"Good Heavens, Miss Sakomoto! You're Beautiful!": The 2020 Toyota Corolla XSE

The 2020 Toyota Corolla XSE.

About that headline. If you don't get the reference, it's from Thomas Dolby's 1983 hit "She Blinded Me With Science".   And yeah, it's a cliche', but the 2020 Toyota Corolla is kind of like the woman who takes the glasses off, lets the hair down and you're stunned. 

For 54 years, the Toyota Corolla has been the car that was everywhere and went unnoticed.

Oh, they sold plenty of them---in fact, the Toyota Corolla is, adding up all the examples moved since 1966, the best-selling car in the world.

But it has always looked---kinda anonymous. Like the response the stylists were trying to elicit was "small four-door economy sedan".

Leading With Your Rear: The 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback

The 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback.

About that headline.  It's the type of thing that, in my earliest days of committing journalism, on the staff of the Bishop Union High School Bronco Roundup (1970-73),  I would have been called by our no-nonsense Advisor, Mrs. Martinson to explain ("and it better be a really good one, Hagerty").

What I'm saying is that, with the 2019 Toyota Corolla, Japan's biggest automaker is taking the unusual approach of introducing the hatchback ahead of the rest of the lineup, which won't come along until the 2020 model year.

Calling it a "hatchback" is also an unusual move, given that most automakers avoid that term like the plague and Toyota itself, in the 70s and 80s, called them "liftbacks".

Fitting Into The Family: The 2017 Toyota Corolla iM

The 2017 Toyota Corolla iM.

Twenty months ago, I wrote that the iM was the future for Scion.  At that moment, none of us outside the walls of Toyota knew the brand had no future.  It was four months and four days after that review posted that Toyota announced it was shutting down Scion.  Some models were killed off, but homes were found for others, including the iM, which is now the Corolla iM.

Building A Better Corolla: The 2017 Toyota Corolla XSE

The 2017 Toyota Corolla XSE.

About the only complaint anyone can make about the Toyota Corolla is that it is---well---boring. Beyond that, it has space efficiency, fuel economy, build quality and legendary reliability all on its side.

Now, Toyota has decided to address "boring".

Golden: The 2017 Toyota Corolla 50th Anniversary Special Edition

The 2017 Toyota Corolla 50th Anniversary Special Edition.

There are not many 2017 cars whose names and essential missions have remained unchanged for 50 years.  Mustang, maybe.  Camaro and Impala had years between 1967 and now where they were out of production.  But the Toyota Corolla has been with us continuously for that half-century, providing reliable, fairly high-content compact sedans all along.

Same (Good) Car, New Low Price: The 2016 Toyota Corolla S

The 2016 Toyota Corolla S.

A year and a half ago, our Publisher and Executive Editor wrote a review calling the then-new 2014 Toyota Corolla S "the first desirable Corolla in a generation".

Everything Michael said then stands now.  But there is a bonus.

Could The 2014 Toyota Corolla S Be The First Desirable Corolla In A Generation?

The 2014 Toyota Corolla S.

As the Phoenix bureau made clear in its review of the Toyota Corolla LE ECO about six weeks ago, Corollas have not historically been cars one aspires to.  You'd have to go back to the mid-80s Corolla GT-S and FX-16 to find the last time someone eagerly saved up their money with a Corolla as the end goal.  Since then, it's all been about reliability, fuel economy and price.  And Toyota has done just fine with that on the business end while making some dreadfully boring appliances (see my review of the 2013 Corolla).

That may have changed.  The Corolla certainly has.  While the Phoenix bureau is correct that the all-new Corolla is actually an artful blend of old and new, a salient fact was missing from that earlier review (as Executive Editor, I'll take responsibility...I should have caught it).  The new Corolla has a 3-inch longer wheelbase than the old one.  That has a lot to do with its better looks, and it greatly improves what was a none-too-wonderful ride.

But beauty is as beauty does...and if you follow one simple rule in your Toyota shopping, you'll find the '14 Corolla does exceptionally well.  That rule?  Skip the L, the LE and the LE Eco.  The one worth having is the Corolla S.

How the 2014 Toyota Corolla Blends Old And New

2014 Toyota Corolla LE ECO.

The Toyota Corolla is no one's idea of aspirational transportation.  In fact, as Michael suggested here back in September, buying one of the last 2013's was a sensible idea since most Corolla buyers are focused on price and reliability, and with a new model, price usually goes up and reliability often goes down.

The 2014 Corolla, however, may make you glad you waited, if you did.  It is a much better-looking car.  The price increase is minimal and despite Toyota's claims that the car is "all new", it is essentially the same under the skin.  The body and interior are redesigned, but not much else.

Keeping the same platform has two advantages. One is cost, the other is reliability.  The car, the actual mechanicals, are tried and true.  That allows Toyota to deliver its number-one asset in a package that is better able to compete with the increasingly aggressively styled Hyundais and Kias.

The Number One Reason To Buy A 2013 Toyota Corolla

The 2013 Toyota Corolla might be the bargain you're looking for.

It's not exactly sleek (even in S trim, its sportiest form).

It's very familiar.  You see them everywhere, every day.

So why should you run down to your Toyota dealer and buy a 2013 Toyota Corolla?

Because the 2014 is sleek and shiny.

That may seem like contradictory logic, but stick with me here.

Toyota: Stalling Problem "Not An Unreasonable Risk To Safety"

As the company and federal investigators try to get to the bottom of claims of unintended acceleration,

there's another problem: Cars stopping when they shouldn't.

Toyota says it's trying to figure out how to fix computer flaws in more than a million 2005 through 2007 Corolla and Matrix models that can cause the cars to stall. NHTSA has 76 complaints from owners. Toyota says it does not pose "an unreasonable risk...to safety."

Full story from The Detroit Free Press here. 

Detroit News: NHTSA To Announce Formal Investigation Into Toyota Corolla

The Detroit News reports that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration will announce a formal investigation into complaints about steering in the Toyota Corolla Thursday.

As we reported Wednesday, Toyota is considering a recall of the 2009 and 2010 models, which use electrical rather than mechanical steering...converting the steering wheel from an implement which is directly linked to and physically turns the front wheels into a control device that sends electrical impulses to a computer, which then tells the wheels which way to turn, how much and how quickly.

More than 160 Corolla drivers have complained to the feds, many claiming the cars veered sharply and suddenly at speeds above 40 miles per hour. At least 10 injuries have been alleged.

Toyota Corolla Recall Possible; Brake Override System Will Be In All Models Soon; Company President Won't Appear Before Congress

Toyota says it's considering recalling its best selling model (and the world's), the Corolla. Consumer complaints about cars veering off track have grown since Toyota switched from mechanical to electrical steering (which changes the steering wheel from a direct connection to the wheels and makes it an input device which a computer then decodes and acts upon) in the Corolla.

Two weeks ago, we told you about the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's investigation into similar complaints about the Chevrolet Cobalt, which also uses electrical steering.

2010 Prius: 2X More Complaints to NHTSA Than All Other '10 Toyotas Combined

On the heels of word that Toyota will be recalling the 2010 Prius for the brake design problem Toyota admitted to earlier today, this unhelpful (for Toyota) statistic:

The 2010 Prius has been the subject of more complaints to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration than all other 2010 Toyotas combined. Twice as many, in fact. And five times the second highest, the Corolla.

NHTSA says of the 171 complaints they've recieved about the new Prius, 124 were specifically about braking problems.

Teething issues with a new model? Not likely. NHTSA recieved 2,310 driver complaints about the previous-generation Prius between 2004 and 2009...only 30 fewer than for all Toyota models in the same five-year period. 

Toyota Corolla XLE Review

The theory of evolution as applied to small Japanese cars:

Today's Corolla is nicer than yesterday's Camry.

Especially the top-of-the-line XLE sedan. Base price $17,550...buying as standard equipment what used to be Lexus-type options (six-speaker stereo, power everything). The tester I had added an upgraded audio system with Bluetooth, 8 speakers and steering wheel controls, an all-weather package and a set of floor and trunk mats. Price with delivery charges: Still under $20,000. The EPA says 27 city/35 highway, which vaults it into TireKicker's Top Ten Fuel Savers.

If you're trading a six-year old (or older) Camry, this Corolla will feel like you're trading up nicely.

Toyota Corolla Matrix XRS/Pontiac Vibe GT Review

The above could probably make a pretty good puzzle. You know..."find at least x number of differences between these two pictures".

Well, I'll jump straight to the answers. The top picture is the Toyota Corolla Matrix and the bottom shot is the Pontiac Vibe GT. And, apart from some exterior styling cues, they are the same vehicle.

Wait...what? Toyota and Pontiac? The same car? Yep. This is the current fruit of a partnership between GM and Toyota going back to the 1980s, which produced the short-lived Geo. The cars are built here in the U.S. (the Toyotas in Detroit and the Pontiac in Fremont, California, near San Francisco), using 61% American parts and 39% Japanese.

Essentially, it's a five-door hatchback version of a Corolla (which is why that name is part of the Toyota version). If you need a competitor to help pigeonhole the Corolla Matrix/Vibe, the Chrysler PT Cruiser is probably the one to think of: We're talking small sedans made more versatile with the hatchback. And the Matrix/Vibe, especially the new for 2009 models, are more fun to drive.

The Pontiac gets the edge because of little things like OnStar, 3 months free of XM Satellite Radio and bigger things like a better warranty. But it's not likely to break and the Toyota is likely to have better resale value, for no reason other than brand prejudices. Dealers can sell used Toyotas better than used Pontiacs, even when they're the same car.

Pick either and you'll get an EPA estimated 21 city/29 highway miles per gallon with an automatic transmission (inexplicably, the number drops to 21/28 with a stick), the same standard features and the same options, more or less. Base prices are within a few hundred dollars of each other (the XRS and GT are the top of the line and start around $21,000...you can get the base models of Matrix/Vibe for the low $16,000s).

If you've driven the previous generation Matrix/Vibe, test drive the new '09...both are hugely improved.