Review: Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6G AT

The Equation is simple: Corolla = Car

WORDS Niky Tamayo PHOTOS Niky Tamayo | 25 January 2009

Corolla. The name means many things to many people. For those in the know, it can mean anything from rock-solid reliability to rally-proven sports prowess. But to the man on the street, the word Corolla only means one thing: “Car”. It's like one of those word association games. I say “Photocopier”, you say “Xerox”. I say "Softdrink", you say “Coke”, I say “Beer”, you say “San Miguel” (Asia Brewery wanted us saying “Beer na Beer” instead, and look how that worked out...) I say fast-food, you say “Jollibee”. Now Jollibee may not have the best tasting burgers in the world... or even in the Philippines, but that's not the point. Jollibee sells a lot of burgers. Simply because people know what they are, know what they cost, know what they're going to taste like when they take a bite, and feel that the cost-enjoyment-nutrition equation works out pretty well. Jollibee=Burgers. Jollibee customers know what they want. That's what Corolla buyers are like. They know exactly what they want. And what they want is a car that gets them from point A to point B with minimum fuss. The Corolla does this part exceptionally well, as Corollas have always done. But unlike the previous Altis, which was merely conservatively handsome, the new Corolla does the half-hour commute in style. The 10th generation Corolla takes its styling cues from the current Toyota Camry, and those styling cues, along with the lower, wider and sharper body, make the Corolla quite a great looking car. Particularly impressive is the way that Toyota worked around the wheelarches to make sure that they didn't look too small for the body, yet were just big enough for the Corolla to be offered with mere 15” or 16” wheels without looking under-endowed. Mommies and Daddies will be happy to get a mini-Camry for this little money. Boy-racers will absolutely love the “pimp-a-bility” of the car, which looks great on bigger wheels and with the optional body-kit. Of course, those same boy-racers won't be so enthused with the way the new Altis drives. The previous Corolla was a good platform and a decent drive, but it was about as sporty as a pair of leather loafers on the basketball court. The new Corolla doesn't change that much. The Corolla's previously heavy steering is now finger-twirl light at parking-lot speeds, which is good, but it's also finger-twirl light at highway speeds, which is bad. Experienced drivers may find the need for constant, fidgety corrections annoying, Inexperienced drivers might find it nerve-wracking. The underlying numbness of that steering rack pervades the Corolla experience. There's an edge of softness to the way it accelerates, brakes and turns. Once you push past that edge of softness, there's a surprisingly solid car underneath. The new Corolla isn't just a cosmetic refresh, it's stiffer, too. It now earns a 5 star rating on the EuroNCAP as opposed to the previous car's 4 stars. It shows in how it handles, how the body settles and takes a set in turns, in the predictability of its behavior. It may not set your heart afire in the way it drives, but it won't kill you with the wayward sloppiness that other “soft” cars exhibit, either. It feels, in fact, as stable as the previous Altis, despite the fact that the older Altis had heftier steering and a stiffer suspension. Normally, you'd expect such a softly sprung car to float or bounce over humps or potholes. Not the Corolla. Even at *ahurm* triple digit speeds, the Corolla is surprisingly stable after the infamously unsettling C5 overpass south of Taguig. It rebounds once after coming down, the meaty shock absorbers cushioning the impact and absorbing the landing. On the highway, potholes and ripples are absorbed so well you can't help wondering if you're driving a Tempur mattress, each pebble and hump sinking into the syrupy suspension without a sound. The cabin is comfortable, too. While the seat foam is, in Toyota tradition, light and squishy, it's still supportive enough for government work, and generally unobjectionable compared to some of the rock-hard alternatives (I'm looking at you, Civic). Plastics are good, but, unfortunately, not quite up to the standards set by the previous Corolla Altis, as Toyota follows the industry trend towards lighter plastic pieces. A little more money spent in damping the action of such parts as the glovebox and the incredibly floppy front-center armrest (it's a nice touch, but feels cheap) would help here. Strangely, too, while it gives you decent enough knee room and head room, the front footwells are incredibly shallow. Suffice to say, the Civic has the Corolla trumped on leg-room, despite both gravitating towards sportier iterations of their previous “jumbo-bodied” models. And, thanks to the Corolla's unchanged, eight-year old (but slightly retuned) engine and 4-speed automatic, the Civic has the edge in performance, too. The Civic's 5-Speed automatic and 140 hp 1.8 liter engine give it a rip-snorting 10-second run to 100 km/h (that's good for an automatic), while the Corolla takes a leisurely 11.6 seconds to do the same. But when you compare that to other 1.6 and 1.8 liter automatics on the market (Focus 1.8, 12, Mazda3 1.6, 14+, Optra - 14+), the Corolla's performance comes across as outstanding. Despite the extra weight in the new chassis, the Corolla is still on the light side for a modern compact car. And this lightness allows the old engine and ancient 4-speed automatic to return decent economy numbers (about 9.6 - 10 km/l city), bettering both the 1.8 Civic and the 1.8 Focus we tested previously (both in the 8s). THE GOOD Buttery ride Buttery ride Buttery ride Economical engine Great looks THE BAD Terrible steering Only four gears? Some cheap interior bits Bit short on legroom THE LOWDOWN The ultimate commuter car Would I buy one of these cars? The utter lack of driver involvement and the loose steering are enough to keep an unabashed gearhead like me away. But 99% of the buying public could care less about these things. For them, the Corolla presents a compelling argument. The misplaced sporting pretensions of the previous Altis have given way to the creation of the perfect Corolla. Unless your daily commute includes a lap of the Subic Raceway, the Corolla will get you there just fine. In fact, even if it does, the Corolla may just surprise you with how capable it really is, beneath that layer of fluff. The Corolla's good points and low price make it compelling choice for a family sedan. A basic family sedan, that is. Paying the extra money for the 1.8 or 2.0 variants seems silly, as those looking for extra speed and excitement will find much more in the 1.8 liter Honda Civic, and at the 1 million peso price level, the Lancer, Focus and Impreza give you more of a feeling of exclusivity and sportiness. But at the base-model level, where economy, comfort and day-to-day use are what count, the Corolla's cost-comfort-enjoyment equation works out pretty well. Corolla=Commuter. And for interested buyers, the Corolla's newfound good looks may just seal the deal.

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