Pros: What do you like about 2010 Toyota Corolla?
Very good mechanically for the type of car it is.
Great fuel economy.
Quiet, pleasant, and smooth.
Uses 15" wheels (cheaper tires). Cons: How would you improve 2010 Toyota Corolla?
Improve ergonomics for tall(er) people, and for adults of average (and above) European and American girth.
Improve the look of the butt of the car.
Improve the color combination of the instrument panel.
Make the car fun to drive.
Program the auto tranny to downshift even by two gears if necessary for quicker acceleration. 2010 Toyota Corolla Review:
I did a lot of research before buying this car, and came to the conclusion that for the money this Corolla has the best value. Honda Civic would probably be a better car (for me), but equally equipped it's more expensive. I got the CE version with the enhanced convenience package.
I actually like the look of the car from the front and from the side; the back of the car, however, looks like someone melted the previous version's butt with a torch and slapped it on this new version; it looks weird - has a poor flow, to my taste. Inside the car looks OK; not exciting, but not offensive either. The dash has a reasonably elegant flow, the center stack looks modern-ish, and the layout of the controls is good (except perhaps for the clock's position at the bottom of the stack). The back-lighting of the IP is amber, which I like a lot, but the needles are red = poor color combination (doesn't Toyota have designers trained in aesthetics?).
When it comes to ergonomics, this car was designed for short and thin people (and even they get short-changed). The front seats' cushions are too narrow for anyone but tiny people - the side bolsters dig into the butt, making longer rides quite uncomfortable. Also, the front seats lack lumber supports. I'm 6'2" and 175 pounds, and I had to add some serious padding to the driver seat to compensate; this shouldn't be needed on a 20-thousand-dollar car in the 21st century. The driver seat moves back far enough to offer a just-about-so-so space for my longer legs. The steering wheel telescopes and tilts nicely. When the driver seat is moved all the way back (or almost), the driver's elbow is way past the door's elbow rest, so there is nowhere to rest the left arm. And even though short people line up with the door's elbow rest well, due to the convex shape of the door, the elbow rest is too far from the seat to be a comfortable support. The right elbow lines up with the right elbow rest nicely, but the rest is made of hard plastic...
At normal legal speeds the car is very quiet (unless the road gets very rough) and has a pleasant and smooth ride. The engine has enough power for normal driving, but don't expect any quick acceleration. When you floor it, the transmission might think for a second, and when it decides that you're serious about gathering some speed, it downshifts quickly and smoothly. However, from my experience it's only willing to downshift by one gear - then it stays in that gear and all you have left is a prayer that the engine will hit higher RPMs fast, and thus gather steam much quicker. In normal driving the transmission behaves well, shifts very smoothly, and when it detects a downhill and you brake, it downshifts to utilize engine braking.
Handling is secure; the car can negotiate curves surprisingly well, and I find high-speed tracking just fine (some people have reported drifting at higher speeds, but my car doesn't do it).
Steering is OK for a commuter car. Though it doesn't offer much feedback, and is not sports-car sensitive, it responds well enough, has a reasonably good on-center feel, and returns to the center position well.
The brakes are very good.
The stereo system's sound quality is about as good as a 100-dollar (CAD) stereo system from Best Buy.
If I had to summarize 2010 Corolla, I'd call it quiet, smooth, pleasant, but needing some substantial improvements in ergonomics for real-world people; I'd also love to call it fun to drive. |
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