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First Drive: 2003 Toyota Corolla
World Car, Ninth Edition
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By Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor
Date posted: 03-19-2002
Toyota says the Corolla is the world's all-time best-selling passenger car, with
more than 25 million units sold in 142 countries. Yes sir, that's a lot of Corollas.
Not that we've had much to do with that.
In our 2000 Economy
Sedan Comparison Test we ranked the car seventh out of nine cars. We disliked
the uncomfortable front seats, tepid styling, high price and soggy handling.
For the 2003 model year, Toyota has introduced an all-new Corolla that addresses
many of the car's deficiencies. It's bigger, has more power, is more crisply styled
and has higher levels of refinement.
Built utilizing an all-new platform (one that also serves the 2003 Toyota Matrix
and Pontiac Vibe), the '03 Corolla is longer, wider and taller. Overall length
is now 178.3 inches, as compared to the '02's 174.0 inches. The wheelbase is also
correspondingly longer at 102.4 inches.
While this super-sizing boosts curb weight (by about 50 pounds), it does provide
more interior room. The big winner is rear legroom. It now measures 35.4 inches,
a significant gain of 2.2 inches. Most of the remaining front-and-rear interior
dimensions are either about the same, or slightly more. Sitting in back, we noticed
the increased legroom immediately. The rear seat is nicely contoured, and two
adults should be comfortable, though rear headroom is still less than some of
the competition. Trunk space is up from 12.1 cubic feet to 13.6 cubic feet.
For the front passengers, Toyota updated the dashboard and controls for better
ergonomics. The audio system is now on top of the center stack, a change from
its previously low-mounted location. This was done to make it more accessible,
though our initial impression is that it's still hard to reach. Entry and exit
is improved thanks to higher-mounted seats, and those seats have additional bolstering
for more support. As is typical of Toyota products, the controls and switches
have a solid feel to them. The quality of the materials is nothing to get excited
about, however, as most of the panels are hard plastic and there's no padding
for the driver's armrest.
Of more importance is what you're getting for your money. On this front, the Corolla
should certainly satisfy. As before, trim levels continue to be the base CE, the
better-equipped LE and the sporty S. More features are standard this year, and
even the lowly CE comes with air conditioning with micron filtration and rear
floor ducts, a CD player, power steering, power mirrors, an outside temperature
gauge, 60/40 split-folding rear seats and 15-inch wheels.
The LE comes with wider tires, variable intermittent windshield wipers, fake wood
trim, color-keyed exterior trim, power windows and locks, remote keyless entry,
map lights and a driver-seat height adjuster. The S model includes "sporty" trim
such as even more color-keyed exterior items, smoked headlights, foglights, special
gauges and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Options include upgraded audio systems,
ABS, side airbags, cruise control, leather seating and a sunroof. Compared to
similarly equipped '02 models, Toyota says the '03 Corolla is actually less expensive.
In terms of its powertrain, the new Corolla is pretty much a carryover. Under
the hood is a 130-horsepower 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine. Thanks to a variable
valve timing system (Toyota's VVT-i), this engine provides a broad torque output.
It's also clean enough to allow the car to earn ULEV emissions status. Transmission
choices are either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. Last year's
doggy three-speed automatic has been mercifully removed from the lineup, and fuel
economy is rated at 32/40 mpg for the five-speed and 30/38 for the automatic.
On the road, the Corolla makes for comfortable and pleasant transportation. Despite
Toyota's hype that the car is more exciting than before, it still offers little
inspiration, even in S trim. Acceleration is certainly on par with or better than
most other economy cars, and the ride is smooth. For 2003, the rear suspension
has been changed to a non-independent torsion-beam design. While perhaps a step
back on the technological scale, it's been tuned to a high degree with special
shocks and bushings. MacPherson struts are used up front, just as before. Though
our drive in the '03 car was brief, this Corolla did seem more stable. The steering
is sharper, too, thanks to a relocated steering rack.
While we expect to have a full-road test available soon, our prediction is that
the new Corolla will continue to sell to people looking for a safe and dependable
economy car. Though the prices are higher than last year, the actual amount of
stuff you get for the price is more. And what's wrong with extra stuff?
See all the Ratings: 2003 Toyota Corolla S 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M) Road Test Scoreboard
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