2009 Toyota Corolla Consumer Reviews Page 7

Toyota Corolla LE

Written by: Toyota Corolla LE on 02/21/2009

Vehicle

2009 Toyota Corolla LE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 4A)

Review

I trading in my 2007 Prius for the Corolla and already the ride, solidity and finish is as good as it gets for a vehicle at this price range. I find the clock is much better being more at eye level than over to one side. I don't understand why owners complain about it. It keeps your eye on the road. Truly a pleasurable driving experience. The automatic lights are great if you forget to turn them off.Only complaint is not having intermittent wipers. Overall, the best ever!!

Favorite Features

Clock, turning ratio, quiet cabin easy controls, excellent visibility.

Suggested Improvements

Intermittent wipers.

1 out 1 people found this review helpful

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A decent car for the money

Written by: hank on 02/19/2009

Vehicle

2009 Toyota Corolla LE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 4A)

Review

I just traded in a 1999 Corolla CE for a new 2009 LE. I feel the handling, acceleration, etc is about the same as the old car. On the plus side, the new car is a little larger, has less road noise and seats are a lot more comfortable. On the negative side is the new steering system. The car does seem to drift when your driving on the highway. I don't seem to notice it as much when I'm driving locally on side roads, etc. Other then that it seems like a decent car for the $$.

Favorite Features

Price

Suggested Improvements

They should go back to the hydraulic steering system.

4 out 5 people found this review helpful

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2009 Corolla S 4Dr Automatic

Written by: Bakka on 02/05/2009

Vehicle

2009 Toyota Corolla S 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 4A)

Review

This vehicle is providing on average above 37 mpg under normal driving conditions and 39+ on the highway currently. This is without the AC running. Two features I do not like are the lack of being able to manually control the headlights, and the vehicle came standard without intermittent windshield wiper capability. (Hard to believe on the wiper issue.) I also have some very strange noises coming from the left side of the engine compartment area that sounds as if something wants to come apart. So far, they have not been able to be identified. This makes the car feel unsecure at times. Overall though, the car is doing well at the nearly 10,000 mile mark.

Favorite Features

Fuel mileage.

Suggested Improvements

Body integrity, manual control for the headlights, intermittent windshield wiper controls as standard

3 out 3 people found this review helpful

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So Far So Good

Written by: dcook on 01/29/2009

Vehicle

2009 Toyota Corolla S 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 4A)

Review

I purchased this car in lieu of a Hyundai Elantra. The only reason I was drawn to the Corolla was more headroom (I'm 6' 4"), otherwise the Elantra is more car for less money with a better warranty. We have had one for 3 years and it has performed flawlessly. It came with more standard features, drives better both in the city and on the highway and gets slightly better gas mileage. The Corolla’s style is admittedly more stylish and sporty. Toyota should fire the person that placed the clock it makes me wonder about other engineering decisions, that was plain stupid. The car has been trouble free except twice now the 6 cd changer just started spitting out disc for no good reason... hmm.

Favorite Features

Strong brakes, peppy engine, styling, comfort of seats in the S model, large trunk especially with the with fold down seats, (my son's wheel chair fits without folding them down), nice sound system, averaging 29 mpg city/hwy pretty much keep my foot in it too... good acceleration

Suggested Improvements

Clock placement is stupid, air cond weak on 95 deg+ day, need a turbo package, do something about the over sensitive electric steering - took me several months to get used to. I've driven more cars than I care to remember, all over the world and have never had to fight one to go straight

12 out 15 people found this review helpful

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Pass this one by even if you are short!

Written by: andy92 on 01/27/2009

Vehicle

2009 Toyota Corolla S 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 4A)

Review

I bought this car for my business. I am over 6’ tall and it was a big mistake. After 20 or so miles it gets very uncomfortable for someone tall. It hurt my back so bad I traded it in after only 200 miles! Before you think that a short person would find this vehicle acceptable, please pay careful attention to the steering issue. You cannot hold a straight line especially on the freeway. This is clearly a design defect that needs to be fixed. Strongly suggest you check out Mazda or VW for a small car.

Favorite Features

Fit and finish, peppy engine. Good gas mileage.

Suggested Improvements

Make better seats, and provide more leg room. Fix the steering! Make the clock separate, it is dangerous where it is being that you have to reach around the steering wheel and toggle through the trip computer with a chintzy button just to find the time. People can get killed trying this.

5 out 14 people found this review helpful

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Should have taken a test drive...

Written by: John byk on 01/27/2009

Vehicle

2009 Toyota Corolla XLE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 4A)

Review

Bought this corolla last december. This corolla has a wonderful paint finish. The exterior looks good without attracting too much attention. The interior looks quite high end. The seating position for the driver is comfortable. Gas mileage average for a fairly aggressive commuter driver is 32.5 mpg. What is disturbing about this car is the handling. This car does drift quite a bit in the wind. Body roll is also unsettling. The tires do hold the pavement, but the body roll makes fairly mild turns feel like I'm pushing the limit way too hard. Looking into suspension upgrades to help the handling scariness.

Favorite Features

Driving comfort. Headlights; especially the high beams. Fit and finish. Interior layout. Bluetooth phone capability. The car's ability to soak up uneven/rough pavement.

Suggested Improvements

Whoa, the handling and steering! It drives in the wind like the old Volkswagen bug. Reduce the body roll.

6 out 7 people found this review helpful

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Excellent gas saver

Written by: Alex on 01/25/2009

Vehicle

2009 Toyota Corolla LE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 4A)

Review

I got this car as a commuter and I am happy with my purchase. Impressive 29+ mpg on mostly city driving is great. The engine is also very potent. I test drove Honda Civic and Corolla feels the same.

Favorite Features

Gas mileage

Suggested Improvements

Make front seat more comfortable. Improve interior design. Honda has done really good job making the gauges and dash more attractive. Corolla's interior and dash is boring.

1 out 1 people found this review helpful

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Not bad, but could be much better!

Written by: Corolla Driver on 01/22/2009

Vehicle

2009 Toyota Corolla XLE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 4A)

Review

While the Corolla is a decent car, it does not stand out in any way and needs lot of improvement. Redesign the interior, move the clock to the radio area (add date/day of week); improve steering feel; illuminated controls for door locks & mirrors; 8 way power driver’s seat w/lumbar support; radio backlighting should be blue to match other controls; make the LCD bigger and higher resolution so it contains more info at a time (see Elantra). Every cheap gadget these days has high-res LCDs with a wealth of information! And get rid of the pixelated fonts; fog lamps on XLE. Heated outside mirrors standard on the XLE (Elantra offer them standard on all models); no intrusive hinges on trunk.

Favorite Features

Pretty good ride, good mileage, nice gauges (XLE only – I hate the amber color).

Suggested Improvements

Offer heat elements for the front wipers like on the Sienna; make Bluetooth available on all models, not just on the navigation models – after all we all use cell phones these days (see Nissan Versa) – import all contacts & photo ID automatically, & they should appear even when in Drive.

0 out 1 people found this review helpful

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Not bad, but could be much better!

Written by: Corolla Driver on 01/21/2009

Vehicle

2009 Toyota Corolla XLE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 4A)

Review

It's a good car but does not stand out in any way. Redesign the interior, clock in the radio area (add date/day of week); Improve steering feel; Illuminated controls for power door locks & mirrors; 8 way power driver’s seat w/ lumbar support; Radio backlighting should be blue to match other controls; Make the LCD bigger & higher resolution so it contains more info at a time, not force to toggle the TEXT button. Every cheap gadget these days offers high-res LCDs with a wealth of info! & get rid of the pixelated fonts; Make available fog lights on XLE. Heated outside mirrors standard on the XLE (Elantra offer them standard on all models); No intrusive hinges on trunk.

Favorite Features

Mileage; illuminated ignition key ring; nice gauges (XLE only – I hate the amber)

Suggested Improvements

Offer heat elements for the front wipers like on the Sienna. Make Bluetooth standard on XLE - not just on navigation models, & available on the LE (Nissan Versa) - after all we all use cell phones these days, & import all contacts (& photo ID) automatically - & they should appear even when in Drive.

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Sorry I didn't research first

Written by: texas sorry on 12/20/2008

Vehicle

2009 Toyota Corolla LE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 4A)

Review

Bought the 2009 Corolla have been very disappointed so far. It seems to have a mind of its own and wanders around the road, if you glance away even for a moment you will wind up on the other side of the road. Have to keep both hands on steering wheel at all times. Constantly correcting steering to stay on road. And forget driving on a windy day. Glad we did not trade in our 2005 KIA or we would be driving our work truck. Bought Toyota because we all ways considered them a reliable cars. We see this as a safety issue and intend to pursue what ever means we have to. This is our first new car and will probably be our last as we will be on fixed income soon. Wish I had read reviews first.

Favorite Features

Gas mileage and large trunk, back seats laying down to accept bigger objects.

Suggested Improvements

Electronic steering improved, darker interior, clock in radio, may come back with update later only have 1000 miles so far but hope we do not encounter any more problems.

10 out 13 people found this review helpful

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