[RohanDheman]

Originally Posted by mod_to_odd

The reviewer must have jumped out from a super car and hopped straight in the corolla. There are many such conflicting reviews on the net with different opinions from different drivers. I have seen this review on YouTube and others like it which made me go to the showroom for a test drive.

I am no pro in judging, but i also love driving. And if a car feels lethargic i will know instantly. However, i absolutely disagree when he says it wasn't fun to drive. For the car that it is with the 1.8L petrol engine, may not be that exhilarating but its no slouch either, specially if you use the paddle shifts. I say this because i have driven the corolla for nearly 20 minutes which consisted of sharp turns, speed breakers, at slow and fast speeds in manual and auto modes. It dint blow me away, but i definitely had fun driving it.

Originally Posted by E63

What car did you drive before driving the Corolla?

The reviewer clearly mentions that it isnt as good to drive as an Octy or Jetta, and to be fair, I believe him. Because Toyota makes no nonsense cars, not drivers cars.

I am in part agreement with the reviewer at Autocar. I drive a Laura and a C Class. The corolla is a good car to be driven around sedately no doubt but when it comes to outright performance, the NA engine is hardly a match for its turbo charged counterparts.
The important thing to remember here is that more often than not the person buying a corolla over the octavia would be someone who drives sedately most of the times.
As said above by mod-to-odd: it's not a slouch either. Just not as fast as the others. And also I am not sure if the jetta petrol is available anymore. Plus remember the price difference between the corolla and octy (top spec for both) is nearly 3 lacs on road. And let's not bring the DSG and Skoda after sales in to the equation.

And i won't even bother discussing the diesels here. Ze Germans have Japan conquered there.

Rohan

[Abhi_Automobile]

Mods,

Is the official review on the cars or do we plan to give this a skip? Any time frame for the same?

[arjuunz]

Why aren't they offering an automatic diesel varient? The face lifted Cruze LTZ AT is available at 17 lakh. That's a small price difference from the full option manual corolla. Although the cruze is not as reliable or fuel efficient as corolla, still it's a good car at that price.

[sivadas]

Not sure if it is me alone. I some how don't like the looks of new Corolla. Though it is generally mentioned as 'stunning', I am not able to tolerate the wide V/U shaped front (for the same reason just hate Etios' looks as well). The grill and headlight combination looks awful for my taste!!
This is purely my personal feel/opinion and sincerely apologize to owners and others who likes this design.
I have driven the previous version Corolla (which had very safe looks) and it is definitely a very comfortable car with easy manners.

[aniketi]

^^^ I am with you man, don't worry. Earlier Corolla Altis was much better in looks. It looks classy even today. Even its interiors are also quite good, simple & elegant. This new car doesn't look like it belongs to D1 segment. It looks just like a C2 segment car only like City, Verna etc. In fact City, Verna look much better than this.

[mod_to_odd]

Originally Posted by aniketi

^^^ I am with you man, don't worry. Earlier Corolla Altis was much better in looks. It looks classy even today. Even its interiors are also quite good, simple & elegant. This new car doesn't look like it belongs to D1 segment. It looks just like a C2 segment car only like City, Verna etc. In fact City, Verna look much better than this.

I suggest you see it for real because the pics some times don't do justice to most things not just cars. The silver metallic and pearl white look the best of all.

The new Honda city has a very sad front portion. The corolla with its new led tail lights and 16" alloys+Yokohama tyres makes it look really nice. And then you have the optional body kit which no denying, looks fabulous. The new design is a bit more aggressive this time and sporty too.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by arjuunz

Why aren't they offering an automatic diesel varient? The face lifted Cruze LTZ AT is available at 17 lakh. That's a small price difference from the full option manual corolla. Although the cruze is not as reliable or fuel efficient as corolla, still it's a good car at that price.

The Cruze used to be decent at the price that it was offered. Not anymore; The interior quality is the worst I have come across in the D1 segment, the safety features on offer seem like a cruel joke, the motor isn't tractable enough, it understeers like a puppy on a wet floor, the slush box is old tech and doesn't compare to the smoothness and efficiency of a CVT or the speed of a dual clutch automatic, it's pretty cramped and it no longer holds its own in the gizmos department. Let's just leave the American offering out of this one mate

[drmohitg]

I checked out the new Altis yesterday from the inside for the first time when I went to take delivery of my car. To be frank I returned quite disappointed and as expected during my 4 hour stay at the dealership there were hardly any footfalls in the showroom. Infact I was surprised to see that whatever small amount of people that came were more interested in checking out the Etios Cross which to me looks like one of the most hideous cars out there currently.

Coming to the Altis: The new exterior look is a hit or a miss this time unlike the previous generations where the designing was more neutral and in line with "please all, offend none" philosophy. The new car looks a little bulbous to me from few angles specially the rear. The front LED lights look like a bad aftermarket job and probably the designers were told at the last moment that they need to add these lights. It was a welcome change to see Toyota finally experimenting with the Alloys which definitely were the highlight of the car. Not sure if these are standard alloys or something that the dealership modified on there own. I have a feeling it was the latter as even the tyres looked of slightly lower profile than the regular ones.

The interiors were what left me disappointed. The quality has surely gone down a couple of notches if not more. The plastics look quite cheap at places and there is no feeling of luxury whatsoever. It is here where I personally feel that beige still compensates for inferior quality material. But black really enhances or accentuates there cheapness! The steering leather also was quite hard and not really felt nice to hold although I liked the new layout of steering controls. The dash design again shouts "wannabe" from whichever angle you look at it. I have to still check how good or bad is the display in full sunlight.

Overall the impression wasn't very good. The SA himself was of the opinion that it won't sell because of the high price tag compared to the features being provided. Well only time can tell that!

[Simhi]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Driving dynamics have improved from the drive I had. More details will be there in the review.

Hope the review is out soon...how about this weekend? It will address so many queries which vid6639 has to a large extent answered in the previous pages.

[aseem]

I too agree that the footfall at Toyota is dismal. Car is available for ready delivery even though the first time I went they told me it has a waiting of at least 1 month. Its a classic case of old wine in new bottle.
The Altis G Model 17.21 Lakh On-Road Bangalore is notoriously close to Skoda 1.4 TSI Ambition at Rs.18.75 Lakh On-Road Bangalore.
What you do get in the 1.5 Lakh in Skoda over Toyota are as follows:

- Larger boot space
- Larger looking car
- Meetier tyres with 16 inch alloys against puny tires with 15 inch alloys
- Dual zone climate control
- Reverse Park assist with display
- Leather interiors (seats/steering)
- TSI engine with 140 PS of power vs naturally aspirated engine and fewer horses
- 250 nm of torque vs 170 nm (although there is slight turbo lag in cities)
- So many electronic controls like ESP etc available in Skoda
- ARAI mileage of 17 vs 13 of manual Corolla

These are all I can recollect. Although I must say Corolla's lights even without bi-xenon projectors look better then the ambition's light assembly which sticks out like a sore thumb.

To be really honest, Toyota is competing more with likes of City then Octavia, but its priced closer to Octavia. They have seriously botched up their pricing vis-a-vis the product they are offering.

[mod_to_odd]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

The interiors were what left me disappointed. The quality has surely gone down a couple of notches if not more. The plastics look quite cheap at places and there is no feeling of luxury whatsoever. It is here where I personally feel that beige still compensates for inferior quality material. But black really enhances or accentuates there cheapness! The steering leather also was quite hard and not really felt nice to hold although I liked the new layout of steering controls. The dash design again shouts "wannabe" from whichever angle you look at it. I have to still check how good or bad is the display in full sunlight.

Overall the impression wasn't very good. The SA himself was of the opinion that it won't sell because of the high price tag compared to the features being provided. Well only time can tell that!

I agree, the price is high for features offered and the center console should have been at least like the one in the European models of the corolla. My guess is they are saving that up for minor upgrades in the future.

But honestly, the interiors as critisized here for being low quality and all are beyond my understanding. I have spent a good amount of time inside the car to get a feel of things and then hit the road later, and though my intention was not to inspect everything in so much detail, a few areas may look like its of low grade but doesn't feel the same. I found the materials to be good but in no way inferior.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by mod_to_odd

But honestly, the interiors as critisized here for being low quality and all are beyond my understanding. I have spent a good amount of time inside the car to get a feel of things and then hit the road later, and though my intention was not to inspect everything in so much detail, a few areas may look like its of low grade but doesn't feel the same. I found the materials to be good but in no way inferior.

My comparison was with the previous generation corolla altis. The usual trend is actually this only that with each new avatar the interior quality goes a notch below probably due to higher input costs or higher profit margins. Even the Jetta and Octavia have gone the same way with there new variants.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by mod_to_odd

I agree, the price is high for features offered and the center console should have been at least like the one in the European models of the corolla. My guess is they are saving that up for minor upgrades in the future.

But honestly, the interiors as critisized here for being low quality and all are beyond my understanding. I have spent a good amount of time inside the car to get a feel of things and then hit the road later, and though my intention was not to inspect everything in so much detail, a few areas may look like its of low grade but doesn't feel the same. I found the materials to be good but in no way inferior.

You need to compare with Elantra, Jetta, Octavia and then look at the outgoing Altis. As I mentioned earlier, the outgoing Altis had very premium interiors. If you sit in my 5 year old Altis you will realise that it still feels plush. Yes the new one has soft plastics, but the colour theme in the new one and some other plastics are a clear downgrade. They are still good but they have definitely taken a step back.

Same goes for exterior finish.

PS: Our review is going to take some time as the media drive was quite short and we will be doing a detailed review shortly.

[aniketi]

Originally Posted by mod_to_odd

I suggest you see it for real because the pics some times don't do justice to most things not just cars. The silver metallic and pearl white look the best of all.

The new Honda city has a very sad front portion. The corolla with its new led tail lights and 16" alloys+Yokohama tyres makes it look really nice. And then you have the optional body kit which no denying, looks fabulous. The new design is a bit more aggressive this time and sporty too.

You might find it good but not for me, surely. I have seen car in person & doesn't look that great. Specially i don't find it worth the money they are taking for it. Interiors are also not that good when you compare the price and the segment in which it comes.

You recommending bigger tyres and body kit for the car. So does that mean it will look better with that only and not in stock look? Front is identical to cheaper Liva & Etios, which is quite boring IMHO.

[mod_to_odd]

Originally Posted by aniketi

You might find it good but not for me, surely. I have seen car in person & doesn't look that great. Specially i don't find it worth the money they are taking for it. Interiors are also not that good when you compare the price and the segment in which it comes.

You recommending bigger tyres and body kit for the car. So does that mean it will look better with that only and not in stock look? Front is identical to cheaper Liva & Etios, which is quite boring IMHO.

You are right its expensive and doesn't offer much features for the price.
Companies like to gamble by changing and experimenting with designs before they bring out next gen models. And they work hard on this. Design wise, what Toyota has done with this Corolla is a hit or a miss like someone rightly said in this thread. They have tried to do something different for the exterior and interior and i wouldn't say they have failed at it.

Interiors are new and somewhat look like their Lexus lineup to give it a slight sporty touch which isn't a bad thing.

The front grill extends further inside the headlights and is more sharper than the Etios to give it a more aggressive stance, and at least looks more appealing than some of its German rivals of the same segment.
There are custom body kits for almost every car to enhance the way it already looks. The stock car already looks nice.