[mod_to_odd]

Was anxiously waiting for the review and here it is. Thanks a ton bro. Really detailed review. And you are so right about color options in India. Just imagine this new corolla in brown paint How fantastic it will look.

I like the color you chose for your car but I think the tail lights and headlights look more appealing as they standout well on lighter shades. Anyways, I appreciate the time and effort you put in for the review. Mine will be here in 1st week of Aug God willingly. I was in love with the car the moment I test drove it. Be safe brother, both in and outside the car. And once again thank you very much.

[vb-saan]

Thanks for the excellent review - very detailed, without being too wordy!

Great choice of colour, and the car indeed looks very elegant. IMO, the petrol AT is a well-accomplished number, except for Toyota's averseness for safety equipment like ESP, all-round airbags etc.

Congratulations, and drive safe!

[Santoshbhat]

Superbly compiled review with lots of pictures.

I didn't know the Corolla was so well kitted. The Corolla has always been a very well rounded package with very few negatives. I like the sharp styling that Toyota have provided for this model. The interior though doesn't cut it for me. I wish they hadn't jacked up the suspension so much. It kind of spoils the stance and am sure it will affect high speed stability and cornering ability. Ground clearance was never an issue for the Corolla.

A brand new hitech petrol motor is what the Japs need now to counter the Euro brigade. The Vtechs and VVTis were appealing in the 90s. You have milked these badges for too long , Mr. Honda. and Mr. Toyota. Time for something new now.

We had the 1st gen Corolla which I remember costed us about 10.50 lakhs on road in 2003 . In about 11 years prices have doubled!! At this rate by 2025 the Corolla will cost INR 40 lakhs!!!

[bigron]

A very thorough write up. Threads like these form an integral part of the decision making process of prospective buyers. well written , detailed and duly supplemented with pictures.
Congratulations on the car.Though a very refined , attractive and hassle free product I feel the price is a little high for my liking. Nevertheless , I am sure your time with this car would be a rewarding one.

[Utopian]

Nice and crisp review, man. The grey complements the stance of the car quite well. Omission of features like rear AC vents and curtain airbags is shocking, for the on road price is not so less now.

[rajshenoy]

Congratulations. This review is worth calling T-BHP official review Lots of details. Wish you a happy drive for miles to come

Personally i am not happy with the choice of Engines Toyota has made . Especially for the price(Bomb!!)

Exterior look is stunning, And i liked the dash layout. Looks very nice.

[mav2000]

Did a test drive of the altis a few days ago. The one thing I found difficult was the height of the dash. It's really difficult to judge the car as you can't see the bonnet at all

[DicKy]

Wow. a detailed review indeed.
When reading i had to remind myself that i was not reading the official test drive review.

Maybe edit some words and make the 'engine, ride/handling' section more detailed with the diesel added in, this coud pass off as an official review.

BTW @ severus, am not big expert but your photography skills are fab and congratulation on your new ride.

[mod_to_odd]

I don't understand why the mods dint review this car?? No doubt this review is too good for someone who hasn't done it before, but i see very recently launched cars like Mobilio in the review section. The Corolla that was launched back in May end, still not being reviewed here by the Mods is rather shocking.

[vidyanand]

Nice and detailed Review. Did not realize that in due years the interiors have been upgraded in Toyota sedans and it looks lot better than conventional image I had.

[Vid6639]

Nice detailed and comprehensive review Severus. Your what you will like and what you won't points were absolutely bang on with my feelings and observations. for many the Atis is the defacto choice but by no means it is perfect.

The good thing the Altis has going for it is that none of the other cars in the segment are perfect and have their own set of negatives.

The Elantra gearbox and overall driving feel are a notch down on the Altis. The Octavia and Jetta are mechanically better but rear seat comfort and peace of mind is nowhere close to the Toyota.

If I was looking at chauffeur driven diesel sedan I would look away from the Toyota and head for the Fluence. It's the petrol and specifically the CVT AT box that is the highlight in the new Altis.

Another problem is the lot of existing Altis owners like me. If I was looking at changing my Altis which I have had for 5 years, the new Altis feels less luxurious and plush compared to the older one. The all black is good to maintain but they have made it look boring. Some features have actually been removed vs the outgoing car which doesn't make it feel like a proper upgrade.

It's still a formidable car but after spending 20L it just doesn't make you feel special sometimes.

That said you're going to enjoy trouble free motoring in this one and I'm sure you wont have much to update here cause the damn car is truly a fill it shut it forget it car. Mine has done 55K kms in 5 years and there's not a screw loose. That's why this new Altis would have been the perfect upgrade had Toyota not goofed up on the features. I don't mind premium pricing but not offering standard features of this segment along with premium pricing was too bitter a pill to swallow.

[sethu.murali]

Good review of Corolla Altis along with great details. Sometimes the ownership reviews push a person who reads it to long for the car especially when one is in a plan to change cars and yours is another one such gem! May be you should ask Toyota to give you some royalty for marketing it well :-).
Thanks & regards

[baskar]

Congratulations on your car. Excellent review.

Having been a previous owner of corolla (2006 model) and now an Innova, I can vouch for the high quality service for your car. The color is great. The features are more - reclining rear seats, LED projector headlamps etc. I had a good look at the manual transmission version of the car in the showroom.

To me, the interiors certainly appeared less plush than the earlier version of Altis, perhaps the dashboard design being less curvy in the new model is contributing to this feeling. The earlier Altis had a great flowing dash board design. The headlamp cluster could have been a bit sharper to distinguish it from Etios ( make it more like Camry) however the current design is not too bad either.

The reclining rear seats are great comfort and older people may find them a lot more comfortable with good leg room. Lack of rear A/c vent is a big miss as you mentioned in your review. They could have given this at least in the B-piller like in the Superb.

Otherwise, corolla should give you trouble free performance, service economy and peace of mind.

Wishing you many more happy miles with the car

[Nats]

Awesome review from a newbie @Severus, Looks like we have an editor of a famous car magzine on board

A fabulous car with great lines (not curves).

The things I felt missing in a car of this segment and this price are the rear AC vents, If Grand I10 can have them then why can't this car. Not to forget that Airbag is a rather big omission.

If a guy can pay 19 lacs then he can pay 20 lacs too, removing these small things from A or B segment car makes some sense but for a car of this price, looks quite stupid to me.

I really missed them on the packed family trip to Alibaug and Kashid in our dzire, because of this I had to crank up the AC to its maximum for the rear passengers, the final result was that I was getting really cold fingers and my family was just about comfortable, not to forget the performance lag I was experiencing while overtaking.

[mod_to_odd]

Originally Posted by Nats

I really missed them on the packed family trip to Alibaug and Kashid in our dzire, because of this I had to crank up the AC to its maximum for the rear passengers, the final result was that I was getting really cold fingers and my family was just about comfortable, not to forget the performance lag I was experiencing while overtaking.

You have the Diesel variant of the Corolla i suppose?