2009 Toyota Corolla LE Review
I love consistency and reliability, given I drive in one of the most challanging weather and road conditions in North America. Months of below freezing weather, heavy snowfall, freezing rain, blizzard conditions, slush, ice storms, black ice, greim and salt, monstrous traffic jams and some jaw breaking pot holes are a part of everyday life. I can't be fooling around with an arm candy (like you folks down in Florida). I also like style, power and uniqueness in an automobile, given I grew up with a German car and never knew any better as a kid. But as it is in college, money did not come easy and I needed a vehicle and decided to get a 'cheap Japanese car'. But I soon learnt to appreciate that this car had a lot more behind it than it initially seemed given I moved my entire apartment from Boston to Miami and back and put over 140,000 miles in 9 years. And the fact that I am a Bostonian of 10+ years who learnt to drive in Bombay. People with this mix rival rally drivers and I am often referred to as 'spirited'. But the car finally gave way with some major repairs on the horizon. Woefully thinking I could have treated my car better, I was forced to be in the market for a new one.
It was given, that I would go back to my roots to be German in my choice of a car. But people change, priorities change and I made a decision to go Toyota yet once again. I also felt responsible and good about myself that I would be doing justice to the environment in my little lame way. The '09 Corolla brags 40 miles a gallon on the highway and they were not kidding! It has been 72 hours and I have been closely watching that AVG counter consistently giving me around 39 miles a gallon. I do plan to do some analysis on a spreadsheet at the end of the quarter.
The car is SIGNIFICANTLY quieter compared to previous models. The engine is super smooth and you cannot hear it on low speeds (<45>
Audio options are decent, nothing exciting! You have your standard equipment with 
MP3/WMA/MPEG4 playback capability with a AUX port for MP3 players. The sound volume can adjust according to ambient noise so you are not constantly moving the volume up or down - which is a welcome change. There is an obnoxiously expensive option for XM with Navigation which in my opinion, makes very little financial sense ($600 for an XM receiver + $15/Month for XM + $4000 for factory installed navigation). Let's all just wait for internet radio to come to cars (which it already has in Europe) and I can buy a Garmin for $100 so there. There is no Bluetooth option in the LE model and those who have it told me it sucked.
MP3/WMA/MPEG4 playback capability with a AUX port for MP3 players. The sound volume can adjust according to ambient noise so you are not constantly moving the volume up or down - which is a welcome change. There is an obnoxiously expensive option for XM with Navigation which in my opinion, makes very little financial sense ($600 for an XM receiver + $15/Month for XM + $4000 for factory installed navigation). Let's all just wait for internet radio to come to cars (which it already has in Europe) and I can buy a Garmin for $100 so there. There is no Bluetooth option in the LE model and those who have it told me it sucked.Electronics have nothing introduced new since 2000. I was disappointed that the driver seat is still manually controls. All other Toyota LE class models have power seat adjustments. The only 'cool' factor was that the side mirrors are heated. The dashboard is below average. I was expecting more out of it. I don't see a point of an RPM clock. It does not do anything for a car like Corolla so why display information that is meaningless to performance or driving patterns. Some driving stats are displayed in a monochrome LCD (not eaasily visible in the sun). The clock is embedded in the dashboard so other than the driver, no one else can see the time.
The drive is tight. Feels like a Civic Sport in some ways. I took exists off the highway with sharp angles at 60 Miles/Hr effortlessley curving the yellow line with only one hand on the steering wheel, without feeling unsafe. The car also feels heavy at slower speeds - given Toyota has added an extra 150 lbs or so to the chasis. It has improved suspension which is not sporty if thats what you're looking for. It absorbs some pot holes better and the ride is smoother even on uneven roads but that's it. This car came with front and rear chasis strut bars which holds the body of the car really well.
There is no acceleration - period! It drives flat. You have to sloooooooooooowly incease the speeds. I did not expect much at 130 hp. It has the exact same engine capacity as its 2000 model. I do plan to drop a K&N air filter, and performance oil filters and spark plugs to start with which might make a small yet marked improvement in the torque.
Interiors are roomy. Especially the back seat. It can comfortably accomodate 3 average sized American adults. But the driver side seat has some annoyances. Like the sun visor, which is so small and useless, it has been bugging the hell out of me. I honestly don't see a point to that feature. It was an annoying feature 10 years ago and it has become worse. I cannot rest my left arm on the door handle panel while driving as this panel is at 
a 45 degree angle, slanting downwards. VERY frustrating! I used to hold the steering wheel in the 'bottom-middle' part of the wheel surface. But that's no longer possible as the middle surface is now covered. I am sure this is a personal preference but still!
a 45 degree angle, slanting downwards. VERY frustrating! I used to hold the steering wheel in the 'bottom-middle' part of the wheel surface. But that's no longer possible as the middle surface is now covered. I am sure this is a personal preference but still!Trunk space is better in the '09 model. But I promise I don't plan to move my entire house half way accross the country! The rear seats fold in well to accomodate additional storage space.
Finally, I realized today that the Corolla is a high car. I also learnt that this was the 'New England' model to accomodate for the white stuff we drive over 5-6 months a year. The '09 model is higher than even the new Camry and the Ford. I could see my car stick out amongst most cars parked in the office lot.
Overall, a marked improvement in noise reduction, smoothness, safety (it has 6 air bags) and tightness in ride. Everything else is noise and nothing to talk about. It is a solid, reliable car with almost no maintainence needed other than oil change and your scheduled maintainence. I used Penzoil Full Synthetic in my previous Corolla and changed oil every 10k miles. The car also runs smoother and better acceleration with full synthetic.
Everyone can build a performance car and charge you 50 gazillion dollars for owning and maintainig it. Few can make a car that runs endlessly for thousands of miles. The mantra for the coming decade is 'doing more with less'.
I would recomend buying this car for anyone. It's not the acquisition costs that matter, its the cost of ownership. Imagine having to invest in a data center and just having it run on its own for 10 years. Imagine investing in a company just once without much follow-ons and that company gives you a return year after year for a decade or more. That's what I am talking about!
posted by Janak Joshi @ 1/07/2009 08:48:00 PM
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