Which Corolla To Buy?

[djbenny1]

hey guys, some of you may have seen me posting before, but it was in the yaris section!

long story short i sold the yaris t sport, got an mr2 roadster but lost control of it on a bad corner on a greasy road :( written off so im looking for something new

loved both toyotas ive had so far, and i see the corolla as a bigger yaris so it has to be good!!

but, my dilemma is.... 1.6 petrol or 2.0 diesel??? I can afford a 2004 1.6 petrol but I will likely only be able to get a 2002/2003 2.0 :(

i had a search and i found that facelift updated bumper, lights, added some nicer touches to interior trim and that was about it.

heres the car i am going to see next week:

car

i told him he could keep the alloys as i dont really like them and he will put the originals back on for a good reduction in price, i intend to get it for £4000, but having looked on whatcar and parkers, i see that this still seems expensive?? auto trader shows very few corollas for under 5k so i dont see how parkers and whatcar got their valuations.

but basically i am swaying more toward the petrol now, as its cheaper and i can afford a newer car; so i was wondering how many MPG am i likely to get?? toyota states 40MPG combined which i know is optimistic, my yaris t sport got 38. also how is the performance on both 1.6 and the diesel engine? compare to the yaris if possible!

any insights/personal experience on either petrol or diesel would be great! (t sport isnt an option because of running costs by the way!)

thanks!

[-T- Sport]

Personally I'd got for the petrol. My friend has a 1.6 T Spirit and it does the job fine. It's got another Umph for when you need it and he averages around 40mpg.

As for valuations.. no idea. The worlds gone mad with all that as you're probably aware.. haha.

[djbenny1]

Personally I'd got for the petrol. My friend has a 1.6 T Spirit and it does the job fine. It's got another Umph for when you need it and he averages around 40mpg.

As for valuations.. no idea. The worlds gone mad with all that as you're probably aware.. haha.

cool thats good to know. i think i will go for it then :D

what are the little "cupboards" in the dash for? below the AC controls? i see there are 2 of them lol

also, is a multifunction steering wheel with stereo controls standard on T3?

heres the car im looking at i see the link is very small above

[-T- Sport]

They're just random holdie.. things... The first one can hold around 3cd cases, and I believe the second one (it is on the T Sport anyway...) An ashtray.

Unsure whether thesteering wheel controls are standard on the T3, Found this picture though which would suggest they are...

And atleast the chap has done you a favour with the TTE lowering springs. They sit far better and handle better with 'em. :D

[Brandane]

Hi djbenny.

I am new to Toyota ownership, having been a VW man for about 15 years. Bought a Corolla 1.6 Colour Collection (T3 with a few left overs from the parts bin before the end of Corolla production) and have not been disappointed. Mine is a 2006 in black, 3 door as well (so looks good ;) ). Got it 3 months ago from a Toyoya dealer. It was exactly 3 years old, 20k miles, and was priced at £6995. Got a decent trade in so was quite happy with the deal.

MPG..... According to the car computer I get about 41/42 mpg. Keep the revs down and it seems to be economical, but above 4000 rpm it seems to develop a thirst! My driving is a bit of everything, so should be a reasonable average to expect. The engine is a peach; so smooth and quiet (well it is after a VW diesel anyway, and that was one of the newer PD diesels). It's not the quickest but neither is it slow; just needs some revs if you want it to shift.

The driving position I find very comfortable, everything is just in the right place (I am 6'00") and I could drive it all day. So far I like everything about my Corolla and don't miss the VW Golf (they are not as good as they used to be; mk2 was the best!).

Al.

[BRIDGES]

I think the alloys suit the car imho

[djbenny1]

thanks for all the info guys, esp brandane!

i was actually really considering mk4 golf gt tdi, is this what you had?? or was it even newer again?

the alloys are kinda growing on me too

will see, if i can get the car with the alloys for around 4300 i will be pleased, if i end up not liking them can just sell.

i would imagine 18s take away from the ride and handling??

I had my heart set on black alloys you see, probably 17s, money will be very low after buying car though!!

hmmmm

yaris had 6 BHP and 7 less torque than the corolla but the corolla weighs 250 kilos more wont be just as quick i suspect, ah well im sure its quick enough!!

brandane does ur car have steering wheel stereo controls?

and i will likely put my foot down quite often, as long as it stays above 38 (what the yaris was) ill be pleased lol

[Brandane]

My Golf was a mk4 TDi (not GT) with the 100 BHP engine. Was an alright car, good economy (about 52mpg) and very torquey. But there was always something missing! Maybe I was spoilt with my 2nd Golf, a mk2 GTi, that was just a great car in every way but as I said, they don't make 'em like that any more :( .

My main problem with VW's is that just about every one I ever owned eventually developed a water leak causing wet carpets. On the mk2 it was quite an easy fix, but now the door assemblys are so over complicated and there are so many different seals that could be at fault that it is a nightmare (and don't waste time asking dealers to fix it!). It's one of my pet hates so no more VW for me.

Yes my Corolla has steering wheel controls for the stereo. I think they were standard on the T3, but could be wrong.

Al.

[djbenny1]

My Golf was a mk4 TDi (not GT) with the 100 BHP engine. Was an alright car, good economy (about 52mpg) and very torquey. But there was always something missing! Maybe I was spoilt with my 2nd Golf, a mk2 GTi, that was just a great car in every way but as I said, they don't make 'em like that any more :( .

My main problem with VW's is that just about every one I ever owned eventually developed a water leak causing wet carpets. On the mk2 it was quite an easy fix, but now the door assemblys are so over complicated and there are so many different seals that could be at fault that it is a nightmare (and don't waste time asking dealers to fix it!). It's one of my pet hates so no more VW for me.

Yes my Corolla has steering wheel controls for the stereo. I think they were standard on the T3, but could be wrong.

Al.

i know what you mean, its the silly things about the car that annoy you and make you want to sell it, no matter how small they are!

ah right youd say that the corolla is quicker than it then? wouldnt be much in it probably!

yep it is standard i found a list of all standard equipment on the different models if anyone wants i will link to it!

apparently the side skirts are standard on it too, but not the spoiler i dont think?

climate control was too after some point in 2006 apparently!

one other silly question.... do you have flip out keys?? or did toyota never do them?? i friggin love the flip out keys but my clio, yaris and mr2 didnt have one! rage!!

the corolla i want is 2004 if it matters

[Brandane]

No flip out key with my Corolla!

If it's performance you're after then the Golf would be better. I am comparing against the 100bhp version, the GT TDi has either 130 or maybe even 140bhp depending on the version. VW don't seem to make 2 cars to the same spec. MPG in the Golf would be better as well, I think you can still expect near 50mpg even from the most powerful diesels. You get a flip-out key as well!

I bought the Corolla for reliability, decent economy, reasonable performance, comfort, simplicity (I like to do my own servicing etc..), and "park anywhere without getting keyed" anonimity. It ticks all those boxes and more for a reasonable price. If I want adrenalin pumping performance on the road, I have a 2 wheeled toy for that (0-60 in 4 secs, and still gives around 60mpg, all for £1200 :D ).

Al.

[djbenny1]

nope i wouldnt be looking at any faster than 115 BHP golf GT TDI and according to parkers, the 1.6 corolla is 0.1 secs faster to 60 than it

yea i like the simplicity of the toyota! i was able to fiddle away with the yaris and im as near to handless as you can get

i will be tinting back windows though and maybe doing a few modest modifications, all tasteful - the standard body kit is sweet

do you have a 3 door?

[djbenny1]

hey guys went to see the corolla today!

really liked it! great car there were just a few annoying things, nothing mechanical at all everything seems 100%, clutch, accelerator and gears all felt really nice and i loved the steering too.

the annoying things were the dash, passenger side was quite badly scratched, the section above the glove box. ive done some research and spoke to my uncle who owns a valeting business and he says they cant be removed at all and cant really even make them look better, but maybe some of you guys know of something??

ive gone as far as looking at dash covers - they are available in US but i havent seen any for right hand drive cars but i would go for one if i could get one.

other thing was the little centre console/arm rest/storage box. the box itself feels quite flimsy and the lid moved about a little when open.

everything else was great as far as i can recall, outside was very clean, one scrape i saw on the passenger side rear part of the bodykit, must have scraped a kerb somewhere; and the innevitable few stone chips.

i loved the car and i know that im probably nit-picking but i was just wondering if there was anything i could do about those little things

cheers