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Sedans Toyota Corolla 2009 Toyota Corolla
3074 messages, Last post on Aug 04, 2009 at 6:36 PM
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Replying to: nippononly (Apr 04, 2008 11:27 am) I thought the C/D comparison was an interesting one, though its obvious that comparable trim levels are becoming increasingly difficult for the magazines to find in the Press Fleets of the manufacturers, as evidenced by this very basic Corolla Standard entry. I think perhaps a more appropriate competitor (features-wise, I recognize there are no engine or suspension differences) would have been a Corolla S 5MT with VSC, which would have offered 16-inch wheels and tires, and I wonder how that would have impacted braking distance and adhesion measures. I don't think a Corolla S would have changed the vehicle's 3rd of 8 ranking, overall, I'm just interested on how tires affect these two items. Also, it will be interesting to see the braking distances of the Corolla LE 4A that Consumer Reports is currently testing. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/news/2008/04/2009-toyota-coroll- - a-first-drive-4-08/overview/toyota-corolla-first-drive.htm just $.02
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Replying to: alpha01 (Apr 07, 2008 7:55 am) I, like you, took note of the fact that the Corolla was one of the cheapest cars in the test, in large part because they had gotten a stripped base model rather than higher-trim versions as they had with most of the other models in the test. The Civic I mentioned that needed 191 feet to stop from 70 was the LX, so it has the larger 205 mm tires that upper-trim Civics (excepting SI) have. While the wider tires of a Corolla S may have improved stopping distances for the current C&D comparo, its value quotient would have dropped in the rankings due to higher price with little in the way of additional substantive equipment, and of course plenty of people in the real world will have to live with the smaller tires of the lesser-trim Corollas. It is worth mentioning that if you're not buying a hybrid or a Lexus, the factory tires on brand new Toyotas these days are getting cheaper and cheaper, another cost-cutting move that is beginning to stand out. I would say that given the prices of the '09s, the only ones that are a good value are the stripped models. I do remember thinking that for $16K sticker (and therefore $14-15K real world price before too much longer, if not already), it was decently equipped given the standard safety equipment. The $20K XLEs and S's, by contrast, seem less of a bargain - very little beyond plastic tack-ons is added for the price, cruise is still optional all the way up the range, as is keyless entry in some cases, and the 1.8 auto is still a 4-speed. For a sticker of $20K, there are way better options.
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Replying to: nippononly (Apr 07, 2008 8:38 am) However, you state "While the wider tires of a Corolla S may have improved stopping distances for the current C&D comparo, its value quotient would have dropped in the rankings due to higher price with little in the way of additional substantive equipment, and of course plenty of people in the real world will have to live with the smaller tires of the lesser-trim Corollas. " Your statement regarding value quotient makes some assumptions, as your definition of "substative" may differ from that of the the editors at C/D. My personal feeling is that had C/D tested a Corolla S 5MT with a middle-of -the road option package and VSC (at about $18,500), both the Features and Pricing scoring categories would have been adjusted accordingly, and therefore not resulted in a different overall ranking for the vehicle. Certainly, the Corolla, like many Toyotas and vehicles from other manufacturers, can become pricey with options, so I def. hear you on that.
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Replying to: alpha01 (Apr 07, 2008 11:35 am) So they might as well have included a MINI Cooper in the comparo, which would have given them the high fuel economy plus crisp handling, for about the same price as some other cars that were tested. Including a Corolla S in the comparo makes so much sense, I expect what happened is that Toyota could not provide one from their test fleet when C/D wanted it.
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Replying to: backy (Apr 07, 2008 12:38 pm) I agree, also, on your assertion regarding the Corolla S - it seems that any press reviews of the Corolla S I've read (such as the Edmunds.com example), have been of full-dress, leather/NAV models, which would have been up above the 20K mark. That said, I can configure Corolla S 5MT with VSC, Pwr Pkg, heated mirrors, 6 CD, cruise, mats (but no alloys or spoiler) for $18,465 in my region. IMO, the print mags are in a tough spot nowadays, both from the perspective of available fleets, but moreso, increasing time irrelevance... even though we receive May issues of C/D, MT, R&T, etc.. the last week in March, theres nothing we really haven't read on the internet already.
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Replying to: alpha01 (Apr 08, 2008 8:06 am) * The editors raved about how nice the Impreza's interior is and how mundane (but functional) the Corolla's is, yet they gave the Corolla more points on the interior than the Impreza. * There was a lot of emphasis on making the 2009 Corolla quiet, but according to C/D's measurments the Corolla wasn't the quietest at idle, full throttle, or 70 mph cruise. I don't have the mag in front of me, but if I recall there were 2-3 cars ahead of the Corolla in some if not all 3 categories. Even though it's hard to tell a difference of a few decibels with the human ear, it was surprising to me that the new Corolla wasn't the quietest in the group. * They apparently had no problem fitting even their 6'5" tester in the Corolla's back seat (they mentioned only that the front seat was tight for one of their tall testers). That amazes me, since I'm only 5'10" and felt cramped sitting behind myself. |
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Replying to: nippononly (Apr 04, 2008 11:27 am) That's why I'm really hoping that the Corolla gets the 3ZR-FAE Valvematic engine within the next 18 months mated to a 5AT transmission along with standard four-wheel disc brakes on their top-line model. |
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Replying to: raychuang00 (Apr 09, 2008 4:24 am) |
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Replying to: raychuang00 (Apr 09, 2008 4:24 am) While I don't mind reading MT, I'd rather take C/D, which mixes subjective and objective measures and at least attempts a rational conversion into metrics (via its socring table), than MT which basically doesn't explain at all how they arrive at rankings. Backy, I think what you've stated regarding sound is interesting, but not all that uncommon. The decibel measures of sound do not account for sound quality, and that may have influenced C/D's comments to some degree. For ex, I've read in a few places that the 1.8L in the Corolla is less "boomy" than in the past - a good thing. And honestly, even though theres a Subie in my family, you've got to be a fan to *like* how that engine sounds, especially with its Mack truck idle.
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Replying to: alpha01 (Apr 09, 2008 6:08 am) But then, C/D apparently doesn't care too much about how quiet a car is, if it handles well. They knocked the top two cars, Rabbit and Impreza, for their noise (tires and engine, respectively). They could make theri comparos much easier on themselves by doing them this way: "How's it handle? Great? OK, it's our top car. Now we'll need to flip some coins to figure out how all the other cars rank." 
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