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- Toyota Corolla 1.4 T2
- Ian Forknall's review
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| Performance | 7.8/10  |
|---|---|
| Practicality | 8.5/10 |
| Reliability | 9.5/10 |
| Value for Money | 9.3/10 |
| Overall rating | 7.3/10 |
By Ian Forknall
on 26th Jul 2006
| Year Manufactured | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Length of ownership | 3 Weeks |
| Doors | 3 |
| Performance | 9/10 |
| Practicality | 10/10 |
| Reliability | 10/10 |
| Value for money | 10/10 |
| Overall value | 9/10 |
 Ian Forknall's recommendation | |
Sporty shape, Wing mirrors completely eliminate blind-spot, fairly nippy, nice gear change, passenger space, storage.
Rear windscreen a little small, rear windows don't open, interior gets VERY hot!, screechy brakes.
I bought the Toyota Corolla 1.4 T2 VVT-i second hand for £4,999 in "Carlo Blue" i.e. dark metallic blue, with 28,000 miles on the clock. It was very cheap because of a couple of scuffs on the rear bumper, one on each corner. You can only see them if you're looking directly at them so I didn't mind, and as the bumper is plastic, it won't affect the body work.
It was bought to replace a 1996 1.8 Ford Fiesta Classic, and what a difference! I thought the 1.8 litre engine in the fiesta was fairly good, but the Corolla's smaller 1.4 (even though it's a much bigger car) leaves the Fiesta in dust.
The acceleration in the Corolla - particularly in 3rd gear - is excellent. It can easily keep up with larger engined VW Golfs and Honda Civics from a standing start at the traffic lights!
The interior is very sturdily made, with a soft touch dashboard and flush central coloumn. All the controls are in just the right place for you to reach them without looking away from the road. The instrument display looks great at night with the dials lit up in green and bright red pointers. It also has nice chrome detail on the air-vents and door handles.
The seats are very comfortable, although I haven't made a particularly long drive in it yet. I'm driving from Buckinghamshire to Newcastle in a few days time which is a 5 hour trip, so I'll soon find out how comfy they really are! There is an abundance of storage with a flapped compartment in the center coloumn, large glove-box, small flapped box on the driver's side, and large compartment between the two front seats. Not to mention two cup holders by the handbrake, enough space for two more bottles in each door, plus normal side pockets, AND the cup holders on both sides in the back!! You could run a sizable bar from the interior of the Corolla! The boot is also pretty spacious for the size of car.
Passenger space is unlimited. I managed to get my Mum and her 6'3" partner in the back without having to move the front seats at all, and still have plenty of room for the front passenger. I've had no one in the rear middle yet, so I can't comment about that unfortunately.
The one gripe I have about the interior is how hot it gets when the sun is shining on it. I know all cars get hot, but this really is an oven. During this July (2006), I have had to open both doors to let the air circulate for a few minutes to let the hot air out before getting into the car. The interior is all black though, so that probably doesn't help. I've no idea if the same problem would occur with a lighter-coloured interior trim.
The electronics are good in the Corolla. The electric windows are smooth and quiet and also have a one-touch function. The driver is able to control both windows from the driver's door, as well as lock the windows open and closed. Next to the window lock button is also the door-lock button activating the locks on both doors. The key incidentally, has a good function in that you can "Double-Lock" the doors, with two presses of the radio central locking button on the key. This means that when the doors are double-locked, you cannot open nor unlock them from the outside OR the inside. So even if a thief does break a window, he still won't be able to get in the car without clambering clumsily through the window itself.
The windscreen wipers are very good with slow, fast and variable-speed intermitent settings. As well as the rear window intermitent and constant settings.
The trip computer is basic but handy, showing real-time miles per gallon, average miles per gallon and average speed. The odometer can also record the mileage of two seperate journeys.
The Corolla also has a delayed fade-out courtesy light in the middle of the ceiling, plus driver and passenger map-reading lights in the front.
All-in-all, and even though I've only had it for 3 weeks, the Toyota Corolla 1.4 T2 VVT-i is a superb car, very quiet on the road, even at speed. I have a feeling the 5-door will have even more room in it, but if you're on your own, you don't need any more room than the 3-door has.
I'm not sure I'd pay the starting price of £11,000 for a new Corolla 1.4 T2. Although it is very nice and I love it to bits, the spec doesn't quite seem to fit the price tag. But if you can find a second-hand one (and there are LOADS about) for between £4,500 and 7,000, you'll have a car that's well worth the money.
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