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Corolla LE Fun!

3K views 19 replies 12 participants last post by  thoots 
#1 ·
That's right; you read the title correctly. I find the new Corolla (LE, not even S) fun to drive. I don't own one, but I recently rented one and was blown away by the way it drives.


I am a 2012 Camry SE driver, and the new Corolla LE handles and rides better than my car (though the interior accommodations don't come close to the Camry). And, the 1.8 L engine with CVT accelerated pretty quickly (though I would much have preferred a manual transmission). The car was literally a blast to throw into corners with nicely weighted steering and very little body roll.


I rent cars quite a bit, and the Corolla easily drove better than either the Mazda 3 or Chevy Cruze I recently rented (though the Cruze was quieter and both the Cruze and Mazda 3 have better driving positions).


So, all of this really makes me wonder whether car reviewers actually drive the cars they claim to review or whether preconceived notions completely outweigh objective analysis.


I'm not going out tomorrow to buy a Corolla, but I just wanted to give my feedback on what I believe is much maligned car. Toyota has really upped the game with the new Corolla.
 
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#2 ·
Yes they did a great job with this one, it really is surprisingly fun to drive. I have an S+ and just love it.

Supposedly the next one is supposed to be substantially more aggressive looking and driving. Expect the next generation in 2019 as a 2020 model according to Toyotas North American CEO.

Very excited about that and fully intend to buy one if the claims hold true, but will enjoy my 2015 in the mean time!
 
#3 ·
That's right; you read the title correctly. I find the new Corolla (LE, not even S) fun to drive. I don't own one, but I recently rented one and was blown away by the way it drives.

I am a 2012 Camry SE driver, and the new Corolla LE handles and rides better than my car (though the interior accommodations don't come close to the Camry). And, the 1.8 L engine with CVT accelerated pretty quickly (though I would much have preferred a manual transmission). The car was literally a blast to throw into corners with nicely weighted steering and very little body roll.

I rent cars quite a bit, and the Corolla easily drove better than either the Mazda 3 or Chevy Cruze I recently rented (though the Cruze was quieter and both the Cruze and Mazda 3 have better driving positions).

So, all of this really makes me wonder whether car reviewers actually drive the cars they claim to review or whether preconceived notions completely outweigh objective analysis.

I'm not going out tomorrow to buy a Corolla, but I just wanted to give my feedback on what I believe is much maligned car. Toyota has really upped the game with the new Corolla.
Some reviewers do base their "review" on name... But most of them receive top of the line models to review. When I bought my LE Eco, I did not experienced any major gap in performance with Mazda3. But if I were to compare a top of the line S (still a basic car, albeit fancier) to a top of the line 3, sure the performance of the latter would be a bit better but so would the price, and by thousands of dollars ! (and still not comparing in space and quietness)

I remember an either dishonnest or uniformed reviewer recommanding 3 over Corolla because "for the same price, the 3 offers head-up display, lane departure warning and leather seats"... Talk about confusion between available vs standard equipment and performance !
 
#5 ·
I agree with most of these, but I do hate how slow the CVT is off the line, especially for those people who race V8 escalades off the stop lights (Hi.)

It's my only complaint, the car does move very fast for the engine it has (once you get it moving), and it feels pretty nice when driven at the limit, not to mention it is amazingly comfortable.

Seriously, I can't get into any car that's not a Corolla anymore, everything is just so comfortable, the seats are great, the steering is just perfectly weighted and the pedals have the right perfection to them, some cars have gas pedals so sensible you constantly have to do micro movements to regulate the speed
 
#6 ·
I just traded a 2008 Camry SE V6 (leather and everything but navigation) for a 2015 Corolla S Premium. And so far, I have been "pleasantly surprised."

I know that I need a heavily-bolstered "sports" seat -- I like to feel that I'm sitting "down into" the seat, not sitting "on top of" a seat. And I also want a power seat -- I like to put the front of the seat cushion up as far as it will go, and the rear of it as low as it will go, and then I sit back in a rather relaxed position. And the Softex seat in the S Premium is just astonishingly good for me -- it fits me very well. Without that seat, I wouldn't have bought a Corolla, simple as that.

Otherwise, I have been really impressed with my new Corolla's ride, quietness, and handling. Sure, all should be better in my old Camry SE, but the Corolla just isn't very far behind. I sure don't feel that I'm in any kind of "penalty box." I'm just very impressed, so far. I took the Corolla through a twisty, hilly road, and though I started out timidly, I quickly gained confidence in the Corolla's handling, and eventually I was really having fun, and left the cars behind me in the weeds.

As for acceleration, the CVT is simply "geared" for economy, but that's the only reason why the Corolla might be a bit slow off the line. But just push the "Sport" button in the S models, and the car absolutely leaps forward. It's a night and day difference, trust me. If you've got an uphill freeway onramp, just start out in normal mode and then punch the Sport button, and you'll just fly up the ramp like you're in a completely different car.

Out on the open road, I've found that the Corolla has plenty of power for passing, and no need to push the Sport button to get it. Sure, my old Camry V6 had an enormous amount of power that the Corolla certainly can't match, but still, I easily and safely passed other cars as necessary.

I don't know, perhaps the LE models that tend to get reviewed are a few steps down from my S Premium, but I think my driver seat is excellent, the car has an impressively smooth and quiet ride, and I haven't even begun to find how well it can handle yet. Sure, there are more capable cars out there, but I find it pretty hard to believe that any competitively-sized cars could do much better across the board as the Corolla S Premium does.

 
#9 ·
People mention about the corolla and other cvt's being slow off the line but I think that it goes back to the electronic throttle. Most new cars if not all of them have electronic throttle as compared to throttle by wire. My 2001 Grand Am GT has throttle by wire and there is a huge difference in off the line acceleration as compared to a car with electronic throttle.
 
#10 ·
this is just my opinion, but I find the cvt in the corolla (and in every other compact car) sucks every bit of soul and fun out of driving. if there was no manual trans offered id have looked elsewhere.
 
#11 ·
All I can say about the CVT is, if you haven't already, just try an S model and push the Sport button. The CVT is simply "programmed" for a certain response, and in "normal" mode, it is obviously programmed for better fuel economy -- no, it's probably not the fastest throttle response that most folks have ever experienced.

But the Sport mode is programmed for a completely different response, and with it engaged, the Corolla S just absolutely takes off. It does other things such as tightening up the steering response, but the main thing you'll notice is the vast difference in throttle response -- I can't see many folks complaining about it whatsoever.

It's all part of why I'm so satisfied with my Corolla S Premium -- really, I WANT the boring, slow acceleration most of the time, because mostly I want to get great fuel economy with the car. But I know full well that plenty of performance is just one button push away, whenever I want it. I have absolutely no complaints about the CVT or the car's performance in general at all.
 
#13 ·
I tried the S model CVT in sport mode and would rate it a 5/10 on the fun factor scale and the 6 speed manual a 6.5/10. none of the current corollas have much get up and go. the increased throttle response doesn't make it any faster, it just approximates pushing the pedal further down without actual having to do so.

unlike rox11, I find the whole dash set up one of the most improved things of this corolla over the previous gen corollas.
 
#12 · (Edited)
It's interesting to see the replies, and pretty much everyone agrees with the experience I had.The one area that perplexes me is the "off-the-line" comments about the CVT. I didn't experience a delay at all. The car had a lot of torque - really surprising me and at odds with everything I'd read from reviewers. (You don't know what a torqueless car is until you've driven a @1995 Civic or Accord. I know because my other car (than the Camry) is a mid-nineties Accord - great in the mid-range, slow off the mark).

The one negative thing - and I didn't mention this in the original post - is the dashboard. It is way too high and linear - making it difficult to get a sense of the edges of the car (and I'm 6'2"). It's like a really bad rendition of the BMW 3-series dashboard (which, in itself, is awful).
 
#15 ·
It's interesting to see the replies, and pretty much everyone agrees with the experience I had.The one area that perplexes me is the "off-the-line" comments about the CVT. I didn't experience a delay at all. The car had a lot of torque - really surprising me and at odds with everything I'd read from reviewers. (You don't know what a torqueless car is until you've driven a @1995 Civic or Accord. I know because my other car (than the Camry) is a mid-nineties Accord - great in the mid-range, slow off the mark).
I mean, even if you rev it up before flooring, it's impossible to get a screech out of it, and it doesn't pull too hard, in comparison, the 2013 Corolla with the 4-speed auto did pull a screech and moved faster until about 30 (but it's a 4-speed auto, eek.)
 
#17 ·
I always chuckle a bit when I see someone mention the Corolla is slow off the line or doesn't have much get up and go....it's a Corolla. It isn't made to race powerful cars. It isn't made to have get up and go. Having driven a lot of its direct competitors, I can tell you that they don't have much get up and go either.

If you want get up and go, you're gonna have to look elsewhere, and pay more money. Looking at the vehicle realistically, the Corolla is nearly perfect. A handsome interior, a "sporty" looking exterior compared to the boringness of the last few generations, reliability like crazy, and a good price.

When I want get up and go, I get in my other baby
 
#18 ·
Looking at the vehicle realistically, the Corolla is nearly perfect. A handsome interior, a "sporty" looking exterior compared to the boringness of the last few generations, reliability like crazy, and a good price.
that sums up the corolla pretty well, though I can still have a little fun with it.....but I can have fun with just about any car with a manual trans.
 
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