Only two cars rival the success of the Toyota Corolla. They do not exceed it.
They're the Model T Ford and the Volkswagen Beetle — the original Beetle (the one made from the mid-1930s through the early 2000s ... Hecho en Mexico ), which is on a continuous production run of 70-something years.
Toyota has sold twice as many Corollas — 46 million of them — over the past 50 years. Impressive.
What It Is
The Corolla is the world's perennially best-selling entry-level compact-sized sedan, which is now available as a sporty hatchback, too, with a new larger and much stronger engine, for those who want some pep to go with the Corolla's legendary practicality. That includes a stupendous 41.4 inches of back-seat legroom.
Prices start at $19,500 for the base L trim sedan, which comes standard with an updated 1.8-liter engine that was last year's only available engine, paired with a continuously variable (CVT) automatic transmission.
A top-of-the-line XSE with the same engine but paired with the CVT automatic, heated leather seats, an upgraded (8 inch vs. 7 inch) tablet-style LCD touch screen and an 18-inch wheel/tire package lists for $25,450.
The hatchback Corolla, which comes standard with the 2.0-liter engine/manual transmission combo, starts at $19,990 for the SE trim.
A top-of-the-line XSE with the 2.0-liter engine and CVT costs $24,090.
What's New
Both versions of the Corolla are new. They are styled more aggressively and sit much more suggestively.
All Corollas come standard with Wi-Fi, Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa.
For the first time, you can get a configurable LCD main gauge cluster in a Corolla, as well as turns-in-the-curves adaptive LED headlights and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, features that, as recently as 10 years ago, were only available in a Lexus — and not for $22k or so.
What's Good
The safe bet is no longer stodgy.
The new larger/stronger engine gets better mileage than the previously standard engine.
The sedan's back-seat legroom is comparable to what you'd find in a full-size six-figure luxury sedan.
What's Not So Good
If you want a manual transmission, you have to buy the larger/stronger 2.0-liter engine.
The hatchback's back seats are much tighter than sedan's — and rivals'.
Under the Hood
The sedan still comes standard with the familiar 1.8-liter engine that used to be the Corolla's only engine, but it's not quite the same.
Horsepower is up a bit — to 139 now versus 132 last year — and the mileage it manages rises to 30 mpg city and 38 mpg highway, a significant 2 mpg uptick from last year's 28 mpg city and 36 mpg highway.
A 2.0-liter engine is now available in the sedan and standard in the hatchback.
This engine produces 169 horsepower, which makes it the strongest engine ever offered in a Corolla.
On the Road
The changes go deeper than what's under the hood.
The hood itself is 1.4 inches lower than before, which — along with a lowered-to-complement dashboard — greatly improves forward visibility, something that's becoming harder to find in many new cars.
There's newness under the floorpans, too. The previous torsion-beam rear suspension has been replaced with a multi-link design that improves the car's handling and ride.
Equipped with the optional 18-inch wheels (largest ever offered by the factory) and the new 2.0-liter engine and six-speed manual transmission, this Corolla lives up to its looks.
At the Curb
The Corolla is almost a midsize car now.
Inside, it's more than midsize.
Though about a foot shorter overall than the Camry sedan — nominally, Toyota's midsize sedan — the Corolla sedan has more legroom in both of its rows: 42.3 inches upfront and 41.4 inches in the second row versus 42.1 inches upfront in the Camry and 38 inches in the back seat.
The hatch has almost 18 cubic feet of cargo space behind its back seats, and with them folded down, that opens up to 23.2 cubic feet.
The Rest
The new Corolla would have qualified as a new Lexus as recently as five years ago. It might even qualify today.
You can get a Corolla with an 800-watt nine-speaker JBL ultra-premium audio system with voice recognition, configurable interior ambient lighting and adaptive LED headlights that turn in the curves.
The Bottom Line
There have always been plenty of rational reasons to buy a Corolla. Now there are other reasons, too.
Eric's new book, "Don't Get Taken for a Ride!" is available now. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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