Corollas

Just put up my Corolla article. Of course, I can't say on a consumer oriented site that I think it's pure merde, because, from an objective point of view, it isn't, but I'm really not feeling this car.

Which is a shame.

Corollas weren't always dull, boring econoboxes. I've never driven one that excited me much to drive, though there were some undoubtedly quick ones (Corollas with 20-valve, high revving 4AGE engines)... but I could respect the fact that they were pretty decent sport compacts. In fact, every time I see an old AE92 on those geeky four-spoked TOM'S rims, I actually stop to admire it, even if I've seen that combination a hundred times before. Corollas, before the jumbo-bodied “Altis” generation, were actually fun cars. The 9th generation “Altis” body may have had better-than-expected handling, but it was about as much fun to drive as a Toyota Hiace. This new one promised a return to the Corolla's sporting ways of old, with a more exciting, sleeker shape:



But even at the launch, just getting in the seat and feeling the suspension gently sag around you, twirling the feather light steering wheel... I'd gotten the feeling that it wasn't going to be all that.

And, surprise, surprise, it wasn't.

Now, I'm not typically anti-Toyota... in fact, I think the MR-S is the bee's knees and the AE111 is on my list of "might buy it on a lark for a secondhand toy" cars... ...but their cars of late have been disappointingly sterile in the fun department. Which is a shame... here's a company that produces great motors... ultra-stiff bodies and cars that are a few hundred pounds lighter than their competitors... they should be fun to drive, but they aren't. Now I don't know if this is part of Toyota's mass-market bias, but I don't see people dumping the Honda brand in droves just because their cars have a little extra zest.

The Corolla seems to be the pinnacle of Toyota's current addiction to novocaine. Everything is soft. The steering. The brakes. The body roll. I can honestly say I'd rather drive a Toyota Previa around the racetrack than the Corolla. At least the Previa has some balls.

And to think, the improvements needed to make the Corolla a decent car are minor. Just a little bit of tightening in the steering... a little less understeer dialled into the suspension, a tiny bit less body roll... but there's scant chance of that happening now, is there? As the Corolla sells awfully well on its own, and given that Toyota went a whole six years without changing a single damn thing on the old one, it's going to be a long wait for a "better" Corolla.