On the beautiful Monday morning that I returned the Saloon version of the Toyota Corolla to Toyota’s Irish headquarters on Killeen Road, in Bluebell, waiting for me there was a young man called Michael with the keys of the hatchback version of the Corolla.
Great service and it certainly made my Monday morning even better. If you can think back to last Monday week the weather was gorgeous, similar to a summer’s day, in fact much better than a lot of summer days we had in 2023.
When Toyota Ireland was founded in 1973, nobody could have predicted it would grow so quickly to become one of the country’s most trusted and beloved car brand 50 years on.
As we keep being reminded, England won the World Cup in 1966 and 1966 was also the year that Toyota introduced their popular Corolla. If you have time, Google Toyota Corolla and you will be amazed how some car owners have preserved their original Corollas from 57 years ago.
In 2021 Toyota announced that they had sold over 50 million versions of the Corolla worldwide.
Corolla is Latin for ‘small crown’ and the Corolla was crowned Irish Car of the year in 1988. It was completely redesigned in 2009 and my test car was a 2023 mild-upgrade version of the 12th generation.
The external improvements are difficult to spot as Toyota clearly don’t want to radically alter the look of their hatchback and want to ensure it remains a handsome car.
There are new headlights, a new front bumper and grille, new alloys and at back, a new black-painted bumper and tweaked brake lights.
The Luna version comes with 16-inch alloys, but the Luna Sport version looks the most attractive with stylish 17-inch alloys and a sporty black roof to compliment the Pearl White colour of the body. Juniper Blue is one of the new colours available.
It was a bit unusual to have wind deflectors fitted on the front windows. I’m told that in the days before full air conditioning in cars drivers would use the wind deflectors to allow in some air or cigarette smoke to get out without the rain getting in.
Inside the seats are comfortable, but very dark and the white stitching throughout is badly needed to help brighten up the décor. On the dash you get a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel that looks very smart. As usual you can chose various different driving modes, Eco, Sport and Normal.
It’s a very frugal engine and with steady driving it’s possible to achieve the official consumption figure of 4.7 litres per 100km. In urban driving the Corolla frequently runs in EV mode.
Naturally there is not as much space in the Hatchback as the Saloon. The back seat is tighter and the boot is a lot small than the Saloon and unlike the Saloon version you don’t get a spare wheel.
Four trim levels are available: Luna, Luna Sport and GR Sport, all 1.8-litre. Prices start a €32,685.
I preferred the Saloon version. But as I said last week it was my first time to drove a Saloon car in many months and in a way it was a bit of novelty for me. The hatchback is much neater and probably more attractive. I think it would be ideal car for a young person learning to drive. Being an automatic, it should also make it easier for a learner to pass their driving test.
