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Sedans Toyota Corolla 2009 Toyota Corolla
3074 messages, Last post on Aug 04, 2009 at 6:36 PM
You are in the Toyota Corolla Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: thegraduate (Apr 07, 2009 1:51 pm)
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Replying to: terceltom (Apr 07, 2009 5:01 pm) You obviously aren't reading my posts (which makes me wonder if you're just blindly replying to me without thinking it over). I blatantly said that I "doubt it is a mechanical failure."  I think it is a poorly tuned system. The Corolla is obviously not the only car on the market with EPS, and others happen to have some road feel. By the way, can ya link me to those sales numbers? I'd love to see them.  People buy Toyotas because they want a comfortable, reliable ride. They deliver. The Camry LE/XLE doesn't have EPS, but still is devoid of any driving fun or steering feel. It's not a Corolla-only thing. It's inherent in Toyota's tuning.
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Replying to: thegraduate (Apr 07, 2009 5:17 pm)
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I agree with both sides. The EPS from Toyota does have a 'no effort' feel and it's something that can be tuned differently in the future. The new 2010 Prius is an example. But the way it's set up for example in the Corolla is intentional. Why? This has been rehashed over and over and over again in this thread. The Corolla is not a curve-carver. It is not intended to compete with the Mazda3 or Si. It is only intended to do one thing, that is to appeal to the largest number of buyers looking for a very efficient, inexpensive, low maintenance, traditional vehicle that will endure long miles and long years and get the owner from point a to point b................and most importantly..... to make a profit. It has no other function in life. For those wanting or needing more 'feel' or more 'fun' or more power or more room there are many other vehicles available. The Corolla is directed toward one very large segment. It succeeds as terceltom notes by actual the number of sales it makes. This is marketing. Toyota has identified a need, or if you want to put it another way a 'lack of needs', and it has created the Corolla to meet this demand - intentionally. By the sheer numbers of Corolla's sold Toyota is correct. But then so are all of you, individually. Isn't this a great country? 
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Apr 08, 2009 7:21 am) |
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Replying to: terceltom (Apr 08, 2009 4:17 am) And, I told you why I didn't buy a Toyota, because it is geared towards buyers that like the comfy ride and couldn't care less about driving fun. Having said all that, I'll ask this: Is the Corolla going to get anything more than a 4-speed automatic anytime soon? Any rumors on an upgrade flying around?
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Apr 08, 2009 7:21 am) |
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Replying to: thegraduate (Apr 08, 2009 9:02 am) Issues seem to get addressed incrementally in order of importance. Regarding the Corolla the issues were implementing the new 1ZR 1.8L engine, addressing the seating / steeringwheel issue, making a quieter environment, adding new safety equipment, increasing interior room, all while maintaining fuel economy at the top of the class and keeping prices low enough to appeal to the targetted buying segment.......and to make a profit doing so. The 4 speed AT is a non-issue with the targetted demographic. But the direction is clearly toward 5 AT's in the near future along with a Valvematic enhancement which already being used in the JDM versions of the Corolla. New features begin there and migrate to the other markets ( iron out the bugs too ). My personal guess is that at the 3 yr refresh in MY 2012 we might see the 5 AT + Valvematic. At the latest I'd guess 2014 in the 'all new' Corolla. |
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Apr 08, 2009 7:21 am) As a case in point, I know of at least one other compact econocar with EPS on which the steering feel is tuned differently for different markets, e.g. a softer feel for the U.S., and a firmer feel for the European market and at least some AP markets including Australia. It was a pretty easy change to make, e.g. a couple of engineers went down to Australia when there were published road tests that trashed the steering feel of the car, and the engineers made an in-the-field update to the EPS that improved the steering feel greatly. So it IS possible, and pretty easily/cheaply. That leads me to believe that you are correct in saying the disconnected steering feel on the Corolla is intentional, that is, that Toyota thinks Americans LIKE our small cars to feel that way. But I suggest that the Corolla's strong sales are not BECAUSE of its steering feel, but IN SPITE OF its steering feel, i.e. there are enough people who either don't mind the way the steering feels or overlook it because they like other things about the Corolla. Anyway, since it appears the steering feel is intentional, that is where posts like those from thegraduate and others who don't care for the Corolla's steering feel are useful and should be encouraged rather than shoved aside by Toyota fans. If no one complains about the steering feel, Toyota has no reason to make a change. And I suspect Toyota and other manufacturers do monitor these forums. At least we know for sure that many Toyota employees monitor these forums, and they are in a position to send the feedback to the company.
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Replying to: backy (Apr 08, 2009 11:25 am) I think that Toyota has made a production decision based on marketing input for the targetted demographic. It's intentional. For that demographic the EPS is a non-issue as is the 5 AT. Other features need addressing first. No one is shoving anyone's opinion aside. As noted previously everyone's view is correct. That's why there are so many choices in the market. But the view that the EPS is somehow 'wrong' or 'bad' is only a personal view of certain people that want something else. The current design is 'correct' and 'good' for the drivers for whom the vehicle's intended. The volume of sales validates those production/marketing decisions. As I said in the beginning everybody's view is correct. It only depends on one's personal preferences. I'm certain that all these discussion are monitored on a regular basis by all the vehicle makers. These are the new 'focus groups' if you will. But in the case of enthusiast sites such as herein the population is not indicative of the general population so that bias has to be taken into account. |
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