1998 Toyota Corolla Review

Name: 1998 Toyota Corolla Review
Brand: Toyota
Price: 1095 USD
Rating: 4.3 (69 reviews)

(69)

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Edmunds' Expert Review

by the Edmunds Experts

Pros

All-new with a great engine, new body, and first-in-segment side-impact airbags, the 1998 Toyota Corolla is the best thing to hit the compact car market since the original VW Beetle.

Cons

Shape is a bit dull.

What’s new

The 1998 Toyota Corolla is completely redesigned this year with a new engine, new sheet metal and a new standard for safety in compact cars: optional front passenger side-impact airbags.

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 1998 Toyota Corolla CE 4dr Sedan and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.12 per gallon for regular unleaded in Virginia.}

Monthly estimates based on costs in Virginia

$129/mo

$168/mo

Avg. Compact Car

Calculate my fuel costs

Vehicle overview

The Toyota Corolla has been through many iterations since it was first introduced in 1968. Over the course of its long life, the Corolla has appeared as a hatchback, coupe, wagon and sedan. The world has seen enough people fall in love with this car to make it the second best selling vehicle in history.

Totally redesigned, the new Toyota Corolla is set to increase its global sales record and become the standard against which all small cars will be compared. Why? Because there is nothing like it, other than the re-badged Chevrolet Prizm, that carries this level of refinement and convenience in the sub-$20,000 price class.

We think that the most exciting change to the Corolla occurs under the car's hood. Nestled between the grille and the firewall is a 1.8-liter all-aluminum DOHC four-cylinder engine that cranks out 120 horsepower and 122 foot-pounds of torque. This high-revving engine not only provides the Corolla with more power than last year's motor, it does so while being 10 percent more fuel-efficient. When glued to a five-speed manual transmission, this engine will reward drivers with 31 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the freeway.

Equally impressive is Toyota's newfound commitment to safety. In 1998 all Corollas are available with four-wheel antilock brakes and side-impact airbags. You heard that right, Toyota's bargain-priced Corolla is the cheapest car that driver's concerned about their safety can outfit with seat-mounted side airbags. Those with kids will be happy to know that CE and LE models can be ordered with an integrated child seat.

Also new in 1998 is the car's body. We think the new look is attractive, but this little sedan follows typical Toyota policy and does nothing that will visually offend. This unfortunately means that there is nothing visually exciting about the car, either. Aesthetics aside, the Corolla's new shape does a good job of reducing the cars NVH levels, thanks to flush-mounted side windows and sound-deadening techniques borrowed from the Lexus magicians. Also improved by the new body is the Corolla's torsional rigidity, an important factor in making this car more fun to drive than its predecessor.

Toyota is on a roll, offering up fine products faster than an Amway salesman at a flea market. The Corolla is sure to be a hit with the just-starting-out crowd as well as empty nesters that simply don't need a large sedan anymore. Levels of safety and refinement usually don't come this cheap. We predict that the Corolla will steal plenty of sales from the Honda Civic and Nissan Altima.

Consumer reviews

Read what other owners think about the Used 1998 Toyota Corolla.

5 (49%)

4 (41%)

3 (6%)

2 (4%)

1 (0%)

4.3

69 reviews

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Most helpful consumer reviews

It Just Won't Die

fifi_lemon, 12/02/2011

1998 Toyota Corolla CE 4dr Sedan

This is a really good car. 12 years, it's still going pretty great. My mom's trying to get two more years out of it, which WILL happen, before she gets a new one. If you're looking for a reliable car for many years from now, this car is for you. No major breakdowns, except the "check engine" light has been going off. The mechanic says it's because a wire keeps getting bumped. For the …

Can't wait to hit 20 years / 200,000 miles!

mycardoesntquit, 08/05/2017

1998 Toyota Corolla LE 4dr Sedan

I bought my '98 Corolla second-hand for $2,600 in 2011 at 138,000 miles and have put almost 60,000 miles on it in those 6 years. It didn't look that great (lots of dings and dents from the previous owner), but it's what's on the INSIDE that counts! This car has reliably taken on 1,500+ mile road trips multiple times per year, every year, as well as some local driving on really bad roads. … In the past 6 years, the only repairs I've ever had to do, besides regular oil changes (every 3-4,000 miles, full synthetic), brake pads (just once!), and tires (just once!), is 1) fix an exhaust hole (likely caused by my not-so-gentle driving habits on terrible roads), 2) replace the brake and fuel lines that were rusted (thanks to salty snowy roads), 3) replace the window motor on the driver's side window, and 4) the only time I actually had to get towed was when the grommet that holds the shift cable broke - but this was my bad, the car had given me (gentle and then more insistent) hints for a month that something was wrong with the shifter cable (e.g. difficulty moving the knob into reverse), but I delayed taking the car to the mechanic until it actually broke. Also, if I hadn't turned the car off when this grommet broke, I would have been able to drive the car to the mechanic since it was stuck in Drive (but alas, due to safety reasons, once I turned the car off, it wouldn't turn on since it wasn't in Park or Neutral). None of these repairs were costly. Basically, this car is SUPER RELIABLE. And I get an amazing 38 miles per gallon on highway driving even when my car is piled full of heavy stuff, and about 36 mpg in city driving. And the a/c still works (remarkable in a car almost 20 years old), I just had to recharge it twice in 6 years. The only things I don't like about the car's driving performance is 1) without anti-lock brakes, it's not the best at fast emergency braking, though I have learned how to pump the brakes, I don't tailgate anyway, and I am an alert driver, so it's not been an issue for me, and 2) the car is so lightweight that it has more of a tendency to hydroplane in heavy rain than my prior car did... so I just take it easy on the speed in heavy rain and drive safely. The car's looks are boring and there are small cosmetic and non-essential-mechanical things that haven't aged well: the automatic locks don't work as well as they used to (now I have to manually lock and unlock the rear driver's side door), the cassette player is no longer accepting my cassette adaptor and so I have to use an FM transmitter to play music off my phone, the trim on the inside of the car near the doors is peeling off, the trunk is starting to be a little misshapen from my constant towing of multiple bicycles on a rear rack over bad roads, the coffee-cup holder is in the worst place (blocks access to the cigarette lighter port) and is shallow - I've had multiple drinks tip over - and -the weirdest thing - if I don't park the car straight, with the steering wheel straight, then when I try to turn the car back on, the key won't turn unless I grab the top of the steering wheel and pull it towards me. Whatever, I don't mind doing that except it's annoying to have to explain this to parking attendants or friends who are borrowing my car, LOL. BUT WHO CARES, THIS CARE IS GONNA KEEP GOING FOR ANOTHER 100,000 or 200,000 miles!!!! The doors are gonna fall off this thing before the engine quits! Whenever I take my car to a mechanic, they marvel at how well the engine works and its condition. I trust this car more than any other for long-distance road trips. It's a keeper. It's decently comfortable for long distances; I have a bad back, but I get much less back pain on long road trips in this Corolla than in my prior car, a '95 Legacy (which, by the way, is ALSO an awesome and reliable car... I bet I would still be driving the '95 Legacy if I hadn't broken something major when driving quickly over a sinkhole disguised as a puddle... I tell you, I am hard on my cars, drive them fast on really bad roads). If you can find an old '98 Corolla and just want a super-reliable, fuel-efficient old car that doesn't leave you stranded and doesn't cost much to maintain, buy it! I heard that the '98-'02 Corollas are very similar, so likely any Corolla in these years will be a keeper. They don't make cars like this anymore. I don't WANT to get a newer car. I LIKE being able to change my own oil and have inexpensive repairs, and it's always easy to find a used part in a junkyard or online, so the infrequent repairs are cheap. I am gonna drive this car for many more years... :-)

Most reliable car

oldetimer, 07/12/2009

1998 Toyota Corolla LE 4dr Sedan

I have owned this car for eleven years and have had no major problems with it; in fact, very, very few minor problems. It's certainly not an exciting car to drive, but it is extremely reliable and just keeps going. It has averaged about 32-34 mpg. This is the best made car I have ever owned.