I came back for my test drive a little while ago. First off, I was impressed with the sales people at the dealership...nothing will turn me off more than an uninformed pushy salesman. My rep knew his stuff, was nice to deal with and represented the dealership/brand well.
Now for the car. Since the weather was still lousy here in Ottawa I couldnt fling the car into a corner to see how much body roll the chassis/susp would give up. What I did experience was a firm ride over bumps that wasnt too soft/hard but just right. The trunk was spacious (too bad those seats dont recline!) and the sport buckets up front were comfortable and supportive. The dash had some aluminum style accents which were nice but overall felt cheap, it reminded me I was in an economy car.
The engine wasnt the wild rev happy celica powerplant I imagined it would be. The midrange was lacking in tq, it did not rev very quickly and I was almost disapointed...until I hit lift...wow. Now I know what you guys are talking about, the lift really is amazing, the first time i hit it on the test drive the tires shimmied up front and the engine roared, it put a smile on my face right away. The downside to the lift was it starts so late in the powerband that shifting gears would take you out of it.
Part of that problem was with the gearing, which was another concern. I didnt like the feel of the shifter or the gates, and when you shifted quickly into another gear it took a split second too long for the clutch to grab and get going but I suspect its due to not being broken in yet.
Though my impressions might sound negative overall I liked the car. What I would change is the gearing/lift cam so that lift started a little earlier in a more usable range and to have the gears keep you there when redlining. The car had trouble passing anything unless you either reved the engine high or dropped down into a very low gear which is a concern since this would be my daily driver.
Those of you that own an XRS maybe you could shed some light on these issues once the car is broken in/doesnt have 2 other passengers/nice weather what is the powerband like in traffic etc
i wanted the XRS too because of the Celica/Lift-able engine and relative cheap insurance as an "wagon", and the fuel economy isn't that bad plus its a Toyota!
But i guess the Matrix is too heavy for this engine...
The really 1st motivation point considering the XRS was the Lotus Elise... the reason why Lotus use this engine was because this is perhaps the most reliable race engine which built by Yamaha.
If this car has no "power"(torque) most of the time... i might have to forget it... i hate the style anyway but the "lift" and cheap insurance really caught my heart because the only rival in my mind is a loaded Mazda 3 Wagon even with leather and Subaru 2.5TS Wagon which have very poor fuel consumption and won't be as reliable as Toyota, not to talk about the maintenance cost, any current owner of XRS can share abit of their experience with their XRS? Is there increase of "power" after broken the car?
deramg like Ren mentioned, I was talking about a Corolla XRS. Sorry should have made that clear but I thought since we were in the Corolla section i wouldnt need to specify. Insurance is still pretty reasonably on the rolla, I was quoted 2400$ a year full coverage when I turn 23 this April, i have a clean record and a 6 star rating...I was happy with the quote, the 4 doors help.
Ren - we didnt talk price since:
1) Im not ready to buy until after summer as I need to finish my last year of university
2) They didnt have one on the lot I wanted (there was only one silver one which was their test mule, I dont want it due to people hammering on it like me, and I want a black one which would need to be ordered)
I know I cant knock more than 1000.00 off the price due to the nature of the car (they dont make much on them) but I do get an additional 500$ off and .02% off the financing since im a university grad come spring. So the plan is to go in during the fall, see if I can get it for 23,000 with a winter tire/wheel package, Id buy it for that with 3.7% interest.
Having had an XRS a little over a month and a half I'll offer some comments.
First of all, the thing comes with michelin pilot primacies. Those are summer touring tires. I would have killed myself in the snow with those and promptly put some hankook snow tires on it. When I first got the car the clutch was grabby and I would chirp or even all out spin on the the 1-2 and 2-3 shift all the time. Either I have gotten better at it (this is my first manual car) or the clutch has broken in, either way it has gotten a lot smoother. As for the shift gate, it will loosen up considerably with use. Mine was really tight when I got it, and it is very smooth now.
As for power there are two ways to drive the car. One is regular where you launch at 1.5k rpm and shift around 3-5k RPM. With the garbage ethanol added gas I have here I have managed 26 mpg city. If you drive it like the engine was made to be driven, i.e. 3k launches and shifting at redline through the first few gears, the car screams. Driving like that has gotten me 20mpg, which still isn't horrible. For a 4 cylinder car I feel that it has really good power.
For the handling, I can't complain. I had a monte carlo before this car and I could barely do 40mph on cloverleaf on-ramps. In the XRS i find myself doing 60 and it feels like it can do more. The suspension is taught, but it isn't abrasive, even over really rough surfaces, like railroad tracks. I wish the back suspension was a little more modern, but for the lightness of the car, it does ok. As for lightness, this car is incredibly light. I don't know what the weight distribution is, but the all aluminium engine helps and it feels really balanced. There is very little nose dive under hard braking.
All in all, I am very happy with the XRS. The only thing I wish is that you could keep the car in lift more and still be legal. Redline in 2nd is about 65mph and that is all you can do if you want to be legal in Illinois. If you want a sport compact sedan that's pretty good on gas, I don't think you can go wrong with the XRS. If you want a sports car then you are going to have to look elsewhere, like the RX8. Insurance in the RX8 is no laughing matter though.
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2005 Corolla XRS Silver Streak Mica
2005 Kawasaki Z750S Candy Plasma Blue
1993 Kawasaki EX500a Luminous Polaris Blue
My first test drive in the XRS was the least impressive drive. After that, it was only getting better as I understood the car more. A few pointers for you:
1 ) The car you drove must have very low mileage and unbroken in. That is why the shifter feels notchy, the engine not quite happy as you rev up to 8500 rpm as a Celica GT-S. Another thing is that XRS needs to be revved a few times before one see's the true smoothness. After 3500 KM on my XRS, my shifter has become like butter. I can move the shifter diagonally for quick shifts. My XRS screams and sings with joy everytime I push it up to 8500 rpm. It is a lot more smoother and refined than it was when I got it.
2) Remember XRS 2ZZ was developed in 2003 as a result of all the feedback that was received from the 1st generation Celica GT-S 2ZZ developed as far back as 1998. Corolla XRS has all the torque at 4400 rpm that Celica GT-S gets at 6800 rpm so Corolla XRS does not rev as quickly as the GT-S does, but Corolla XRS is far more city driving friendly and has a sharp two phase personality with the quiet sedated driving mode below 6400 rpm and a screaming performer from 6400 rpm - 8500 rpm.
In the end, I love the alter ego concept that my XRS has. While cruising, no one can tell how this car can go crazy if pushed hard.
3) As for handling, all I will say I have taken corners on windy roads at about 110 - 120 KM/H in 3rd and 4th. The more you push the car, the more stiffer and stable the suspension gets.
4) My insurance for my XRS is only $10 more than my previous 04 Corolla S with the same insurance agency. Now that is what I call good insurance.
__________________ SSM 05 Corolla XRS 6 Spd VVTL-i 2ZZ-GE /04 Corolla S 1ZZ-FE (sold)
The weight distribution is 60/40, but the rear suspension has a solid strut bar with a stabilizer bar, which almost makes the car have no weight transfer to the rear wheels. The momentum is all propagated towards forward and the low end torque is used far more effectively. The downside is that XRS picks up a lot faster than you feel it does since you get virtually no lose lift upon acceleration and there is not 60/40 split in the car.
__________________ SSM 05 Corolla XRS 6 Spd VVTL-i 2ZZ-GE /04 Corolla S 1ZZ-FE (sold)
As for the low end torque, I know exactly what you are talking about. I had people curse, swear and honk at me since they thought I was blindly revving to irritate people....LOL. It is all because of the clutch and the overly sensitive gas pedal. It takes practice to get the timing perfect. The engine revs crazily even at the slightest provocation. As the KMs roll by and I got the hang of the clutch and gas pedal, I can pass any cruising car and zing on city streets in 4th and 5th quietly while keeping the revs below 5000 rpm. It has pretty good acceleration in 6th over 65 mph and one can gently pass another car. Celica GT-S lift engagement is at 6000 rpm and my XRS engages at 6400 rpm, but has a much higher redline (7900 rpm on Celica, 8300 rpm on XRS).
__________________ SSM 05 Corolla XRS 6 Spd VVTL-i 2ZZ-GE /04 Corolla S 1ZZ-FE (sold)
When I picked up my XRS, I sat inside a GT-S action pack model and saw the redline is still at 7800 rpm. What happened in 2002 was that the rev limiter was lowered to 7800 rpm probably because in 00,01 there were too many 6 speed transmission blow ups. In 03, Toyota brought a new 6 speed with some tweaks and changed the rev limiter back to 8200 rpm on the GT-S. XRS rev limiter does not kick in till 8500 rpm(atleast on mine).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Corolla S
Only the '02 Celicas have the lower redline (which can me modded) the 00,01,03,04 are 8400.
__________________ SSM 05 Corolla XRS 6 Spd VVTL-i 2ZZ-GE /04 Corolla S 1ZZ-FE (sold)
The shifter gets a lot smoother after a few thousand miles. The torque curve is a lot friendlier than the celicas.
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05 Corolla Xrs-Super white, 6-spd.
Injen Cold Air Intake, Sun hyper voltage/hyper ground systems, Hotchkis Front/Rear sway bars, and a few random trd goodies.
Just for reference, Fuel Injected and silver04rollas.. How old are you guys?? just wondering cuz I'm almost 30, and if I bought a new car, chances are it will be an XRS hehehe.. I pay just over $1200 full cover on my car (89 GTS) no accidents at fault, ticket every 5 years or so, 5 or 6 star driver, etc.. so I'm just trying to figure out what to expect if I were to get an XRS.
Yo Ren69, I am 28 and have insurance with Toronto Dominion Melloche Monnex so you will have it even better than me since I have been driving only since last year. Your's will be around $80 or maybe less. Sport compact car performance with a family sedan insurance. What else could you ask for??
__________________ SSM 05 Corolla XRS 6 Spd VVTL-i 2ZZ-GE /04 Corolla S 1ZZ-FE (sold)
Im 22 years old with a clean record. In april I turn 23 which would give me a 6 star rating and 10% reduction on current rates. I have my AE86 insured under my name as primary and the mr2 as secondary.
I was quoted 2400$ a year for the XRS full coverage, not bad at all considering the drivetrain, its those 4 doors that help Currently I pay 1200$ a year for the AE86 no collision coverage, MR2 aprox 700$ since its stored most of the time with full coverage. Im a careful driver and keep my nose clean, I love these rates for my age
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hehehe.. I pay just over $1200 full cover on my car (89 GTS) no accidents at fault, ticket every 5 years or so, 5 or 6 star driver, etc.. so I'm just trying to figure out what to expect if I were to get an XRS. 
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