Summary
What Edmunds.com says
Reliable but bland, the 2001 Toyota Corolla is a conservative pick in the economy sedan class.
Pros
Smooth ride, spunky motor, tight build quality, refined bits and pieces, optional side airbags.
Cons
Cramped and uncomfortable interior, mushy suspension, non-descript styling, lousy stereo ergonomics.
What's New for 2001
For the 2001 Toyota Corolla, the midgrade CE trim replaces entry-level VE, top-line LE replaces midgrade CE and a sporty new CE-based S model debuts. Front and rear lighting is restyled, and the fascia up front is tweaked and now includes a chrome-ringed grille. An internal trunk release has been added, along with a push-button fresh/recirculate control for the ventilation system. Two new colors replace an equal number of shades that are fading away.
Consumer Ratings & Reviews
Not the Toyata Quality I Have Known
Vehicle
2001 Toyota Corolla LE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M)
Review
I bought this car used with 30,00 miles on it and have had regular maintenance performed. Have have had a few major problems that were costly to repair. Common Toyota problem, per my body shop guy: the door handle mechanism broke requiring $800 repair. My body shop guy says he sees about 15 Toyotas a year that have this problem; from Corollas to Avalons and Toyota hasn't done any recall. My roof paint is chipping and is rusted, so poor paint quality because no accidents to account for this. I fear this repair. My gas mileage is only about 24 city, 32 highway. I've always owned Toyotas and have enjoyed them, and this is my only mediocre one, but makes me want to go Honda next time around.
Favorite Features
Comfortable seats for a small car. Handles well with smooth steering control.
Suggested Improvements
The cup holder is in a very inconvenient location: in front of the eject area for the CD player, so you can't have a cup in the holder and load a CD at the same time. Opening from trunk to the folded down back seats is too small for what it could be.
OK Car
Vehicle
2001 Toyota Corolla CE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M)
Review
The 2001 corolla is about as boring of a car as you can get. Too bad the 2002 made major improvements. I have had this car since it was bought brand new and still drives fine with some minor mechanical problems. The check engine light has been on many many times. I think the interior is OK quality and there are not any bells and whistles at all. Also, I noticed that not just my car, but many Corollas like mine are missing hubcaps or have aftermarket ones. That tells me the interior quality isn't great either. The fuel economy definitely does not reach 41mpg on the highway. Overall, it is just a mediocre car in my mind.
Favorite Features
Nothing much
Suggested Improvements
More accessory features, more comfortable interior, better acceleration
Rockin' Rolla
Vehicle
2001 Toyota Corolla S 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M)
Review
I haven't had this car very long yet but bought it because of it's reputation as a solid reliable car. And that's exactly what it is. I'm very very happy with it, just recently took it on a 11 hour drive, and it performed great. Has enough power to pass on the highway no prob...just drop it into 3rd and it's gone. I suggest the manual though, I don't think it would be so great in an automatic, but that's just me. The gas mileage is awesome! It's fun to drive for a 4 door economy car, and looks good too. The A/C works great, but really robs the engine of power. But yeah, great choice if you're looking for a reliable cheap to own car. Can't go wrong with a Toyota.
Favorite Features
Uh, the reliability! There's also just little things that I noticed that I thought were cool, like the in dash thermometer, and all the cubby spaces. Oh and the cup-holders do a great job. I love it's exterior styling (especially the "S", like mine), and the trunk is nice and big.
Suggested Improvements
Back seat leg room is pretty lame, but I rarely have rear passengers so I dont really care. That's about it! I'm sure that fixed this issue on the newer Corollas.
Great Car
Vehicle
2001 Toyota Corolla LE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M)
Review
I was spending $320/mo. in gas at the time I purchased this vehicle, so there were two things I looked for in my vehicle: reliability and gas mileage. This is the premium package for both. I drive my car all the time and living 30 minutes from work I only spend about $100/mo. in gas now. I recently took a small road trip in 530 miles, I used 15 gallons of gas! So I averaged at 35 mpg! I could improve this number by getting a tune up, an oil change, and inflating my tires. I also used my air conditioner most of the way and drove at about 75 mpg. Not bad.
Favorite Features
Gas mileage, reliability, roomy for a compact, nice front end design, comfortable, great A/C and heat, good drive.
Suggested Improvements
Apparently rear seat comfort (as I was told by a passenger). Rear end design is ugly in my opinion.
Reliable transportation
Vehicle
2001 Toyota Corolla LE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M)
Review
This car is a very reliable economy car. That being said, the 'economy' part should speak for itself in terms of interior room, comfort, etc. Short on inside space and features, but fairly easy to customize or add to. Small but fairly peppy 1.8L engine gets me an average of 34 mpg, and as high as 41. Excellent turning radius, and very good at maneuvering in heavy traffic, as well as very good field of view. Perfect for a small commuter car. Excellent for students, as it's fairly inexpensive to repair in most cases (for a foreign vehicle). Only complaint is that it has a problem with oil consumption.
Favorite Features
Excellent gas mileage; extremely reliable; fairly easy to customize/upgrade; most parts are easily found (replacements/upgrades).
Suggested Improvements
Change placement of cupholders, center console open on side instead of from front, solid boot around e-brake (have dropped things inside it on accident when have missed the center console).
5 out 5 people found this review helpful
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