New model Corolla Saloon

colm_mcm

G Luxel wrote:

[ I hate the black interior that is always present in corollas from the dashboard to sterring wheels to the seating and carpet, all in one colour black. Corolla interiors for here need brighting up aka Mercedes or BMW.

should continue in the tradition of black interiors for all but the top spec cars with an option of beige dash on models with ivory leather interior - that's usually the way they do it.

Henry Ford III

bazz26 wrote:

...I also have driven the Focus and Golf in 1.4 litre and 1.6 litre form and I can tell you they are nothing to right home about. Good handling is all good and great but with only 75bhp - 80bhp under the bonnet would it make any difference in a small family hatchback or saloon. I found these cars to be weak in one area where it matters to me, under the bonnet....

The Focus and Golf 1.4 engines are c.75-80 bhp, and the 1.6's c.100 bhp. The former are adequate and the latter can be very entertaining to drive.

Could you not tell the difference?

bazz26

Henry Ford III wrote:

The Focus and Golf 1.4 engines are c.75-80 bhp, and the 1.6's c.100 bhp. The former are adequate and the latter can be very entertaining to drive.

Could you not tell the difference?

80bhp from a 1.4 litre or 100bhp from a 1.6 litre engine is nothing to write home imo about and I certainly would not call it entertaining. Granted the 1.6 litre in the Focus is miles ahead of the 1.4 but still hardly ground breaking technology.

And I have driven enough cars in my time (not just one brand) to know what is important to me in a car. Yes the Focus is a good handling car, as you keep tell us alot but my point is about 9 out of 10 owners don't buy the Focus, etc because it handles great, gives you a warm fuzzy feeling down your leg or gives you a trill. To be honest I don't feel the need for a car to do this for me but everyone to their own. Most buy these type cars because they are reliable, roomie, safe, practical and economical. They are medium family cars not sport saloons, if sharp handling is the utmost importance to you then one shouldn't be looking at 80 or 100bhp family hatchbacks.

Yes Ford have spent alot of time developing their good chassis but they spend less time on other equally important areas such as style and cabin design. In this area the Focus, Mondeo, etc are just as weak as some other makes.

Henry Ford III

bazz26 wrote:

80bhp from a 1.4 litre or 100bhp from a 1.6 litre engine is nothing to write home imo about and I certainly would not call it entertaining. Granted the 1.6 litre in the Focus is miles ahead of the 1.4 but still hardly ground breaking technology. I never said the power outputs were cutting edge. The point of these 1.6's however is that they can do the shopping trips, the school runs, and all the mundane tasks, and a well driven one is more than able to hustle along at a good pace due to superior handling and chassis dynamics.

And I have driven enough cars in my time (not just one brand) to know what is important to me in a car. No disputing that Yes the Focus is a good handling car, as you keep tell us alot but my point is about 9 out of 10 owners don't buy the Focus, etc because it handles great, gives you a warm fuzzy feeling down your leg or gives you a trill. See above. To be honest I don't feel the need for a car to do this for me but everyone to their own. Most buy these type cars because they are reliable, roomie, safe, practical and economical. They are medium family cars not sport saloons, if sharp handling is the utmost importance to you then one shouldn't be looking at 80 or 100bhp family hatchbacks. I think you are missing the point. The sharp handling is thrown in free and it's what differentiates this car from other competent but bland rivals. You don't need 225 bhp to have a fine handling car. A good friend and a superb driver says it's much more fun to drive a slow car quickly.

Yes Ford have spent alot of time developing their good chassis but they spend less time on other equally important areas such as style and cabin design. In this area the Focus, Mondeo, etc are just as weak as some other makes.

A matter of opinion. Mondeo is due for imminent replacement in any event. Current Focus is near or at the top of it's class.

bazz26

Henry Ford III wrote:

I never said the power outputs were cutting edge. The point of these 1.6's however is that they can do the shopping trips, the school runs, and all the mundane tasks, and a well driven one is more than able to hustle along at a good pace due to superior handling and chassis dynamics.

This is my point exactly, these cars are mostly used for the purpose you mentioned and 99% of their owners will never throw them around corners to judge how good they stick to the road.

So I am still of the opinion that sharp handling is not of utmost importance in this class car to 99% of their owners whether it be Corolla, Focus, Golf, Astra, etc. To the other 1% it maybe though.

colm_mcm

It'll be geting 9 airbags as standard. presumably 5 star. Heard aircon won't be on base models though

maidhc

bazz26 wrote:

So I am still of the opinion that sharp handling is not of utmost importance in this class car to 99% of their owners whether it be Corolla, Focus, Golf, Astra, etc. To the other 1% it maybe though.

People do notice though. Even my mother notices that the Avensis is "not as steady" as the Mondeo. Likewise my cousin is selling his Corolla because "it is horrible to drive".

On the other hand a colleague who knows nothing about cars got a cheap 2.0 Alfa 156 and raves about how much he likes driving it, even though he is broke from cambelts, petrol and expensive tyres.

ando

looks very very boring, dull and bland.. but yea its a winner for ppl that want to go from A-B

zilog_jones

colm_mcm wrote:

that seemss to be a Corolla Fielder, which is based on the JDM Corolla, which is a completely different model to the one we're getting.

Erm, the current Corolla estate we get here is pretty much identical to the old Corolla Fielder (there wasn't really any other Corolla estate in Japan since the crappy old E100 "wagon"), and the new Corolla Axio (the Corolla saloon being sold in Japan now) looks pretty much identical to the pictures of the saloon above, not to mention the front of the new Fielder is the same too. What's "completely different" then, and why do you think we'll get something different?

colm_mcm

The JDM Corolla and the one we're getting are different sizes, the European one is bigger. Also there hasn't been confirmation of a new estate Corolla (AFAIK)

G Luxel

Probably the only differences will be the interior, especially the dashboard, which on the previous model was slightly different to the European versions.
I dont see anything different in the sizes of both market cars. A different grille and maybe the headlights. Note that the previous model (NZE 121)had two different wheel sizes in the japanese market,13'' with no hubcaps. 14" with hubcaps and 15" with alloys.

colm_mcm

Jaysus, you're a wealth of information!
there are pics of the dash on toyota.ie by the way