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2009 Toyota Corolla Road and Track Test

News Flash: The Corolla is a really good car! OK, you probably knew or at least suspected this already. You might even have owned one at some point in your life,

Toyota's 2009 Corolla is better than ever, and looks way cooler too. (Photo: Toyota)

or at least known someone who has or still does, and due to positive experiences had by almost everyone, the car has achieved serious street cred for reliability and good all-round A to B transportation. Where it doesn't get much respect is in drivability, and to that end some of the press it's received hasn't exactly been very fair.

The previous Corolla was actually a pretty good performer, especially in optional XRS trim. Nobody talks about that when dogging the car for its plebian roots or its somewhat banal styling. Yes, there hasn't been a great deal of excitement infused in the Corolla's design since the fabulous rear-drive, twin-cam GT-S hatchback from the mid-80s, until now that is. Oh yeah, the new Corolla looks really, really good.

Taking

This is the actual Corolla base model that I drove around the test track in Cambridge... but no cameras were allowed. (Photo: Toyota)

cues from the recently updated Camry, which in itself initiated a styling departure that has helped to transform perceptions about another really good car that doesn't get the respect it deserves from supposed performance enthusiasts, the new Corolla boasts a more aggressive, masculine look than the outgoing car, which was about so inoffensive looking it offended anyone with any semblance of style. Yes, while I liked driving the old Corolla, the car did nothing for me in the design department. Boring pretty well sums it up, the antithesis of the new Corolla. Fortunately the new car doesn't give up anything in driving dynamics, but actually improves on everything by a quantum leap.

My first taste of the car was at a pre-launch event on the test track next to Toyota's Cambridge, Ontario plant where it's assembled. Both Corolla and Matrix models were made available for a number of quick laps around the short circuit, and while far from the real world element this opportunity gave me a chance to feel

Even in base trim it looks really good from all angles. (Photo: Toyota)

the car out at highway speeds and through tight, banked corners, even before it hit the show stands. Since this time I've had it at home, living with a top-line XRS model for a day back in February, and now spending a week with the same car, and guess what? It's even better than I had initially thought.

And let's get real. When I say that it's good I'm already taking into consideration its competition, and there are a lot of very good cars in the entry-level compact segment. On the comfort, quality and reliability side of the category there's the new Hyundai Elantra, admittedly designed by taking apart the previous Corolla and building the new Korean car around the diehard Japanese model, to the point that it looks more like a Corolla than the new Corolla. It's a good car though, and therefore a strong competitor in the class. Now that I'm talking about one of the Koreans, what about Kia's Spectra,

The base car is good, but I prefer the more powerful XRS shown here taking part in my test run on the track. (Photo: Toyota)

designed on an earlier version of the Elantra's architecture and, despite being a few years old now, a great little car filled with features. The top performer in this crowd is probably the Mazda3, living up to this brand's “zoom-zoom” credo and a solid, practical daily driver too, while Honda's Civic is a top sales performer and a serious screamer in Si trim. The list goes on with a number of slower selling yet just as formidable compact competitors, such as Nissan's Sentra, Subaru's Impreza, and my new personal favorite for numerous reasons, Mitsubishi's Lancer. Then again, how can I go on without mentioning Saturn's fabulous new Astra, a true import fighter because it's a true import, while VW's Jetta remains a cut above the rest in premium-like quality, size and, unfortunately, price. Yes, it's a wickedly challenging segment to rise to the top of, yet Toyota continually does so with its Corolla, and this new model is so much better than the one it replaces that it just won't be able to help but maintain its global class dominance.

I've

The interior of our weeklong tester, in XRS trim, is really upscale. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

already mentioned its superior styling, and its finer lines translate into the interior too, by the way. Its meatier three-spoke steering wheel is a big step up, leather-wrapped and aluminum trimmed in XRS trim, as its double-bubble primary instrument cluster with brighter Optitron graphics (standard with the XLE). Its center stack and lower console is more refined, with a nicer more flowing shape and higher quality switchgear, especially for the audio system, and the surrounding surfaces are covered in a silver metallic coating in XRS trim, to match the steering wheel and additional accents throughout the cabin. That top-line model features some pretty sweet seats too, with black and blue cloth inserts and decent side bolstering. And if you happen to find yourself in back, rest assured there's more hip, shoulder and legroom than in the previous Corolla, plus more room in the trunk for gear.

Along with the roomier interior is a longer list of standard and optional features,

The new center stack is much more attractive and premium-like than the one it replaces. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

starting with a high level of safety equipment. This is an area the old Corolla lacked, featuring just two front airbags. Now all Corollas get six standard airbags, including dual-stage front bags, front and rear side curtain airbags, plus driver and front passenger seat-mounted side airbags. Toyota improved the Corolla's body structure as well, with strategic reinforcements to absorb and channel crash energy more effectively around and away from the passenger compartment. To avoid accidents at night, the car's low headlight setting now casts a wider, longer beam, very helpful for reducing eye strain too. To avoid an accident, ABS brakes are now standard as well, and in case of an MVA, anti-whiplash head restraints are part of the base package. The base Corolla also gets a telescoping and tilting steering wheel, a CD player with MP3 compatibility and an aux-in jack. The car is, however, more than $1,000 more expensive than the outgoing model. The XLE is the luxury minded Corolla, featuring woodgrain trim, a sliding center console with card holder and an automatic transmission as standard. Then there's the sporty-looking S, which adds a body kit, tinted headlight bezels, a rear spoiler and fog lights to the standard mix. The XRS backs that up with a larger engine, a sport-tuned suspension and larger diameter 17-inch five-spoke alloy wheels.

Motivating the slightly larger, slightly heavier car is an all-new engine lineup, featuring stronger output levels across the Corolla lineup. Entry-level cars come with a 1.8-liter four-cylinder boasting dual VVT-i Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence on both intake and exhaust cams that makes 132-horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 128 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm and shifts through a five-speed manual or optional four-speed Electronically Controlled Transmission (ECT).

Standard XRS 17-inch alloys make a big difference in the corners. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

Yes, Toyota chose not to upgrade to a five-speed automatic with its base, LE, XLE or S models, like some of its competitors have with their lower end compact models, but after testing it out on the track it seemed to move along pretty well with this setup, and fuel economy hardly suffers at 27 mpg in the city and 35 on the highway. Still, I'd like to see how thrifty it would be with a taller final drive, however, the manual only manages 26 mpg in the city and the same 35 on the highway. And how does all that extra power effect consumption compared to the weaker 2007 car? Oddly, it's the same in the city, while highway mileage is also identical. Not bad, Toyota.

If I was in the market for a Corolla, mind you, and money permitted, I'd opt for the XRS' 2.4-liter upgrade, also featuring dual VVT-i Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence on both intake and exhaust cams. Sure it uses an estimated 22 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway, but its much stronger 158-horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 162 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm makes for a really fun car. No its not as zingy as the previous XRS, with its 170-horsepower

New 2.4-liter four isn't as zingy as the old XRS' 1.8-liter engine, but it's more tractable for everyday driving and better suited to the optional automatic. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

1.8-liter engine, detuned from the now defunct Celica GT-S, nor does it have that car's six-speed manual, but the new engine makes 35 lb-ft more torque and is therefore a more mature driving experience, suiting the new grownup car much better. The new XRS can also be had with a five-speed automatic, the first time an automatic has been offered in this model.

The same must be said for ride and handling. OK, the new car doesn't really seem to improve all that much in the ride department, as the old one was quite good, but when it comes to slinging it through the curves it feels more stable and all-round a sportier experience. All Corollas feature an independent front suspension with Macpherson gas struts, coil springs and a stabilizer bar, plus a torsion beam setup with coil springs and a stabilizer bar in the rear, where the XRS adds a front strut tower bar and firmer, sportier tuning allover. As already mentioned, the top-line car's rolling stock helps it to feel sportier too,

Finally a cool looking Corolla... I even had a teen walk across the street to tell me that he liked it. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

being 215/45R17 Goodyear rubber on racy five-spoke alloy wheels. Base Corolla and LE models get 15-inch steel wheels with wheel covers wrapped in 195/65R15s, whereas XLE and S models are enhanced with 205/55R16 tires covering 16-inch steel rims. The latter tire size can also be had with aluminum alloys in S, LE and XLE trims as an option.

Another reason I'd go for the XRS is stopping power. Don't get me wrong, as the base, LE, XLE and S models get standard ABS with Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA), but the cream of the Corolla crop sports standard stability control (VSC) for bringing the car back out of a skid, traction control (TRAC) for getting off the line in the first place, and rear discs to go along with the ventilated rotors up front, replacing the lesser models' rear drums, for better braking performance with less fade during multiple applications, which means they'll keep on hauling the car down from speed when zipping up and down that favorite curvy mountain road.

And

Thoughtful standard features, like this auxiliary plug, make the Corolla fun to live with. (Photo: Kevin Wang, American Auto Press)

to that end my XRS tester proved to be a capable taskmaster, not in the realm of a Civic Si, especially in the engine department, but, for thousands less, a real joy to fling through the corners. I took it up and down the road to my local ski hill and it delivered easily controlled understeer under normal albeit fast conditions and even a little oversteer if provoked. At high speed it maintained a cool composure, even over rough pavement, and all the while cabin noise was kept to civil levels. On the tighter “road course” understeer proved to be more of a challenge, although once again the Corolla XRS proved to be more capable than some cars costing thousands more and even more controllable than one particular Japanese model that sports all-wheel drive.

Truly, after an early track test, a daylong fling around town, and now a thorough week of driving all sorts of urban, interurban, rural and country roads with the new Corolla,

Another bestseller? No doubt! (Photo: Toyota)

I have to say that it no longer should be considered a needs-driven purchase. Its quieter interior, thanks to thicker glass and the car's more aerodynamic design, as well as its larger rear quarters that accommodated two of my three kids while being transported to gymnastics classes, baseball, the grocery store and just about everywhere else we went, made it a much more enjoyable car to live with than any previous Corolla. The new Corolla has grown up into a really impressive car, more refined than the compact sedan it replaces and a great deal more enjoyable to drive.

If Toyota can maintain reliability, which has always been the Corolla's strong point, then customer satisfaction levels will continue to be good and resale prices will remain high, once again making the Corolla one of the best values in the business.

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