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Corolla 12 th. gen. commend or criticise on improvements and short comings. ( over last gens )

4K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  igzy 
#1 ·
I just recieved my 2020 Corolla Sedan last week. The two improvements Toyota can make on the car is the USB port on the dash could be improved by a shallow slot to protect the USB memory stick from being broken and damaging the port. The door handle on the drivers door is also too far foward, a closer to center position on the door would be much more comfortable.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Yeah, the USB port on the dash is in a pretty strange/awkward position. Luckily, I fly solo 99.9% of the time in my car & rarely (if ever) have passengers, otherwise it would be concerning. That USB port is my lifeblood, since my entire infotainment center is nothing more than an oversized MP3 player for me. I have zero use for any other function of that system.

I was annoyed to find out that the SE (& all non-XSE trims) didn't have something basic like the underhood insulator piece. It should be standard equipment, since it does protect the paint/clearcoat above engine bay from breaking down due to the heat generated by the engine, muffles/deepens engine noise a bit & gives the engine bay a finished look as opposed to a cut-rate, unfinished look. I just ordered the insulator part & 6 clips this last week online from Toyota ($200 w/shipping) since it bugged me that much.

I would consider it an improvement if Toyota stopped putting stupid & erratic key-less ignition systems in their cars as standard equipment (make it an option via a power package). I hate it. A regular key with manual remote lock/unlock buttons is much preferable & more reliable over the long stretch.

I would also consider it an improvement if nothing else, the sport-oriented manual 6-speed SE trim sedan used a regular old-school pull-brake instead of the lame e-brake system.

Finally, 17" wheels for the SE/XSE with same alloy design as the 18" & 45-50 profile tires would have been nicer than the clunky, oversized 18" wheels & ultra-low 40 profile tires. 18" wheels on a compact segment car is sort of ridiculous.

My 2 cents worth.
 
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#4 ·
I love the push button ignition feature - never really have to take my fob out. Just grab the door handle and, voila, all doors unlock.

Unfortunately, the electric parking brake most likely adds more complexity and cost.
However it seems to me there wouldn’t be much room for a mechanical lever in the cramped centre console area. The car is already woefully lacking in storage space as it is.

A pedal would be an alternative, but perish the thought.
 
#8 ·
I love the push button ignition feature - never really have to take my fob out. Just grab the door handle and, voila, all doors unlock.

Unfortunately, the electric parking brake most likely adds more complexity and cost.
However it seems to me there wouldn’t be much room for a mechanical lever in the cramped centre console area. The car is already woefully lacking in storage space as it is.

A pedal would be an alternative, but perish the thought.
eBrake actually reduces the cost (lesser number of parts) and increases the interior space. Premium German OEMs started using them about 10 years ago. T, as usual, is playing the catch up game :geek:
 
#14 ·
Toyota's bread and butter will always be Tacoma.

Camry and Corolla is up there also. The shift is happening again to move to CUV, SUV, and trucks.

The profit margins are much smaller when it comes to Corolla and Yaris. The Prius is slowing down, and I assume the push for corolla hybrid now.

Toyota will support the demand for small cars and cuv. Hope they don't decide to stop building midsize cars.
 
#15 ·
Toyota's bread and butter will always be Tacoma.

Camry and Corolla is up there also. The shift is happening again to move to CUV, SUV, and trucks.

The profit margins are much smaller when it comes to Corolla and Yaris. The Prius is slowing down, and I assume the push for corolla hybrid now.

Toyota will support the demand for small cars and cuv. Hope they don't decide to stop building midsize cars.
I thought the B&B now is the RAV4 and Highlander. Pretty much just the Corolla and Camry with more space in the back. But definitely, Tacoma, 4Runner are where the profits are. It also helps that both models have a healthy aftermarket too, especially with overlanding becoming a thing with newer offroad enthusiasts.

The Camry still sells enough so they're definitely not leaving the space. Rental car companies still need sedans, and Toyota still is fleeting a decent percentage of them. The Americans leaving the space actually helps them with marketshare, though its a battle pretty much with all the Asian manufacturers (Japanese and Korean).
 
#16 ·
Trucks are the trend again. Resale values on Tacoma, 4runner, and tundra are increasing YOY.

I agree there's lots of aftermarket support.

As for Camry and Avalon, the TRD edition is just like Nissan's midnight edition. Cosmetics mostly and missing the extra hp. I read somewhere that the Avalon is on the chopping block sometime in the near future.

RAV4 is getting up there in price with no real value. Using my own experience, put a little more money, and you get more room in the Highlander. But of course, that's debatable.

Corolla isn't a new kid on the block. But, Toyota should at least consider that it's time to at minimum increase it's footprint in wheel base length and width. It's still vanilla and could use some more tweaking.
 
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#17 ·
Trucks are the trend again. Resale values on Tacoma, 4runner, and tundra are increasing YOY.

I agree there's lots of aftermarket support.

As for Camry and Avalon, the TRD edition is just like Nissan's midnight edition. Cosmetics mostly and missing the extra hp. I read somewhere that the Avalon is on the chopping block sometime in the near future.

RAV4 is getting up there in price with no real value. Using my own experience, put a little more money, and you get more room in the Highlander. But of course, that's debatable.

Corolla isn't a new kid on the block. But, Toyota should at least consider that it's time to at minimum increase it's footprint in wheel base length and width. It's still vanilla and could use some more tweaking.
Trucks will be the trend again until oil and gas prices jump up again. This happens every time, they fall and people buy trucks/SUV's and when they rise people buy smaller cars and hybrids.

I hope that they don't make the Corolla any bigger. It's so big now, even my 10th Gen Corolla is bigger than my old 1991 Camry.
 
#20 ·
Supposedly, any car sold under $30k doesn't generate revenue for Toyota. That being said, the Corolla hybrid will try to push it into the black, along with Camry, RAV4, and everything else.
 
#21 ·
Probably because the volume they're selling now of cars is way less than before, so the only way to balance is to sell more CUVs and trucks, while carefully managing the incentives, which are tough to get away from given that a few thousand more on the hood will propel another competitor to the top of the sales chart each month (Seen that happen with the Altima a few times). For the Toyota buyer, the deals on their cars have never been better during these past 6-7 years.
 
#23 ·
I don't think Toyota got the message yet. Not even the matrix was set up for cold weather. On the other hand, the vibe was. Units going to the far north had no ac, but had heater block and AWD. Not many, but some went that way.

You'd think after 50 years, the industry would get it right the first time.
 
#24 ·
I have to commend Toyota for putting better struts on the 2020 Corolla sedan. I had a 10th. gen 2009 Corolla CE that had weak struts. Yjey worked fine most of the time, but when I back my car into the driveway ( declines into the basement ) I had to use a piece of broom handle to keep the trunk lid up. Now I do not need to use the broom handle, the trunk stays open.
 
#25 ·
I thought that you were talking about the struts on the suspension until I finished reading your post. The 10th Gen Corolla doesn't have struts for the trunk lid. It uses a torsion type of lift that works well but when the car is back end down it needs help. This is where the trunk lid struts work better. They can be added to most trunk lids and hoods though. I added them to my hood to get rid of the prop rod on my 10th Gen Corolla.
 
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