[sandeepmohan]

From a car that was once know to be mundane to sharp and flowing lines. Except for that gap in the wheel arch, the new Corolla looks really good. The last iteration was a welcome change and this new 2017 is even better. I hear the Corolla isn't a bad drive either, atleast from the previous launch onward.

The interiors need work. It is just too plain jane at this price point. Forget the VW cars, hop in from an Elantra to a Corolla and you'll notice the difference.

We know the engines on offer get the job done. However; at >20 lac on road, a bigger, more advanced diesel motor is a norm for the segment.

The Corolla has been the segment leader (among sedans) clocking an average of 400 units a month over the last year. This number has been falling. I hope the 2017 version will bring in some renewed interest for the car. It is priced bang in the middle of its rivals. Trouble is, the cars it is competing against have upped their game.

[aravind.anand]

Wow ! The Corolla makes the Octavia look like a good match, it also makes the Jetta to look much more competitive, and then, it makes the Hyundai Elantra look like a steal

I really don't understand the logic Toyota has, when they take a puny 90 PS 1.4 litre engined diesel Corolla and price it head on with the 2.0L diesel gems from VAG

Sorry Toyota, you can charge this sort of premium with your Innovas & Fortuners, but not here...

[lamborghini]

Not bad - the petrol especially seems like decent VFM compared to the competition.

Only the Elantra seems to provide better value, but the G variant with the 1.8L mill is priced bang on with the germans and their 1.4L TSi units.

The diesel though is where Toyota is losing the plot! I just can't for the life of me figure why I would pay the same price as the Octy TDi or Elantra SX for the 1.4L mill.
The Octy and Elantra are superb cars, especially in diesel guise and have the upperhand over the Toyota easily! Guess it's reserved for those who actually have high mileage, just want a good back seat and reliability (tourist operators). That aside there is nothing going for the Corolla D!

[abs182]

Originally Posted by Simhi

Prices of Petrol variants for comparison between old and new facelift model

Attachment 1619334

As a potential customer of the facelifted corolla i can't get my head around the 1 lac price increase in almost all petrol versions. True that City Vento etc are not comparable to this car but the value proposition is not truly overwhelming. I'll have to look at the car in flesh to make up my mind now.

[venom_op]

What the hell are Toyota thinking? So the diesel car owners are less important than petrol car owners? How can they simply not offer 7 airbags for the diesel? This is simply preposterous. I own an Innova and i bought it because it came with 7 airbags.

[M00M]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Not bad - the petrol especially seems like decent VFM compared to the competition.

The Octy and Elantra are superb cars, especially in diesel guise and have the upperhand over the Toyota easily! Guess it's reserved for those who actually have high mileage, just want a good back seat and reliability (tourist operators). That aside there is nothing going for the Corolla D!

Petrol with 7 airbags is indeed a good buy. I was expecting 7 but was not sure if the fools at TKM would oblige or not. It still doesnt have the sunroof and the rear ac vents. Sunroof i can do without but rear ac vents are important. Still its not game over.

The diesel is just reserved for tourist and for people looking for reliable diesel car. The next gen will not have a diesel engine its only going to be the hybrid.

So no point developing a diesel mill for it when its going to be phased out in a year or two.

[chncar]

Nice to see Toyota upgrading the safety of their cars, moving up from 2 airbags was long overdue. Of course, even their old Innova and lower-cost models like Etios did not make compromises on structure etc like other vendors.

The importance of the knee airbag cannot be overstated. Great job by Toyota in introducing that in their newer models, even on base variants.

[slamnos]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

I really don't understand the logic Toyota has, when they take a puny 90 PS 1.4 litre engined diesel Corolla and price it head on with the 2.0L diesel gems from VAG

Toyota doesnt have diesel engines for sedans globally, and developing one for such low volumes is not feasible either.

The incremental cost for manufacturing a 2.0L engine over 1.4L isnt much, however the cost involved in R&D to develop new one in enormous.

[Aston Singh]

Originally Posted by M00M

Sunroof i can do without but rear ac vents are important. Still its not game over.

Personally, the Altis without rear AC vents is not a deal breaker. The air con unit is literally a freezer. Rear passengers will definitely not miss the rear AC vents.

[M00M]

Originally Posted by Aston Singh

Personally, the Altis without rear AC vents is not a deal breaker. The air con unit is literally a freezer. Rear passengers will definitely not miss the rear AC vents.

I owned the older model for 6 years. Without V Kool 88% it used to take 10 - 15 mins in mumbai heat at the lowest setting to chill the car and by then the rear was cool but the front people were frozen due to their proximity to the vents.

With V Kool it used to take less than 5 mins so i get the point of V Kool but now that it is officially not allowed i drove the current gen without facelift and it took again 10-15 mins to cool it.

So yes in my opinion its not needed but would be appreciated.

[Aston Singh]

Originally Posted by M00M

I owned the older model for 6 years. Without V Kool 88% it used to take 10 - 15 mins in mumbai heat at the lowest setting to chill the car and by then the rear was cool but the front people were frozen due to their proximity to the vents.

With V Kool it used to take less than 5 mins so i get the point of V Kool but now that it is officially not allowed i drove the current gen without facelift and it took again 10-15 mins to cool it.

So yes in my opinion its not needed but would be appreciated.

I agree, they would have been appreciated for sure. I guess for those who are not familiar with the Corolla's air conditioning, they should definitely experience it first, if they feel that rear AC vents could be a deal breaker for them.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by slamnos

Toyota doesnt have diesel engines for sedans globally, and developing one for such low volumes is not feasible either.

The incremental cost for manufacturing a 2.0L engine over 1.4L isnt much, however the cost involved in R&D to develop new one in enormous.

Agreed.

But please ask Toyota to explain how a car with 1.4L engine, that too a localized engine (Etios has the same, with a FGT) is being priced head on, and in few cases, even above more powerful and similarly equipped rivals?

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

Agreed.

But please ask Toyota to explain how a car with 1.4L engine, that too a localized engine (Etios has the same, with a FGT) is being priced head on, and in few cases, even above more powerful and similarly equipped rivals?

They are able to extract sales even from that puny 1.4. Thats why they dont bother.
There are many hotel & other taxi organization who buy these, for the fuel economy and reliability.

[vharihar]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

They are able to extract sales even from that puny 1.4. Thats why they dont bother.
There are many hotel & other taxi organization who buy these, for the fuel economy and reliability.

The mistake is ours. We, as a culture, are overly status conscious, and tend to be forgiving of flaws in high-branded cars. Hotels feel they show premiumness if they drive their guests around in a Corolla. Hmph!

BTW: I saw the new Corolla Altis in the showroom today, and wasn't impressed.

As regards the touted benefits of the several airbags, pls correct me if I'm wrong, but I personally feel the benefits probably overstated. I feel seat belts perhaps give 75% of the protection (ALL occupants must wear seatbelts) and airbags probably stretch it marginally to 85%. Besides, if its going to be chauffeur driven with the "malik" sitting in rear seat, then anyway the airbags provide max protection to the driver and passenger only, not so much to the rear seat passengers. Or am I mistaken about that?

Also, I didn't like the rotary vents.

Lastly, the vents (the ones near the infotainment) have an up/down guiding vane, but its just a single vane (most cars I have seen have 3-4 vanes), I don't see how it can be effective in guiding the airflow up/down. I feel the air would still majorly end up coming out straight. Looked like a design flaw to me.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by vharihar

As regards the touted benefits of the several airbags, pls correct me if I'm wrong, but I personally feel the benefits probably overstated. I feel seat belts perhaps give 75% of the protection (ALL occupants must wear seatbelts) and airbags probably stretch it marginally to 85%. Besides, if its going to be chauffeur driven with the "malik" sitting in rear seat, then anyway the airbags provide max protection to the driver and passenger only, not so much to the rear seat passengers. Or am I mistaken about that?

When it comes to safety, every percentage counts.
That 10% more safety in many scenarios would be the difference between life and death/disability.