Are you satisfied with the power of the motor?

[Dorkinheimer]

Those with the 1.8 motor (132 hp), do you find that your car has sufficient power for your driving needs?

Every new generation, they come out with stronger motors as if we need more and more power.

I remember my 1990 Corolla (102 hp) and it was plenty back then.

It's funny how, what was good enough back then, isn't good enough for today....

[Londonguy]

I find it very slugghish most times, especially accelerating on slight hills. I went for a ride in an 09 focus yesterday and it had lots of zip, better than corolla but not as smooth and refined. I'd take the corolla's lack of power to any other car I've been in in its class because the other features make up for it not to mention at the gas pumps.

[MXs]

NO. Its very unresponsive, anytime i floor it, in the upper gears at a low rpm (below 3300rpm) it goes nowhere. You have to drop it down a gear and even if you floor it then, it will take some time to accelerate. This is especially relevant on a hill where i feel like i have to rev the nuts out of it (above 3500rpm) just to get any responsiveness up the damn hill.

[jot]

Originally Posted by Dorkinheimer

Those with the 1.8 motor (132 hp), do you find that your car has sufficient power for your driving needs?

Every new generation, they come out with stronger motors as if we need more and more power.

I remember my 1990 Corolla (102 hp) and it was plenty back then.

It's funny how, what was good enough back then, isn't good enough for today....

To be fair, the car has gotten heavier throughout the generations and thus, necessitates a more powerful motor.

[thestone11]

I found it not too bad with the manual transmission. For a 1.8L engine with great fuel economy, I found it not bad at all. There is a reason why the XRS is out there...for owner seeking for a little more power.

[pwain]

Yep. For driving purposes its a good trade off of power and fuel economy.

Its not going to beat much off the line, but I find the acceleration from 45-75 to be great for its specs. Makes passing slow-pokes on 2 lane highways a breeze.

I'm not really sure why many people "floor" the Corolla, especially the autotragic owners (like me),you are likely to get there quicker with gradual acceleration

[buddy97]

132 hp is plenty. i dont really know when i need all of that. so i can beat someone to the next red light? my 106 hp yaris was plenty as well, and i had no problem merging onto interstate with that. heck, if vw brings the polo over here, ill drive the 80 hp version if it gets 50-60 mpg.

[LeanBurn]

Plenty enough for me.

Back in the late 80's VW Golf GTi DOHC FI 1.8L pocket rocket motor that produced 123hp / 123 tq, it had high gearing that allowed very good fuel economy in the city...for the time and it was pretty quick too mid-lo 8.0sec 0-60mph. Got not so good highway as it revved at 4000rpm at 70mph. Specs are pretty similar to ours but we have 100x better emissions and better fuel economy.

When you compare it with car with similar displacement and fuel economy specs, it at the top of the game.

[John Mo]

Originally Posted by pwain

Its not going to beat much off the line, but I find the acceleration from 45-75 to be great for its specs. Makes passing slow-pokes on 2 lane highways a breeze.

I don't have a lot of excuses to jump off the line, but pwain's right, it's got great passing power, which I do have to use on our local 2-lanes.

Originally Posted by pwain

I'm not really sure why many people "floor" the Corolla, especially the autotragic owners (like me),you are likely to get there quicker with gradual acceleration

Autotragic.

Yah, mine's a stick.

[RollaRed]

I think the only people who would complain are the ones with the Auto tranny because i have the manual tranny and it feels like it has good power. But wanting more power isn't bad either.

[djb383]

The last car I had with a manual tranny was a 1970 340 Dodge Dart. Can't imagine ever having another stick. The 1.8L auto tranny is very refined and responsive. Whenever I have a need for real speed and good mpg............

http://img509.imageshack.us/my.php?i...pim00524hl.jpg

[Berg]

I find the 1.8 also very week with the auto tranny. Far less good in driving flexibility than the focus, cobalt or even the SX 2.0 with an automatic tranny. Civic a the Mazda 3 do carry a 2.0 wich makes a huge difference on the car being flexible around town. I am considering upgrading to an XRS once I will be able of change car model without losing to much, that 1.8 with the automatic tranny is a pain in the A$$ and that 4 spd transmission is shiffting very roughly. Definitely better in manual transmission, but at 6 3" I would have to break my leg to push the clutch.

I am considering putting "low" aside the S letter on my trunk to notify car behind that I can't accelarate any faster.

[ericgu22]

Corolla's are tuned to be sluggish for it to get the best fuel economy. As for Mazda 3 and civic, they are responsive because they aim at younger audience who wants a little power but cannot beat the Corolla in fuel economy. Wondering if we could change the computer in the Corolla to get more power??

[RollaRed]

Originally Posted by Berg

I am considering putting "low" aside the S letter on my trunk to notify car behind that I can't accelarate any faster.

LMAO
funny stuff

[Crobledo4116]

I have the 09 XRS Corolla and to be honest, its really good, not fast like my Audi but its very responsive and I have an auto...I live in LA and I do a 90mile commute every day