2011 Toyota Corolla: Up Close
There’s little wonder why Toyota decided 2011 would be a good year to update its Corolla. Through October, the car, including its Matrix sibling, was the best-selling small car in the country. But the competition is as thick as flies: There’s the new Chevy Cruze and newish Kia Forte, plus the redesigned Hyundai Elantra and Ford Focus. Not long from now the big tuna — a ninth-generation Honda Civic — will hit the scene.
Appropriately enough, the 2011 Corolla features new styling, a simplified lineup and no more 2.4-liter Corolla XRS. Unfortunately, the major issues Toyota needed to address went unchanged.
At least the car looks more interesting. People won’t mistake this for the prior-generation Corolla of the mid-2000s vintage. However, they might mistake it for the prior-generation Mazda6, as we pointed out earlier, but that was a sharp-looking car; there’s no harm imitating it. I’m not so wild about the 2011 Corolla’s rear, which throws a giant chrome strip across the trunk. It looks overdone.
Save a new flat-bottom steering wheel in the Corolla S, not much has changed on the inside for 2011, and that’s where the most work was needed. The driver’s seat still doesn’t track far enough back, and the steering wheel doesn’t tilt low enough. The climate controls are crude, and the dash and doors employ a selection of cut-rate plastics that make the redesigned Volkswagen Jetta’s interior seem upscale. The backseat has decent headroom but limited legroom, especially compared to the Forte and Cruze. The headliner is wretched, and the center armrest has no shred of padding. We’ve called foul before; we call foul now.
Combined EPA mileage with the 1.8-liter four-cylinder and four-speed automatic is 29 mpg. That’s underwhelming since the Elantra and Focus should both offer combined mileage around 33 mpg. What’s good? Well, the Corolla has always been reliable despite its recent recalls. Toyota’s free-maintenance program should virtually eliminate out-of-pocket service costs for the first two years. With well-assisted steering and a comfortable, if floaty, ride, the car ranks among the easiest to drive.
People still buy the Corolla in droves, which reflects a disposition among small-car buyers: Get me from Point A to Point B as easily as possible and don’t ever make me stop at Point C, the local mechanic. However, outright appeal is something the Corolla lacks, and the 2011 model hasn’t moved up the ladder in that area. If forthcoming competitors can beat the car at its own dependability proposition, they have a good shot at taking a chunk out of those sales.
