[samirsarkar]

Originally Posted by muneemmk

The Launch Date is conformed as 6th of September and it's got Electronic Power Steering,137PS !!

Now, thats a bummer !! Why does the Corolla have to get EPS ?? In my view the EPS being way too light, doesn't inspire confidence at high speeds and 'disconnects' the driver from the car in a certain way. The HPS is much better any day.

[JRD]

Originally Posted by aravindwarrier

Guys, I've been on my job today at a rural village called Bangarupalem, in Chittoor Dt., AP when I managed to catch this.This place is in between Bangalore and Tirupati, Old Madras Road.

Only the badgings and Head and tail lights where disguised/covered . Not a remarkable design by any count. The interiors although looked airy, fresh and modern in comparision to the existing Corolla, cannot hold candle to the CIVIC.Have unfinished work, hence more details later.
Attachment 16149
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good find man.. may be next time keep the opacity of the water marks little low
great pics though.

[carbaliga]

Originally Posted by udit78

Any1 knows the exact launch date?

Was speaking to Sales Head in Ravindu Toyota today,
- the New Corolla launch date is expected to be 24th or 31st of July, yes it is on a week day.
- Bookings will be opened after the launch and delivery of cars should start from September.
- The car will be available in 2 Manual trims (H2 and H5 like) and 1 Automatic transmission.
- Expected price - 13-15Lacs.
- No further details available on the engine and specs.

They have promised to send me an invite for the launch.

As of now very limited stock and colour choices of "To be Phased out" Corolla's available at Ravindu. Discounts look attractive, close to 1.1Lac for H1 model, H2 and H5 should be available for more discounts.

Cheers

[muneemmk]

This would be the best time in any man's life to pick up a brand new Toyota Corolla ( An HE would cost just around 8.15 Lakhs in cochin.) with the discounts mentioned.

[vasudeva]

Will soon find out the production and sales of Corolla for June 2008. In May 2008, production and sales were 365 and 301 respectively. Nice time to buy a phased out, but not `outdated' car for huge discounts. For me, not this generation, but perhaps the 2012-14 generation!!

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by samirsarkar

Now, thats a bummer !! Why does the Corolla have to get EPS ?? In my view the EPS being way too light, doesn't inspire confidence at high speeds and 'disconnects' the driver from the car in a certain way. The HPS is much better any day.

EPS has it positives and negatives. In Europe, EPS has a 35% share, ahead of electro-hydraulic (EHPS) and conventional hydraulic (HPS) with 30 % each. That is a huge change from the early 2000s when it was virtually unknown. EPS is claimed to be and has positive effect on fuel consumption and hence CO2 emissions. ZF Lenksysteme has estimates of fuel savings at 0.15 litres per 100 km (hardly significant per car but cumulatively significant). Automakers also like EPS' simplicity and packaging advantages. It is dry, doing away with bulky pulleys, belts, hydraulic lines and fluid reservoirs; and is low maintenance.

Negatives: Early EPS had poor steering feel, especially vagueness around the centre position. The problem was inadequate sensor technology rather than EPS itself. Now, the problem seems to inadequate power for heavier vehicles. That has limited its launch in high-performance cars. However, Toyota has developed EPS systems for even its largest Toyota and Lexus models. For others, the biggest cars seem to be Passat and BMW 3 series. Jaguar did consider EPS for its new XF sedan but were not satisfied with steering feel.

[oss]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Negatives: Early EPS had poor steering feel, especially vagueness around the centre position. The problem was inadequate sensor technology rather than EPS itself. Now, the problem seems to inadequate power for heavier vehicles. That has limited its launch in high-performance cars. However, Toyota has developed EPS systems for even its largest Toyota and Lexus models. For others, the biggest cars seem to be Passat and BMW 3 series. Jaguar did consider EPS for its new XF sedan but were not satisfied with steering feel.

I thought EPS cuts off the power assistance at higher speeds making it more safer than hydraulic.....Isn't it true?

[ST7677]

Don;t make such baseless biased statements

Originally Posted by [U

Ym-engn[/u]]Even I observed the same thing in United states. The older Corolla (one in India) outnumber the number of Civics at preety much same ratio of 10:1 easily. I was there last year the latest one was not there yet. Even the number of Camry was much more then Civics. Why?

The ratio is probably 9:10, if you can really make out the difference.

Originally Posted by Ym-engn

Now a days its easy to find aged Civics on roads. In less then 3 years the cars are looking old, the polish gone paint dull and plastic fadeing. But you will not find any aged Corolla. Even the oldest one look fresh and refreshing.

Most companies use the same paint from top Indian paint mfgs.
Moreover Civic has been in India only for 2 years. I have the one from the 1st batch which landed in Bangalore and it still looks like new, even though it is parked outside.
How a car looks in general depends on how the car is treated rather than the brand.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by ST7677

How a car looks in general depends on how the car is treated rather than the brand.

This is at least 90% true (what the owner can control). But when repainted, how it looks depends on the quality of the paint done by the dealer.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by ST7677

I heard that Toyota had to go back to drawing board to redesign their upcoming Corolla, after launch of Civic. This also delayed their worldwide corolla launch, but in spite of all that just offering a point A to B vehicle is not sufficient.


Already Corolla resales are bad due to their bad price drop strategy, this launch would further beat the Toyota brand in India at least, where only very few products are available, and most used as taxis.

The first statement is apocryphal and a media reporting rather than fact (new Corolla came in 10/06, Civic in 5/06 and say 1 year is hardly anything to make major mods in a new product). Second, Toyota has not confirmed this.

What is used as taxis has got more to do with what fuel it uses, and then only manufacturer. As far as I can see, nearly 95% of commercial vehicles (not trucks but Taveras, Qualis, Innovas) run on diesel or CNG, but very few on petrol. There were hardly any Optras, but in recent times I have seen Dzire and Optra Magnum used as taxis. I do see some commercial Corollas, but from what I can gather, a very high percentage would be hotel based. Honda does not have much sales in commercial car segment simply because it does not have a diesel offering.

[ST7677]

I thought EPS cuts off the power assistance at higher speeds making it more safer than hydraulic.....Isn't it true?

Not really true. Both have highly sophisticated speed based adjustments, which change from mfg to mfg. There is a separate thread discussing both types of steering in detail.

In general EPS is cheaper and less complex to implement but does not provide good connect with the road and is by and large popular in economy cars. Whereas HPS is more complex and expensive to implement and gives good connect with the road, this is more popular in premium cars. EPS is light and can be used even by a finger (like video game steering), HPS is heavier and would need a full hand on U turns.

It can be your personal preference also, but being an enthusiast, I prefer the direct feel offered by HPS.

[ST7677]

Originally Posted by Vasudeva

What is used as taxis has got more to do with what fuel it uses, and then only manufacturer. As far as I can see, nearly 95% of commercial vehicles (not trucks but Taveras, Qualis, Innovas) run on diesel or CNG, but very few on petrol. There were hardly any Optras, but in recent times I have seen Dzire and Optra Magnum used as taxis. I do see some commercial Corollas, but from what I can gather, a very high percentage would be hotel based. Honda does not have much sales in commercial car segment simply because it does not have a diesel offering.

I completely agree and that is by the strategy that the company chooses.
When Toyota has significant Diesel presence in all segments, then it should have brought a diesel power plant for Corolla also. It would have not been an additional overhead, because they have their Diesel setup already in place.

At least it should have brought their new 1.6ltr petrol engine, which would have been a killer success in Indian market.

[Ym-enjn]

Originally Posted by ST7677

Most companies use the same paint from top Indian paint mfgs.

How a car looks in general depends on how the car is treated rather than the brand.

So you are trying to say that Toyota is using the same paint as the Honda and so are mercs as well as 800s. Also that they are using the same tecnique in their factories for painting new cars. No one has better painting techs then the other.

I am not a tech guy, just expressing my observations on road.
BTW Aisan paints have paints from Rs6 per sqft to Rs 200Per sq Ft.

And also that the Corolla (world best seller) is just marginally ahead of Civic (9/10), right? Thanks for updating my knowledge, i didn't knew that.

[muneemmk]

I Know that Toyota and honda use the ICI 2K Paint as the factory specific paint

[oss]

Just checked with the dealer; the new corolla is going to be launched in the first week of September. They are taking booking from the mid-August.

Not sure whether they will have the specs by then or it's just a blind booking.....