[abhinav.gupta88]

Go For the corolla man. You wont regret your decision.

[ashthedivx]

Whatever you talk about Looks, Hassle free maintaince, Resale, Smooth engine, Lavrish Interiors - Corolla is definitely a winner over City, SX4. Though SX4 is Gizmo-full but still i suggest to look seriously for Corolla at this price.

[sj_koova]

Originally Posted by inder

As mentioned yesterday,I TD the optra.i took it on the same road where i TD corolla.noticiable difference between the two being
*the optra absorbed the bad roads better than the corolla
*corolla was more torquey
*optra base has alloys (corolla does not)
*whereas corolla base has ABS,no alloys though.
and finally the price optra magnum 1.6 LS ,8.78 lacs ex showroom
optra guy(rather gal)has offered me a discount of 30k.and she would consult her manager if anything more could be offered.
I have still a month to book the car.now i dont feel like TD the city or sx4.
I will now wait and watch who offers what.

I agree with you on the fact that Optra fares well on Bad roads. Optra is very silent too. This is exactly what happens when you drive fast on highways. Corolla sends lot of vibration to the steering wheel. You need to hold tight on the steering wheel to keep the car on line. When I was driving in US, it was very important to keep the car on line. I struggled a bit to keep the car on line when I had to overtake fasting trucks. The heavy wind from trucks were enough for corolla to drift away from line. You can imagine how scary it is. Optra is very smooth buy you can't drive it like a sports car. Optra's does not respond as fast as corolla when you floor the pedal.
Though the optra responds slow, it will still be steady at any speed.

If you are really looking for driving pleasure (especially on highways), corolla is not a choice. But if you want a reliable and proven car, corolla is best choice at this price. Better re-sale than Optra. Also if you want to keep the car for more than 5 years, corolla has better life span than chevy and ford.

Here is my thought on corolla. Alto is best selling and reliable car in India. Does this mean Alto is best for India in all means. Its is just because Maruti positioned the car right for India and marketed it well (volume game). Thats exactly with Corolla, Toyota positioned it well as an entry level car in the US and many other countries. And they have the same the corolla all over the world. Thats how corolla made it to top three best selling car in the world (Over so many years!!). But it was never in top 3 best cars in the same class.

It is worth looking at this link (New 2007 & 2008 Car Prices, Reviews, and Pictures. Yahoo! Autos) to know how corolla is rated in US. Only good thing is FE as per them.

[vasudeva]

This criticism of Corolla as not a highway car (in India) is perhaps juxtaposing US highways with Indian highways. Corolla is a big car in India whereas a small car (perhaps a Santro equivalent) in the US. In India, it has to compete on the roads with smaller cars which feel the Corolla's wind and not the reverse.

Driving pleasure on highways: How long have you driven on Indian highways in a Corolla (not US, since the buyer is going to drive in India).

Corolla never the top 3 best cars in the same class: Source of this assertion. How is it not the best. In sales, it is the top seller in its class in the US and 3rd best overall. In quality, see how many recalls it has had (go to NHTSA or Canadian Govt. website). In FE, it is among the highest ranked FE (the Canadian Govt. even gives a $1000 rebate for buying the Corolla).

You want to pay 10 lakhs, and you want the moon for that price. But at its price (US$15-19K), is not the sales of Corolla testimony to its virtues.

[sj_koova]

I haven't driven one in India. I agree that the driving is different here.
But my judgment was based on all other cars I have driven. One if them was Chevy Aveo (1.6L, same spec as in India). Chevy was much better in few aspects (certainly on Handling). I have heard this from many others who have driven a corolla. Also you can read the reviews from the link in my previous post.
I strongly agree with you on the FE part, but not on the Handling at high speed.
I thought the buyer can keep this in mind when he does the TD and judge it himself. I just wanted to tell that there are options if the buyer has 10L to spend. After all he has to take the decision.
I had lot of respect for corolla until I drove one. I now realized that the best selling may not be always the best (may it be anything).

[sj_koova]

Corolla never the top 3 best cars in the same class: Source of this assertion. How is it not the best. In sales, it is the top seller in its class in the US and 3rd best overall. In quality, see how many recalls it has had (go to NHTSA or Canadian Govt. website). In FE, it is among the highest ranked FE (the Canadian Govt. even gives a $1000 rebate for buying the Corolla).

Vasudeva,
Here is the source
Ratings | J.D. Power
I agree Corolla is one of the best selling, but not the best performer in its segment (Not even in top 5 in terms of performance).

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by sj_koova

I agree Corolla is one of the best selling, but not the best performer in its segment (Not even in top 5 in terms of performance).

At least you have agreed to something. Regarding the complaint about performance, as far as the definition of performance is, the Merriam-Webster defines the word `performance' as

the execution of an action; something accomplished; the fulfillment of a claim, promise, or request; the ability to perform: efficiency; the manner in which a mechanism performs <engine performance

By the standard accepted definition of performance, can someone shed light on how Corolla does not perform, and also 5 better performing cars than Corolla in its segment.

[vipul_bscity]

and moreover 33 million people in this world can't go wrong since they have bought Corollas.

It was just on a Lighter note

[reignofchaos]

^^83 million people bought Britney spears albums. Does that make her a good musician?

[sj_koova]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

^^83 million people bought Britney spears albums. Does that make her a good musician?

reignofchaos,
This is exactly what I am trying to tell the corolla lovers. You put it in the right way.
Try few more cars with the same spec and you will know what corolla is. In fact I was a fan of corolla until I drove one.

Best selling does not always means the product is best.
It is just like Alto's success in India. Maruti knew what India needs and they delivered a product right for Indian's market. But the success story of Alto will change in few years. There will be lot of choices in India in few years.
If you told me corolla is best ten years back, I would have agreed to it.

[manavdotcom]

I have HE and it's just an avg car. Nothing great about it except it has more space inside.Too much of cabin noise, Paint is horrible .Even nails can put scratches,Highway Driving is scary,Shock absorbers are nothing to write about.Yes, the Discount is attractive... Optra would be a pleasure driving on highways..

[sj_koova]

Originally Posted by manavdotcom

I have HE and it's just an avg car. Nothing great about it except it has more space inside.Too much of cabin noise, Paint is horrible .Even nails can put scratches,Highway Driving is scary,Shock absorbers are nothing to write about.Yes, the Discount is attractive... Optra would be a pleasure driving on highways..

This is exactly I too think about base model of corolla. I too have similar experience. There is nothing great about base corolla (other than ABS).
Corolla has been selling for few decades now (10th generation now??) and so the overall sales figures may be pretty high.
However at this discounted price it may be worth `considering`.

Inder, After all you are the one spending money. Drive it yourself and look at all aspects before you take a decision. Since I have driven many other cars of similar specs, I would suggest you to drive Oprta Magnum, Cedia and feel the difference . Don't just get carried away with the brand name, sales figures and discounts. Corolla would have been a decent choice 5 years back.

[diabloo]

Thats a smart one, but not quite there.
83 million people bought the albums for her pop songs and she is indeed a good pop singer. She may fail your music test though.

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

^^83 million people bought Britney spears albums. Does that make her a good musician?

Music is not what you feel is right, but what people feel pleasant on ears. Same applies to cars.

[extreme_torque]

I would suggest the SX4 among the options listed. Corolla for me is too flimsy and it comes from experience. Sat in a 5000 kms old corolla and it had glovebox and front door rattles. Though I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with its ride quality, its much better than I expected it to be.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by diabloo

Thats a smart one, but not quite there.
83 million people bought the albums for her pop songs and she is indeed a good pop singer. She may fail your music test though.

Music is not what you feel is right, but what people feel pleasant on ears. Same applies to cars.

depends on the instrument she uses to make music

Corolla is of different segment.

@ this price, buy it. I would be pretty unhappy if you dont use this oppurtunity. I was quoted 9.5OTR today for HE.