Toyota Corolla 02-07 your thoughs about it please!

will_98, Oct 21, 8:22am
Hi fellow trademe users, Im looking at getting a corolla between the 02 to 07 shape to relpace my 1998 camry v6 as it thirsty at the pump. I just want to get your thoughs on it. Thanks
r15, Oct 21, 8:32am
boring, otherwise fine. personally i prefer them to the newer model though having had both as work vehicles

the Runx-Z (hatch) or Fielder-Z (wagon) is the semi fun version with ll the bells and whistles. and another claimed 40~kw from factory & 6 speed
fordcrzy, Oct 21, 8:42am
get the 1800 not the 1500
phillip.weston, Oct 21, 9:16am
utterly boring (to drive and look at) but utterly reliable.
mugenb20b, Oct 21, 9:18am
It's bigger, more powerful and equally economical.
oscar220, Oct 21, 9:24am
May be more powerful, but the 1.5 goes very well andgenerally will be cheaper to buy.
I'm not an expert but how can it be bigger!
richardmayes, Oct 21, 9:26am
#4 - Because the 1800 makes more power!
It's not compulsory to drive around with your foot to the floor, but when you do want to pass someone or get into a gap it is better to have the fizz available than to not have it.
Both models weigh the same, and the power only comes on when you rev it so overall fuel consumption won't be much different between the two.

There are a lot of haters around here that would have you think a Toyota eats your soul the minute you hop in - don't listen to them; we have an 1800cc Corolla at work and it's a fun little car to drive around town in. A Fiat or VW badge on the front does little on its own transform a basic 4-cylinder hatchback into anything it's not, but the various fanboys will be along in a minute to tell you black is white.

If you can be bothered keeping the revs up you'll be able to make progress just as fast as you could in your V6.

They are a much smaller car than a Camry though, so you might want to convince yourself you won't miss the extra room.!
trdbzr, Oct 21, 11:05am
I bet if the fanboys were blind folded and put into a similar size and spec Euro cars and Japanese cars, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. A lot of time its just the mental aspect of it - they see a Euro so just think its fun and lively etc even when its just plain and boring.
phillip.weston, Oct 21, 1:49pm
^^ once you start driving a few Euros you will get an appreciation on how they drive, and then start to realise that many things they do just seem more 'right'. I've owned primarily Japanese cars and will always continue to own Japanese cars, but I have owned a few Euros too and have no problem with owning another again.

Comparing a Corolla to a Golf, you will notice that the Golf feels more solid and the doors close with more a 'thunk', the interior materials have a more quality feel to them, even though on the Golf after 5-10 years the rubberised surface around door handles, control knobs etc will start to wear off.

I've driven many 02-07 shape Corollas and while I agree they get the job done nicely, they just aren't interesting in the slightest unless you go for a 2ZZ-GE powered one be it the hatch or the wagon. Even so the interior still has the same hard and cheap plastic feel to it, the clutch pedal movement is touchy and jittery, the steering is very light and not well weighted, you can hear lots of road noise reverberating around inside especially from the rear.
toyboy3, Oct 21, 9:57pm
I have driventhe 07 corollamanual 5 speed 1800cc wagon,town and morecountry driving with only the driver onboardcovered 765 k. on one 55 litre tank.The petrol light was on for the last 150 k.
trdbzr, Oct 22, 5:18am
I never said Euro's are bad, I just believe they are simply overrated. Especially when you look at models like the Golf, Series 3 BMWs etc and compare them to the likes of the Corolla's, Altezza's, Mazda 6 etc. Im sure that a lot of time the whole 'feeling right' thing is purely a mental aspect rather than an actual one. I've driven a couple of Euro's and sure whilst there are some very nice luxury cars made by Euro manufacturers, the same can be said for Japanese manufacturers. When you look at the 'bread and butter' models, they also seem the same. I really don't see what all the fuss is about.

Put it this way - if you read audiophile reviews of amps, you will see some of the 'experts' going on about how one amp sounds warm and another one sounds rich etc when in fact all an amp does is power a speaker. Its the speaker that produces the sound, not the amp. 50 watts RMS coming from a Helix or from a Powerplant is going to make a speaker sound exactly the same, however psycho-acoustics come into play. Since one amp is obviously more expensive and has a premium (better marketing) attached to it, they expect the more expensive one to be better, even though it isn't. Its the same thing with cars MOST of the time.

The Golfs, Polos, Passats, Series 3s etc are the Camrys, Corollas, Yaris etc of Europe. People over there don't bang on about them the way some of the people on this side of the world do. They aren't bad, just very overrated.
phillip.weston, Oct 22, 5:22am
I agree that the Golf, Polo and Passat are the Corolla, Yaris and Camry of Europe, but there is more to European cars than what VW has to offer, just like how there's more to Japanese that Toyota has to offer. I would gladly take a Yaris over a Polo, but I just find that the Golf is a much better car than a Corolla. I don't think the Golf is quite the competitor for the Corolla, the Golf is physically larger and more than often has much larger engines and 4WD options which the Corolla of that shape lacks.
mugenb20b, Oct 22, 5:31am
1.8 litres vs 1.5 litres.which one of the two has more capacity!
pauloc, Oct 22, 9:34am
No difference in size
will_98, Nov 12, 6:03pm
True the extra room of the camry will be missed. Thnaks
mugenb20b, Nov 12, 8:33pm
Can you stop bumping old threads! Thanks.