*Updated 2008 q2* 2006 Corolla (automatic). Review on Toyota Corolla

Decided to upgrade from my 2002 Honda City AT after 4 years and 77,000 km to my 6th automatic on March '06.

I've had it for 2+ years [27 months] and 43,000 kmso far.

I'm surprised there is no category for Corolla automatics alone here @ MS but anyway...

I was choosing between the Optra auto and this H3 model.

Its over Rs. 1 lakh more expensive then [currently less than Rs. 50 K difference now] without leather and moonroof which the Optra LT AT has.

The Optra includes the 1st year of maintainence while this does not.

So on paper Optra is a better autothan this one - that begs the question why did I go for this?

• More power (125 vs 115 ps)

  
  




• Larger wheels (15" vs 14")

  
  




• Highest ground clearance in its class (185 mm vs 180)

  
  




• Better looking [purely subjective]

  
  




• Immediate test drive at work/home (next day availability)

  
  




• Great suspension for potholed mumbai/thane roads (no bottoming out unlike Optra)

  
  




• LPG available via 3rd parties for Euro II (only auth dealers can fit the kit for Optra @ double mkt cost)

  
  

Pros:

• Super quiet & smooth engine

  
  




• Good torque/accelaration (horsepower relates to top speed and torque to acceleration)

  
  




• Nice looking from all angles

  
  




• Power folding side mirrors (must for Indian traffic) - this is in ADDITION to being electrically adjustable for viewing angle which many cars already have [not to be confused]

  
  




• Tilt steering

  
  




• Auto locking of all doors once speed crosses 25 km/h (great idea)

  
  




• Great disc brakes inspiring confidence (ABS)

  
  




• Hums along @ 120-130 km/h with no drama [compared to 100-110 km/h for the old City]

  
  




• 3 year warranty [compared to 1-2 yrs for others]

  
  

Cons:

• Only 1 key with remote! The 2 additional keys can't open the doors without triggering the alarm [so they are kind of useless to me].

  
  




• Each additional remote key costs Rs. 9 K!Payment must be made in

  
  

advance and takes 1-2 weeks min to deliver from Bangalore due to

anti-theft microchips embedded

• Range of remote/keyless is only 1-2 m instead of the usual 10-20 m for Marutis

  
  




• No remote for music system(standard on Balenos since 2003!), this should at least be an option

  
  




• Driver's seat does not slide back as much as a Baleno or City which

  
  

is a problem if you are over 6 feet tall and your knees bump the plastic dash

• No cup holders in front! only at the back ...

  
  




• Intrusion of road/tyre noise inside cabin over 60-70 km/h (poor noise dampening)

  
  




• Looks like a big car from the outside but is cramped from the inside

  
  

- Middle hump should be eliminated by raising the floor so the middle passenger can sit normally

• Warranty is voidwhen installing LPG or CNG (Optra dealers can install without voiding)

  
  




• Needs a real time mileage indicator so we don't have to wonder about fuel efficiency

  
  




• Car arrived from dealership on empty/reserve ruining the possession experience

  
  

- No dealerships in Navi Mumbai or the Eastern suburbs [Trombay - Sion] so its a major pain to send it to Thane for various repairs/checks.

• Do NOT buy the rear visorsold by the dealerships -  it keeps getting loose after 3-6 months; they should not be allowed to sell external body accessories that can't be anchored properly to the car for at least 1-2 years.

Total waste of money - my visor is gathering dust at home after just giving up and having it removed completely.

For the price one expects more - a lot more...

Additional Notes:

Avoid installing LPG kits on your Corollas it causes some temp sensors to keep lighting up the 'check engine light' [CEL].

I'm only talking about RTO approvedkits of course.

It took me a few months and weekly visits to my LPG shop to finally get them to fix this bug.

The Thane dealership confirmed that many other Corollas have had similar issues with LPG but not for Innova or Camry surprisingly.

The front suspension takes a severe beating and wears out in 2 years on Mumbai / Navi Mumbai roads - it costs Rs. 15-16 K to replace approx.

My brake pads wore out in 2 years and had to be replaced whereas they lasted 3 yrs with my City.

One shocking discovery is that [like most cars in India] if a single brake line gets cut/leaks; it results on total loss of hydraulic brake pressureon all 4 tyres!

I think for safety reasons alone the front & rear brake fluid lines should be kept hydraulically independent of each other so only 2 brakes should fail at any given timeinstead of ALL.

This will sound like heresey to the Corolla fans out there but had the SX4 been available with an auto, I would have preferred it OVER the Corolla!

Not only does it have better ground clearancebut it seems to provide 90-95% of the back seat comfort of the Corolla at about 1/3rd less cost[67% of the price] when I test drove it a few months ago over potholes.

I'm not even accounting for Maruti's widespread authorised service centres in every nook and cranny of the top 6-8 metros.

I was astonished that you got steering wheel audio controls for self driven AND a remote for the back  seaters in the ZXi variant [Rs. 8.3 L on road] as STANDARD equipment NOT optional accessories.

The Corolla is poor value for money overallcompared to its competition.

In case this review sounds schizophrenic since I was praising it over the Optra initially [buying decision & test drive] and criticising it later [ownership experience] - its not as contradictory as may seem at first glance.