Our Opinion - 2024 Toyota Corolla Review The Toyota Corolla isn’t meant to surprise or thrill people. Instead, it guarantees a safe and reliable trip, no matter how far it is. Unless you’re talking about the GR Corolla, which is reviewed separately, the Corolla could be more focused on speed, and its most powerful engine only has 169 (lazy) horsepower. The Corolla feels like a turtle stuck between two hares, not like the Mazda 3 or the Honda Civic. The Corolla comes in two body styles: a car with four doors and a hatchback with five doors. There is even a hybrid powertrain choice for the first one that uses a lot less gas. What's New? When the Nightshade Edition comes out in 2024, the Toyota Corolla will no longer be on the market. As a cosmetic choice, the SE trim level can get black badges and bronze wheels, among other things. Hatchback Nightshade Corollas have a black roof and a sports wing with vents. Pros And Cons Pros Several choices for the engine. It comes as either a car or a hatchback. GR type is very fun to drive and performs well. Cons It might need to be improved. Simple style inside. Not a Honda Civic made by Honda. Engine, Transmission, and Performance The Corolla has a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 169 horsepower. A continuously variable automatic gearbox (CVT) sends this power to the front wheels. The sedan has a hybrid engine, but all hatchbacks have the same powertrain. We tested the Corolla XSE car and the Corolla SE hatchback and found that even the most powerful engine needs to be faster. However, the Toyota twins were stable on the highway and very careful in town. Unfortunately, their quick acceleration made the engines make loud noises that took away from how smooth they were. We tried the newest hatchback type, and it got to 60 mph in 8.3 seconds. The all-wheel drive hybrid car, on the other hand, took 9.0 seconds. Both the hatchback and car versions of the Corolla have a smooth ride that absorbs most shocks well. They are also faster and more agile than older groups because their bodies move together more smoothly. The Corolla SE and XSE are even more unique because they have bigger 18-inch wheels and a sport-tuned suspension that is stronger. All the other cars have 15- or 16-inch wheels. While the Corolla’s progressive steering is good, it’s not as good as those of its sportier and more exciting rivals, like the Mazda 3 and Honda Civic. Both body styles of the Corolla had reliable brake pedals that responded quickly to pressure. However, neither model did very well in our 70 mph to zero stopping test, which took between 174 and 183 feet. Safety All Corolla models also have some simple features that help the driver, like automatic high beams and help with reading traffic signs. Visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) webpages to learn more about the Corolla’s crash test scores. Some important safety factors are: Emergency brakes that work on their own and regular forward crash warnings. Regular help staying in your lane and a warning when you leave your lane. It comes with adaptive speed control. Internal and External Cargo Capacity The Corolla comes in both hatchback and car styles. The dashboard is clean, and the materials are soft to the touch. Push-button start and silent entry are standard on most cars. You can also get heated front seats, ambient lighting inside, and air control for two separate areas. The sedan has a lot more space behind the front seats than the hatchback, so people who often have people in the back seats should think about getting one. The Corolla hatchback only had 18 cubic feet of space for bags behind the back seat, which needed to be more for our tests. With the new, free Enhanced Cargo Space option, a tire repair kit is used instead of the spare tire, which adds six cubic feet to the cargo space, making it 23 cubic feet in total. The trunk of the car can only hold 13 cubes, but we were able to fit eight bags inside. Compared to the competition with more storage cubbies inside, both body styles were smaller. The good news is that their center console has a tray in front and storage space under the arms. Fuel Economy and Actual MPG The Corolla has a four-cylinder engine that uses little gas, and it also has a hybrid version that uses even less gas. The EPA says that the all-wheel drive hybrid will get 47 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway. The front-drive hybrid, on the other hand, will get 50 mpg in the city and 43 mpg on the highway. On the other hand, the government says the 2.0-liter, non-hybrid engine with 169 horsepower will get up to 41 mpg on the highway. We tried the all-wheel-drive hybrid and got 40 mpg on our 75-mph route. The gas-only Corolla XSE sedan with front-wheel drive got 41 mpg. The Corolla hatchback can get up to 42 mpg on the highway and 32 mpg in the city. Two hatchbacks that we tried got 40 and 36 mpg, respectively. Infotainment and Connectivity Every Corolla comes with a touchscreen entertainment system that works with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It also comes with a Wi-Fi hotspot that you can use with a contract. A better JBL sound system and wireless charge are both great choices. Price and How to Choose The more responsive suspension in the SE car makes it our pick over the LE and XLE classes, even though the SE is more sporty for a Corolla. The Corolla SE car comes with 18-inch wheels and tires, LED headlights, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that works with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
