[Thermodynamics]

Great review of a great car. I am sure this would inspire many readers how to get a good used car in a small budget. This is going to be very useful especially now considering Covid-19 aftermath surge for private vehicles. Rating well deserved 5 stars.

My brother in law got a 2007 Corolla, some 1 lakh on the odo for a mere 1.7 lakhs and that was 2 years ago and he absolutely loves it. These are built like Phoenix. Thanks for sharing. Since registration renewal is due in a short time, are you going to keep it ?

[GTO]

Totally my kind of buy . I've travelled in this car a couple of times and it is exactly what one would want for the money = reliability, comfort & practicality. Nothing beats a Corolla on that.

I like your lateral upgrades, Addy. From a Contessa to a Lancer, and then to the Corolla. Still remember your lovely Lancer too. It was in very good condition. A steal for 1.7 lakhs.

[NTO]

Honest review of a modest car. It was a great read. Thank you Aditya.

The Civics and Corolla of this Vintage have bare minimum electronics and thereby reducing chances of a failure. The Civic I have was 8 years old when I bought it and it is over an year with me now and is working flawlessly.

The space aspect is my observation also. Today's City/ Ciaz is significantly more spacious than the Corollas ad Civics of this vintage. Better space management was learnt by the manufacturers as time progressed.

The hydraulic steering is a boon on the highways while taking corners. However, they are not as intrusive and cumbersome as an Innova's steering at city and parking speeds as well.

The large foot print of these cars give them a natural sense of stability on the highways.

Regarding fuel efficiency - Since the large engine is always running in traffic jams, it keeps drinking. But, keep the car running at good average speeds, the large engine is always relaxed and you can achieve twice the average fuel efficiency on the highways as compared to what you would get in the city. My Civic also returns close to ~15kmpl on highway drives.

Those were the times where bigger cars did not essentially mean higher maintenance cost and reliability of the Japs really stand out of the crowd.

Wishing you many more happy miles.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Amazing write-up aditya
Your review makes me miss my Corolla. It was the perfect family car. Comfortable, Reliable and quick too. I am surprised to hear about the AC in your car. My mom and dad just have two complaints with our Laura- The rear seat isn't as spacious as the Corolla and the AC takes a longer time to chill the cabin. During our Rajasthan trip, we rarely needed to increase the fan speed beyond 1/2. Whenever you replace the shock absorbers, I would suggest you consider the Monroe gas-filled struts. I found them pretty good on my highway runs with the Conti MC5s. Yours being the H5 has some impressive features like the 60:40 rear split seat. I so wish I could retain my Corolla. The guy I sold it to crashed it in less than a month after buying it. The front was a wreck.


I have to agree the rear of the Corolla looked much better.

Happy mile-munching!

[TROOPER]

Great review of a car that I have long admired, and always wished to own.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

If you ask me - the piece you have is the best looking Corolla design. I didn't like those before it much & I honestly hate the Altis onwards versions. This one looks neat. Clean, understated. It doesn't try to be flashy to stand out. Those who know what it is - will see it in the crowd too and admire it. That's the type of cars I like.

Definitely the best looking Corolla IMO too. Growing up, in the mid 2000s, we had a chap in our society who owned this car as a daily driver. Many summer vacation mornings were spent admiring it. The Corolla definitely looked rich back then and since I love understated designs, it's one among the few Skodas and VAGs I admire. As a kid, I found it to be a complete car, be it the design, the interiors or proportions of the car. Didn't know squat about technicals but the 240 (in a sea Marutis topped at 140-180) on the speedo made me think, 'Well the engine has to be good'

Wish you many more happy and safe miles with the Corolla Aditya!

[sgm]

Originally Posted by Aditya

You will always find some delicious deals. For a pretty low amount of money, you can get something that’s bigger, faster, more comfortable and safer - a lot more value for money. And if you want reliability, Jap’s the way!

Great review Aditya. Your patience and the ability find a car in excellent condition is praise worthy
Corolla offers great practicality, comfort and decent performance.

Our Toyotas

[JojyKerala]

Well-written thread that captures a well-maintained Corolla! I believe this car has a timeless, classic design that will stay relevant on our roads for many more years. I have the same thoughts about the cars you owned earlier - Contessa and Lancer. I admire your Lancer in particular - the green colour adds to the car's visual appeal.

Originally Posted by Aditya

What really impressed me was that the dealer followed up twice to inquire that everything was fine with the car. She even reminded me to renew my insurance when it was nearing the expiry date for the next two years. This was a truly good experience.

This is what I call a dream purchase! Difficult to find such dealers nowadays. A bit of TLC from the dealer's side adds a lot to the purchase.

My ex-boss had a 2007 Corolla in the same colour - it was very popular among staff because he used to take us out on frequent trips. Back then, 6 people would squeeze in the back and the car would still pull through Mumbai's hectic roads with ease!

[Amsdoc]

You have to hand it to Toyota for the sheer reliability of this vehicle. It is crazy good. Especially in the US where they have a great second hand price as well.
My brother wanted a reliable 1st car in the US and he was told to close his eyes and buy a corolla that fit his budget. He had just moved there so his budget wasn't too high. However, I was astonished to hear the amount he paid for a 10-12 yr old Corolla. I told him he was crazy as in the UK, where I was at that time, you could buy a great 2nd hand car that was just a couple of years old for the same price. I went through 4 cars since then, my brother still drives the Corolla!

[MMV]

Very well written and detailed thread, Kudos Aditya. I am also a big admirer of T badge and also agree with your line of thought of buying pre worshipped cars.
Last year I had bought a 9year old Altis, few points on that.
Buy from owner directly if possible, it works cheap and also you get a better car.
In my Altis I had replaced tyres to Michelin Primacy 4ST immediately, it improved steering response, ride comfort and helped me postpone shock absorber replacement, don't compromise on tyres, esp in bigger cars
Altis also had no USB port, speakers were good so got a USB connector for 200bucks to solve the problem.

Altis with my other Toyota Sibling

[Slickshift99]

An amazing car in every possible way, my friend owns one that is an automatic on cng and believe me its a rocket plus its cheaper to run on cng ! I love the a/c unit on this one, the air flow at max setting is like a turbine. my i10’s abc felt so weak after having a drive in the corolla. That said its a perfect bang for buck!

[Jeep]

What a lovely car. You got a good deal back in 2015, as the mileage is low.

The rear steals the show, TBH.

Did you try headlight restoration? That would completely refresh the front view

[Swapnil4585]

I was going to congratulate you on the acquisition, but I read the timeline once again and still I'd say - Congrats! You writing an ownership experience on a 5 years back purchase definitely compels me to finish off my half baked thread on my Altis purchase, started 3 years back.

The Corolla / Altis is an extremely comfortable and reliable car, except for its weak build quality. Due to its large footprint & big engine, I only use it on highways. I have managed 15 kmpl quite regularly on this car, the highest being 17 kmpl. A little tighter build quality and an additional gear would've worked wonders.

[v1p3r]

Nice one, Addy! You really know how to pick a great long term deal!

These cars are just so well put together. I have a 2005 one in the family, it did 35k in the first 10 years, and it's done 40k in the last 5. Doesn't miss a beat, 10 kmpl in town all day easy, 16+ on highways. I have a feeling it'll just keep going. And it isn't even my oldest Toyota.

[BashfulKlutz]

Congratulations, sir! This seems like a nice purchase. I remember seeing quite some of these when I was a child, and surprisingly, they can be seen in decent numbers even here in Greater Noida. If it weren't for the National "Green" Tribunal's abhorrently asinine 15-year-old petrol car age limit in Delhi-NCR (not applicable in Greater Noida, though), I would have absolutely no apprehensions about such a deal, reluctance due to zero experience of buying second-hand notwithstanding. May you have many more happy years and kilometres with this beauty!

[BeemerBug_06]

A nice, crisp review of your pre-worshipped workhorse Aditya. The ninth generation Corolla is surely one of the most reliable and low maintenance cars sold in India. Like any Toyota, they just keep going and going and going. You definitely made a good choice in picking up the car and might I add that it is a really clean example too !


Here's mine, it's been with us since Day 1. Hasn't covered any great mileage at all over the years as its primarily been used within the city limits. But , surely the most reliable car we've owned to date !