Thinking of buying a 2011 Corolla?

[rscott22]

Hey Guys,

So I am debating on if I should get a new Corolla or not. I am currently driving a 2008 Lexus IS250 6 speed but, I am sick of paying 600 a month for the car plus I drive 80 miles each day round trip to work. Looking for something to get a little better gas mileage and lower maintenance cost but, also be happy driving day to day in.
I was wondering if you guys could list me the pros and cons of the new Corolla. I am looking to get a Type S and would like to get the 5 speed (wish they made a 6 speed like all the corolla competitors do). I have always owned Toyota but, honestly Korean cars have really caught my eye lately and you get ALOT more bang for your buck.

Here are the three cars I am debating between.

- Corolla Type S
- Scion TC
- Kia Forte Koup
- Hyundai Elantra

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks,
Ryan

[rallykid]

The tC was my first choice when was shopping as I loved the 2006 tC I had, however I have a 9 month old son. A car seat and a 2 door car is a bad combo. When I decided on something with 4 doors the Corolla XRS was my first choice but they are not available in my region and would have to have been a special order so I went with the S. The Forte is nice as well but being a Kia have horrible resale value. If you don't need 4 doors then personally I would go scion. If you need a 4 door then the Corolla is a great choice.

[FlawedLegacy]

First off !!!

FYI: it's a Corolla S, not Type S. Doesn't bother me much, but some people on here will go NUTS seeing that, lol.

I LOVE my Corolla!! I've had 4 other Corollas and this is BY FAR the "sportiest", and I only have a LE.

While you are coming from a higher class car, as long as you can accept the changes, I think you will love it. Esp if you get Inake, Throttle Controller and Exhaust which completely changes the car's punch. Then add some bars and springs for handling and you should be golden. I am slowly working on this list myself and LOVE that I have a car I like this much with payments under $200 a month (purchased, not leased).

My 2c on your list:
- Corolla S "WINNING!!"
- Scion TC "WINNING!!" (*needed 4 doors or this would have been a big option*)
- Kia Forte Koup Kia... enough said for me to rule it out of my list
- Hyundai Elantra I seem to be the minority, but HATE the style

But again, it's all on your opinions, etc... Hope you decide to join us!

[rscott22]

Thanks guys for the info so far! I think the Corolla is the route I will go unless I find a slightly used 2011 TC. I just cant figure out how people deal with not being able to talk down the price of the new Scion TC there over priced IMO. I went to the dealer this past weekend and worked a deal of them completely paying off my lexus still owed over 3 years and it had 56,000 miles on it... yeah I travel alot. They came down to 17,000 out the door for a 2011 automatic with no sunroof but, was the S model and has the upgraded stereo and blue tooth. I would rather get the 5 speed with 1. To help with climbing the bigger hills around here and 2. cut down on price I think it's 1,000 more for the auto. Think its possible to get a new S model out the door with a 5 speed for 15.5 -16k?

Ryan,

[LeanBurn]

I would seriously consider the 2011 Elantra. It has more power and gets better fuel economy than the Corolla and the styling is really new and fresh. It comes with a lot of great standard features and options you can't get in the Corolla as well. I wouldn't rule it out because it a Hyundai either, they have really got their act together in the past 5 years and are giving Honda and Toyota a run for their money in terms of reliability.

[Dorkinheimer]

Japanese cars have much better resale value than Korean cars. Korean cars look nice, but I rather a car that is known for it's reliabiility and resale value, than just looks.

[rscott22]

Originally Posted by Dorkinheimer

Japanese cars have much better resale value than Korean cars. Korean cars look nice, but I rather a car that is known for it's reliabiility and resale value, than just looks.

True, but Korean cars have stepped up there reliability lately and im not worried about resale value I plan on driving this car till it has 200,000 or more miles on it. I am using the extra money from the lexus to buy a Supra finally and the Corolla or whatever I buy will just be my daily driver to the city and around town.

[LeanBurn]

Times are changing. Hyundai has been in the rise for the past decade and are now lumped in with Toyota and Honda in all the ratings. To assume that Toyota and Honda are always going to be the benchmark for reliability is not entirely informed, and a little biased. Sure they (Toyota and Honda) make great products, but at one time Toyota and Honda were at the bottom rankings....beneath the likes of Chrysler, Dodge and GM.


http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...y-findings.htm

http://www.automobile.com/hyundai-so...ty-survey.html

[joeylgarcia]

i dont want to be seen driving a KIA or HYUNDAI. LOL. corolla is my choice.

[Jackss731]

might as well drive a daewoo! haha honestly the new forte Koup looks pretty sick!
the 4 door looks eh..and the elantra got a nice facelift. definitely raising the bar.

but if you prefer a 4 door...then a corolla

[rscott22]

My biggest thing with the kia and hyundai is that I get so much for so little. I can get leather heated seats front and back with nava and 9 speakers for 18,500 OTD!

[a77ms25]

all korean cars are bad
you will get amazing first impression but after one or two years, you will discover how cheap are thay.

i used to have kia credos but after two years the engine blow-up

for me i would recomend German cars, American small cars and japanese cars only

keep yourself away from korea

[FlawedLegacy]

Originally Posted by rscott22

My biggest thing with the kia and hyundai is that I get so much for so little. I can get leather heated seats front and back with nava and 9 speakers for 18,500 OTD!

this is true, BUT do either of those give you the reliability the Toyota offers?
Sure you get crazy options, but I'll take the better engine and add that stuff.

(again, just my 2c)

[rscott22]

Originally Posted by FlawedLegacy

this is true, BUT do either of those give you the reliability the Toyota offers?
Sure you get crazy options, but I'll take the better engine and add that stuff.

(again, just my 2c)

Your 100% correct, I guess the biggest thing holding me back now is the crappy transmission choices. A 5 speed manual (instead of 6 speed like the competitors) or 4 speed auto (competitors are using a 6 speed auto also). Just seems like Toyota is really behind and has a lot of catching up to do ASAP. One again don’t get me wrong my first car was a 97 Celica GT and ran perfectly for me then the Lexus and now I am looking at Toyota again. I just wish Toyota would step there game up a little.

[LeanBurn]

My brother had an 2009 Accent, he punished that little car more than any person I have ever known (sustained 100mph runs for hours, idling all night for weeks on end, over loaded it and used it as a multiple person car pool mule & the engine and everything else stood up to it for more than 120,000 miles and then he got married and sold it .... all this after only 1.5 years of use. It still got great fuel economy, and drove well at the point of sale. This same person completely wore out a Chevy Cavalier in less than a year, killed a Chevy Blazer in less than 2 years.

German cars for the past 4 years (Audi, Mercedes, BMW VW) have had rapidly falling quality and serious longevity issues in North America. I wouldn't touch one, and I used to be a serious VW fan 10 years ago. Plus a premium price is paid for German vehicles, not really in this price range.


a77ms25 .... Haven't you had issues with your Corolla due to terrible fuel over there in Iraq?? Most vehicles wouldn't last long in the dusty 50C (122F) conditions you have there, even military ones without some issues. Just as a side note, we don't get the Credos here in North America. The Credos was made from 1995-2001 (replaced by the Optima in 2001) and it used a Mazda engine which had rave reviews for performance and reliability (used in the Mazda 3 and the Miata and others), so I don't know where the blame is for that...Mazda or Kia.