Test drive: 2006 Toyota Corolla S
Sunday January 8, 2006
Right now is not exactly the best time to be a Corolla. The entire Corolla model range is up against the all-new Honda Civic, a car that (if you will pardon the car-review cliche') redefines the subcompact market. And the sporty S model that Philip tested will no doubt be cross-shopped against the Mazda3 S (test drives here and here), arguably the most fun-to-drive subcompacts on sale today. To be fair to the Corolla S, it's not a sports car so much as it's a sporty car, one that's designed to look fast but carry all the virtues of a true economy sedan. With fuel economy of 30 mpg city/38 mpg highway for the stick-shift (same as the new Civic), it certainly fulfills that mission, and Toyota's legendary build quality is icing on the cake. Still, Philip found that the Corolla S left a little to be desired. Does the Corolla still have what it takes to compete? Ride along with Philip and judge for yourself. -- Aaron Gold
Comments
There is an error in the article (well, the overview). The EPA MPG for the car is NOT 30/38 for the manual.
http://www.toyota.com/corolla/specs.html
The 30/38 is for the automatic. The manual is 32/41.
also, the article states, incorrectly, that there are no cupholders for the rear seats. There are cupholders in the back of the center console. Inconvenient, sure, but they are there.
I am slightly offended by the review, even if it is just an opinion. I guess maybe I am just deffensive because I have a 2006 Corolla S and I love it. I love it all around, and I don’t regret buying it over the Mazda 3 or the new Civic (yuck). But thanks anyways.
Ps. If you’re going to give a negative review on a car at least get the facts right (ie. fuel economy and cupholder info.)
This may be an old response but still one nonetheless.
I currently own a 2001 Corolla S, 2006 Corolla S and a 2006 Civic Hybrid, now though I can’t compare the two since the civic is a hybrid, but I can say that even though the toyota is not meant to be as sporty, it gets the job done a bit better than and the civic and as far as repair costs its cheaper overall to get fixed and serviced.(i.e.:BMW is the sport luxury brand and M-B is the luxury brand (respectively)) the civic is just too much for the cost even though I get better value with it with the return in fuel mileage.Both vehicles have thier ups and down but when it comes down to it they are both great cars but one is more expensive than the other even if both vehicles were gas engines.Plus he only test drives them there is a difference because every vehicle is different when they “break in” its obvious he doesn’t know anythng if he can’t get the facts straight. After owning many vehicles, from econoboxes to ultra luxury vehicles my knowledgs of vehicles is very well, especially if you’re an automotive consultant.
I own a S model. I have to say I like the car, but I have had a lot of mechaincial problems, such as replace the values and new motor brackets, front window gaskets, and replace the belt tension wheel and the belt. Luckly my car is still under a warrenty!
I love my Corolla & my car gets 42-43 on highway so ur calculations are a little off I drive from phoenix to san diego on $50bucks and I have rims I say COROLLA is way better..