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What is the invoice price for a manual CE Corolla? Edmunds has the msrp only.
Thanks for your help.
But, the ES300, Avalon, RX300, & Sienna do have VVT-i though (Sienna for 2001).
One thing with VVT-i is making sure the oil is clean. Many VVT-i problems are sourced from the VVT-i oil strainer/valve.
On the topic of ride, beware: tire pressures are critical. Don't set them over 30 psi [the recommended pressure] or be prepared for a rocky feel. These size tires [ 195/65x15 ] were used for years by Mercedes to hold up 3600 lbs of car; in this application, they are only holding up 2600 lbs, and the fact is, at 30 psi, the tires [even the fronts] are so understressed that the car feels a lot better at 28 psi than 30. I know Toyota [and everyone else] is paranoid about underinflation since the Explorer business, but the fact is, MB was recommending pressures in the high 20s when this size tire was on the previous gen E-Class. Anyway, don't overinflate - it's useless and kills an otherwise fine ride.
I'll repeat that this car reminds me of nothing less than our '94 C-Class, except it has more room in both the cabin and trunk. No comparison of safety features, of course, but the new Corolla seems like a real value. I'll report back as time and miles accumulate.
In any case, the engines in the Corolla have never been implicated in any significant numbers in the oil-related problems that have received so much publicity....
If you slapped a three-pointed star on the hood, everyone would be falling over themselves to test the car...as it is, only the repeat Toyota buyers and the occasional adventuresome enthusiast [like me, I guess] will ever find out what's going on here.
I'd like to see them make ABS and side bags standard in the LE [and raise the price appropriately]; we wanted both, but cars being built this way, without a bunch of other, useless options, are impossible to find. In any case, I am impressed with what there is at the price on the table...
Incidentally, my only concern(as a Honda owner) about the new Corolla is the dreaded "numb" feeling on center for the steering. I haven't driven one though, what is your opinion about the steering feel?
With the above exception, the car looks and rides great, now I'm just looking for a 5 speed.
Overall noise levels are improved over both the old car and in comparison to anything else in the class - certainly neither our rental nor our new car has any noise issues beyond the engine roar under hard acceleration that has been discussed before.
To me, the car feels nimble and tossable - it's not a BMW, of course, but that's another discussion. High winds, and we had some yesterday, will move it around more than our Accord, but then it weighs 700 lbs less. I continue to be happy with our decision, but I emphasize again after last night's outing over some very nasty pavement that you do not want to inflate the tires over the recommended 30psi - I intend to experiment with something slightly lighter, like 28 psi. The relatively large tires they chose for this car pay dividends, but the ride deteriorates rapidly if there is too much air in there.
Finally, the glovebox fix worked nicely and there are no new interior noise issues so far [this is a NUMMI car].... And boy, the new trunk is a revelation to anyone coming from the old car [or just about anything else in the class] - it is very nearly as big as the Accord's - another pleasant surprise.
I also found the new Corolla to strike a good balance between ride and handling. On my test drive I drove over windy roads and found it to provide responsive and very secure handling at speeds beyond the posted limits. I didn't notice any harshness in the ride as well They must have had the tires inflated correctly on the test car. I think they got the chassis right on this one.
All in all, a mild disappointment. So, if your previous generation Corolla is still giving you a good service, don't do my mistake and trade it in for the new one thinking you'd be getting a vastly superior car. It isn't! Actually, I wish I kept my 2001 Corolla...
Usually it is a good idea to wait a while after a new design is introduced, at least with the American brands. Harder to do than say, though. I know I am looking at both Vibe/Matrices and the 2003 Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis (which begins production today) to replace my current Impala LS. My momma is the one with the Corolla (in this case, Prizm) which I advised her to buy and which she loves!
Cross shopping both a Vibe/Matrix and a CV/Grand Marquis? Yep. You may begin laughing now!
It's also true that early adapters always take risks, even with Toyota. Our car carries a serial number in the 21000 range from NUMMI, which is certainly on the early side. With some planned trips in the next 10 days, I'll have 1000 miles on our car before the end of next week. If anything changes, I'll be the first to say so.
First fuel stop yielded 31.3 mpg with a green engine and a lot of load and speed variance to help breakin.
No- I happened to take a '01 Corolla as my loaner car today. I have driven 60 miles and I agree with jrct9454. The '03 has superior or equal characteristics in most respects (NVH, ride, handling, power, comfort/convenience, romminess).
As a early adapter, I can live with a few fixable niggling things and the inevitable recalls.
Second fillup resulted in 32 mpg, with a lot of high-speed freeway running with AC on, and much variation in speeds to help breakin. It loves to cruise at 3000 rpm, which is just short of 80 mph...I have to work consciously to keep moving the speeds around during this first 1000 miles. So far, so good...
My dealer's service department was able to fix the squeaky rear windshield problem after two days. Up until an hour before my pickup on Tuesday, they could not diagnose and repaired the problem though they can hear the squeak. Then they had a brilliant idea to call Toyota "Tech-Line" to see if they can offer any solutions. The Tech-line immediately identified a solution for the squeak as it has been a known problem on some '03s. Apparently some sort of pins/clips at the top of the rear windshield were not removed, as required, at the factory during assembly. I am a happy camper again now that this snafu was fixed without tearing out the windshield or headliner.
Thanks in advance from my Corolla family.
Sandman
We have a longer trip planned for next week; I'll report back after that. Besides the really great ride quality, I would have to say the biggest surprise is the trunk space - we are able to get everything I carried in the Accord, and still have the same available space. What little was lost in theory I got back by reusing a [ almost new ] car cover that I had that was custom made for our '94 MB C220. It fits like a glove, and when folded, makes a smaller package [different materials] than the cover for our Accord - the result is the same, or maybe slightly more, actual usable space in the trunk than in our Honda. I couldn't be happier.
I'm not crazy about the way the car looks, but I bought this car primarily for fuel consumption and reliability. Time will tell if it was a sound purchase in this regard (the rattles that are creeping up with less that 2000 miles on the odo aren't very reassuring, though).
My $0.02.
Another thought is that the car is simply quiet and smooth; as compared to other compacts I have recently driven, '01 Corolla, '00 Protege; '01 Civic. So any buzzing or rattles are more prominent.
Finally, check your tire pressure and make sure it's no more than 30 psi.
~alpha
To each their own...and I'm happy for anyone who is happy with their purchase or current car, as the case may be. But I think the comparison between the old and new car favors the new in every category that matters. If more refinement makes the car somehow more "American", I would suggest you haven't driven any good Euro sedans from this class recently. I have.
And you bet a BMW 3er will feel better - but this isn't much of an accomplishment at the price a 3er commands. A better comparison is with the small Peugeots and VWs and Renaults in this class, and I can tell you from experience that the North American Corolla has nothing to apologize about in that kind of company...and never mind the kind of reliability most of them can only dream about.
As for whether the '03 or 98-02 is more Euro-like, well it depends what qualities one values in a Euro-compact car. Like John, I would value the refinement, handling composure and stability as good Euro qualities to emulate. In those areas, the '03 has improved over the previous generation. (I had a hands on comparision this past week as I drove a '01 loaner for 200 miles+.) If one interprets Euro qualities as more road feel and noise I guess the '03 is more isolated/quieter than the 98-02's, so in that sense maybe it's less Euro. No sorry, traditional American car qualities does not come to mind with the '03 Corolla.
Color: White/tan
Pros: Smooth, quiet engine; firm but not harsh suspension; classy interior; short-throw stick; comfortable back seat; standard remote locking; it is the Lexus of small cars.
Cons: Uncomfortable driving position; "bathtub" feel due to high dashboard; not as much leg room as other compacts; features like cruise and side air bags that are standard on some competitors are extra cost.
Overall the new Corolla is greatly improved over its predecessor, with better-looking exterior (IMO), high-quality and roomier interior, more power, and tighter handling. The engine is very quiet for a small car, much quieter on acceleration than my '01 Elantra and a bit quieter when crusing. The shifter has nice short throws but is canted upward, which was an uncomfortable angle for me. The back seat does not have that much leg room, but does have more than the '02 Corolla and the seat is high and there is good foot room, so I was comfortable back there (I am 5' 10"). The interior materials are first-rate, and I think the tan interior with the wood-grain LE trim and white gauges is especially handsome. Overall I would put the Corolla at the top of the low-end compact car ladder ($15k or less), edging out the Focus and Elantra GLS/GT mostly because of its overall quality feel and better predicted reliability.
BUT... I would not buy one. Try as I might, I could not find a comfortable driving position. The deadpedal is HUGE and sticks out so far that my left leg was up in the air when my right leg was comfortable. When I pushed the seat back some to fix that, the wheel was too far forward (needs a telescoping wheel) and the accelerator was too far away. The adjustable seat cushion has only one dial, not 2 as on some cars, and I wanted it to raise up just a tad more for more thigh support. The center armrest is hard plastic (if there is padding there I didn't feel it), not padded cloth as on some cars. And my elbow could not reach the armrest while my right hand was on the wheel. As I mentioned, the shifter was at an upward angle, which felt strange to me (and put more stress on my bum wrist than I'd like). Although the Corolla is in some respects a better car than my Elantra (smoother and quieter engine, better mpg and more upscale interior mainly), the seat and driving position of the Elantra fits me to a T (as does the Protege). And the armrests are padded and the dashboard is lower, giving a better view of the road. Just proves that you need to drive a car to find out if it is a good fit for you.
-'96 Acura RL [serial number 13xx]
-'98 Honda Accord [serial number 7xxxx]
-'98 Toyota Corolla [serial number 5xxxx]
None of these cars presented any special problems that were "fixed" in later years. There being no guarantees in life, this means nothing except that you stand a better chance with Honda and Toyota than most to get an early example that lives a reasonably trouble-free life. By contrast, there are many domestic makes that never get it right, no matter how many model years into the run you look.
Waiting always is virtuous if you don't need or want a car right now - the risks you take with Toyota or Honda are minimal, but they will never be zero.
On a whim, I installed the seat cushions that we have used in other cars to raise my driving position even higher than the seat adustments usually allow. [We take a standard add-on seat cushion sold everywhere, fold the "bottom" under the "back", anchor the whole package so that you sit on the "back" with a double-thickness under your butt.] This solved the problem nicely, and I have had no difficulty with extended driving stints. I do make an effort to move my left leg around, and not leave it on the dead pedal for extended periods. As noted above, it is positioned too far to the rear vs. what would feel natural.
I agree that this problem will be more noticeable with a manual trans [ours is automatic], and could be a real show-stopper if your body shape can't adjust. Whether there is any room in the underlying floorpan design for them to do anything about this is unknown to me, but it is definitely something to check before you commit to buying this car.
And I should mention that this trick with the seat cushion does a nice job of increasing thigh support, another chronic problem I have with most car seats because of my longer legs in relation to my torso. Mercedes seems to make the only seats our there that don't need any help from my bag of tricks...
Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all here in Edmunds!
About the only good way to solve this problem is a telescoping wheel, which does wonders. Why won't they put one into smaller cars??? Then again, I'm sure the Japanese Engineers have a hard time relating to us oversized Americans and our need for a little more room!
john cline ii, just teasing ya!
Secondly, for the automatic, look for 0-60 times in the range of 9.7-10.0 seconds, depending on how much the tester wants to abuse the car. A manual should shave another half second off those times.
Finally, I'm writing this from the computer of the friends we are visiting at the end of yesterday's long driving stint. I'm a believer...this is the best touring car in this class, period. Superb ride and general demeanor at speed on all kinds of surfaces, and loads of room for the junk we like to take on road trips.
I test drove an auto this weekend, it felt about as peppy as our 02 Camry, which has been clocked (By MT in the April 02 issue) at 9.2 to 60. Seat of pants assessment, I know, but still.
~alpha01
Thanks to those who responded to my earlier questions.
Also ask if there is a "hidden warranty" on the seat belt problem.
Good luck.