowing for a larger, flatter boot. Boot space is increased by 31 litres to 437 litres, with a wider and lower boot aperture, and all models get a 60/40 split folding rear seat.

Brakes are improved across the range, with 255 mm ventilated front discs and 258 mm solid rear discs, and ABS with Electronic Brake Force Distribution is included on some models.

The interior is redesigned with a new dashboard containing a 3-circle multi-dial - revcounter, speedo plus water and fuel temperature, and gear indicator on automatic models. Heating and ventilation controls are now of the rotary type.

And materials used go up the spectrum, with soft-touch vinyl of a quality found previously only on European luxury models such as the BMW 3-Series, coupled with cloth or leather trim depending on the model.

The car is 50 mm longer, 5 mm wider and 85 mm higher, for improved interior space, particularly headroom, and to make it easier to get in and out of the car, while a longer wheelbase helps interior packaging as well as overall ride quality. There are wider front doors (by 40 mm), and a 70 mm higher hip point for the seats.

Styling is all new, with a modern look which sees a bold grille encompassing the Toyota badge, large four-bulb headlights, and at the back large triangular tail-lights with a high-mounted stop light.

All cars get a catalytic converter as standard.

Our cars

First up was the "baseline" Corolla 140i. With four people on board, plus luggage, we expected the car to be a bit of a dog. So it came as a pleasant surprise to find it would easily pull up hills with only a flick down to fourth gear, and would bowl along quite happily at high speeds.

In fact, we quipped that the nomenclature was probably representative of the "comfortable" cruising speed - 140, 160 and 180 depending on the models. But not in South Africa, of course...

Wheel and tyre size is increased on this bottom of the range model, with 175/70 x 14 tyres to avoid the "Marie biscuit" look, and this improves ride and handling no end.

Even on rougher roads we had no bottoming out of the suspension, and the back end tucking in neatly and efficiently into tight corners. Steering was very precise under hard cornering, albeit a little imprecise and featureless in the straight.

And braking was a revelation. This is a Corolla which STOPS, even with all that weight on board. It stops straight, and it stops efficiently.

Dashboard trim is the same on all models, with a large locking 11 litre glovebox plus a centre console armrest box, a sunglasses box, and lots of kicknacks space.

Everybody in the car commented on how much headroom and legroom there was, with rear seat passengers as comfy as those in front. And it was remarkable how much quieter the Corolla has become, with low road noise and virtually no wind noise.

If there's a criticism it's that the interior is a bit sombre - black dash, charcoal cloth trim.

On a personal front, I also feel there should be some way of locking the seat backs so thieves can't gain access to the boot from inside the car.

Next car in line was the 160i GLS automatic.

Efficient gearbox

"Oh no," everybody groaned. "This one won't go so well". Think again chaps. There was no discernible difference in pulling power between the 140i and the 160i with auto box, the gearbox an efficient three-speed plus overdrive unit that allowed one to maintain speed by just flicking the overdrive button in and out whenever we came to hills.

There are even bigger tyres on the 160i than the 140i - 195/60 x 15 inch - and this makes ride and handling even better.

Extra specification on the GLS models includes a driver's airbag, a fully integrated sound system with front-loader CD player (the CD player is fitted on GLE models, too, including the 140i GLE), and a built-in computer that tells average speed and average fuel consumption as well as outside temperature.

Air conditioning is standard from GLE up (and including GLS), and this proved a boon as the day grew hotter. Seat trim was velour.

ABS with EBD comes standard on GLS and GLX models, with one-push driver's window operation. Only the front windows are electrically adjustable, and mirrors are adjustable manually from inside the car.

For the return trip from George we were swaddled in luxury, the top-of-the range 180i GLX our mount on both legs, and this is where the Corolla moves into new territory.

The two-tone dashboard makes the car's interior much brighter, while restrained wood-look trim on the centre console and door armrests uplifts the feel of the car.

Electric windows

Electric windows are standard front and rear, as are electrically operated outside mirrors, map reading lights, leather-rimmed steering wheel, and 66 JJ x 15 alloy wheels, with larger wheels optional.

Oh, and metallic paint is a no-cost option right across the range.

Naturally the 180i was unstressed and even more comfortable than the rest. I am amazed that no automatic version of this top-of-the-range models is available however, although there is a 180i GLS auto.

In summary, a great revelation. I must say I had expected an improved Corolla, especially since Wheels24 has had pictures of the new cars available for some time.

However, what I did NOT expect was a car designed and built from scratch. Forget all you know about Corolla - except perhaps such things as high resale value and low running costs, including 15 000 km service intervals.

This one is no fuddy-duddy car. It's for you, no matter what your age. It's got European values combining with Japanese technology, and that makes for one mean combination!

The Corolla package

The Corolla engines

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