I’ve had a 2003 Corolla S for about 15 months and it’s great so far. My gas mileage is usually between 31 and 35. The back seat is spacious, and I managed to fit a bike in the trunk after folding down the seats. The premium sound system (standard on S) sounds excellent. The oil change interval is usually 7500 miles, but I live on a dirt road so I change it every 5000.
Nice little touches are everywhere: the headlights turn on and off automatically, the front doors unlock when you pull the inside handle, the dash shows outside temperature, the “recirculate” button turns off when you set the vents to defrost.
Yeesh, it’s not like the Corolla is ugly or anything …
My parents have a 1980 Corolla – most of the paint is gone (typical of early 80’s silver cars) but the car itself still runs like a dream, gets excellent mileage, repair costs are very low and replacement parts are easy to find.
One of my friends has a 2001 Corolla – she does a lot of driving but it has held up excellently, even after being rear-ended on the freeway (the guy behind her apparently didn’t understand the “stop” part of stop and go traffic).
I’m a big fan of Corollas – in face, if someone offered to buy me a brand new car right now, money no object, I’d prolly get a dark blue Corolla. They can come with some nice extras, and they’re very reliable. The only real downside is that the back seat is not very big – if they’ll be regularly carting people in the back seat a Camry might be a better idea.
Most autoreviewers agree that the ‘class of the field’ in high quality, reasonably priced sedans are the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry. Have you looked at either of those? I imagine the Corolla is pretty good.
If you have to spend any time driving in snow, give serious consideration to the Subaru Impreza RS, or the Outback sport. They are great, sporty cars, and the all-wheel-drive elevates them to a whole 'nuther level of utility for people who have to drive on snowy roads in the winter.
i don’t own a corolla but several months ago i made a post about what car should i get after i graduate college (right now i have a 99 ranger with 82k miles on it), i was thinking of Ford Tauruses and i was sold on the corolla because owners kept recommending it. I checked autotrader & a 3-5 year old model with 50k miles is only 7-9k, and can last up to 150k miles with no serious problems. This will be my next car.
If liirogue hasn’t already decided – I just saw this thread – I’m driving a 2000 Corolla, my fifth. Had a 1990 Prizm, liked it, but the body work was sloppy. I’ve had one repair (other than standard maintenance) on my Corollas. They may not be stylin’, but I think my possessions get their status from my having selected them, not the other 'way 'round.
And even though I like chevy’s over toyota (As of right now), here are the top ones they ranked. Corolla is in it.
Top Vehicles
These vehicles had fewest problems in their segments.
Vehicle type Top ranked
Premium luxury Lexus LS 400
Entry-level luxury Lexus ES 300
Luxury SUV Lexus RX 300
Premium sports car Porsche 911
Full-size car Mercury Grand Marquis
Compact car Toyota Corolla
The Accord and Camry are more midsized cars. A Corolla is more in the small car category.
My sister in law just bought a red Corolla with the sport package and it looks pretty good. Certainly as cool as a Grand Am.
I personally prefer my Civic to my wife's Corolla, but the Corolla is a 2000 and I think they have redesigned since. I just think my Civic handles better and somehow has more room inside even though it looks smaller from the outside.
