2009 Toyota Corolla

• Competes with: Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus
• Looks like: A baby Camry
• Drivetrain: 132-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder or 158-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder
• Hits dealerships: February 2008

The Toyota Corolla is arguably Toyota’s second-most-important model, and it took a long time for a new version to get here. The look certainly mimics the current-generation Camry, with an angled grille and sharp headlights. The exterior may not be radical, but Toyota rarely dares too much, especially in mainstream cars. That’s why it has Scion, after all.

Inside gets a nice new look — everything seems clean, simple and well-laid-out, hopefully with improved materials.

Power for Standard LE, XLE and S trims is rated at 132 hp from a revised version of the previous four-cylinder engine, with mileage figures of 27/35 mpg city/highway, no specifics on mileage with the different transmission choices. The outgoing Corolla gets 28/37 mpg using new 2008 EPA testing. A performance XRS trim level will reappear for 2009 with the same 158-hp four-cylinder found in the Scion tC and xB. It gets 22/30 mpg in this application and is mated to either a five-speed manual or automatic.

We’d expect prices to stay close to the $14,405-$15,615 starting prices of the 2007s, as has been the trend for other recently redesigned models. Many more photos below.

Comments

[LM]

Those headlights scream last generation Protege.

Otherwise it looks like a new Camry mated with a Yaris. At least they're consistent.

I've seen inside pics on other sites and it does look very good.

The Matrix will be available with AWD, but I'm not holding my breath for a 5-speed man. version of that model.

[LM]

The XRS looks terrible.

[Ken]

eeewwwwwwwwww

Nice interior though

[sulli]

Damnit Ken,
I was going to say that. I guess I still can. Eww, nice (familiar) interior though. LOL. This just a freshening though, right, or is there new hardware under there?

[Dave T.]

No, this is all new. This is the same platform the new Scion xB is based on. Toyota's global platform.

[Anon]

That car has been the same for awhile now. I thought this was suppose to be a redesign?

The back almost looks completely the same! I know, I get stuck behind one pretending like their fast in the fast lane all the time.

[johnnyboy]

YUCK !!!

[Happymantis]

This Corolla looks to be a good model, however, I am a bit disappointed as I thought it would take more cues from the Japanese and European models which had way more upscale design cues. But still, I still expect this Corolla to be a class leader with massive sales volume.

[Daz]

Toyota took 4ever 4 this?? The Euro "Auris" looks much better!

[PS]

The back lights look almost the same, they don't look modern at all.

[Suds]

Looks like they blew up the Yaris! Doesn't look like it should be one of the first "2009" models on the road, tho a bit better looking than the new Focus!

[Boy in Ft Walton Beach, Fla]

Doesnt look like it should have taken 6 years for this! IMHO

[Pete]

Looks same old, same old and with "Toyota quality" in the toilet, I'll take a Civic thanks.

The car looks better overall. The tailights didn't get the much needed work but the front seems to be fine. It looks good from the front and the interior is way better, almost Scion-like but staying Toyota. What are the bumper holes for? The XRS models are going to sell but the major news is the addition of the 2.4 engine. Now if only they had the same idea with the Camry.

[Liger]

I thought Toyota went back to the drawing board after seeing the new Civic that came out 2 years ago. This wasn't worth waiting for. The Civic looks much fresher and innovative, than this warmed over Corolla. Plus the Civic has a more powerful base engine that gets better gas mileage. The gauge cluster looks very basic. Not impressive at all.

[JM]

i agree with LM...the front looks just like a protege. the rear looks exactly the same, and the cheap, after-market looking ground effects kit looks pretty bad on a Carolla. it loosk faily bland overall, like all Toyotas. it probably drives bland also, like the other Toyotas. doubt it will have more than 4 speeds.

the interior doesnt look like a step up at all. it may even be a step back, prehaps even close to the hard plastic interior of the yaris. there are some pretty big pannel gaps that i can see from the pictures, and who knows how many are really there.

[LM]

JM. I dont agree about the interior. It's quite tasteful and many people are turned off by the Civic's brash interior design. The Corolla is the small car for people who don't want to stand out. In that regard, the new one will do just fine.

It would be nice if the exterior design flowed more. It's all chopped up (a little Yaris, a little Camry, a little Protege, a little 1998 Corolla). And that tacky add-on plastic is annoying.

[J]

From a Civic owner's stand point: Toyota, please head back to the drawing board on the exterior styling. It looks like a baby Camry in the front, while the back is just like a facelift on the old one.
The interior looks okay though, but gotta look at it in person to tell.
So nothing is known about the tranny yet?

When did Toyota became like GM? Putting a bigger engine and call it a sports level? (2.4L in XRS, just like the 2.4L in SS.)

I was looking for a sportier look, not a mini-Camry !

I was looking for a sportier look, not a mini-Camry !

[J]

Just checked out at Toyota.com
The 1.8L comes with either 5MT or 4AT.

WHAT?! 4AT?!
That's so last decade!
The Civic's AT comes in 5 speed. How does Toyota think they can compete with it?

[Rick]

Very disappointing style and subpar 4 cylinder engines. Toyota delayed the launch 6 months for this style and engines that can't compete with Honda or Saturn? How can they put the more primitive Camry engine in this car. The Honda 2.4 makes 177 hp while the Honda 1.8 makes 140. I don't get it. Toyota has much stronger engines in Europe. A shame that we will not see them here. This car deserves better.

[TOYOTAtakingovergm]

big disappointment!!!, this is a mini-camry just like the previous one. i'm a big toyota fan(former camry owner, now owns a xB). I agree with Liger and almost everyone else, thought they went back to the drawing boarding. this looks like refreshening rather than all-new model, the only difference i see is the little gap in the grille. toyota better change this fast because the competition is catching up fast, real fasssssst

[alex]

as a 2007 honda civic owner, im even more convinced that im driving the right car...a 4 speed auto??? wow. even the honda fit has a 5 speed. The interior, not terrible, but nothing like the civic. This is the best toyota can do?? Ill take my civic, thanks... Boy you toyota fans have to be shocked at this lackluster redesign

[Troy in Ft Walton Beach]

For all those who dislike this car. Think about it... Why would you drastically change something that sells so consistantly well?

[Octavian]

I used to drive a 2002 Corolla S before i moved on to a 2007 impreza. The whole time i kept hearing about how lackluster, unimpressive, pedestrian and underpowered the corolla was and here's all i have to say: the car drove the same way after 120K miles as it did the day i drove it off the lot, and i never experienced a single mechanical problem and i would not change that for the unperceptible power provided by another 5 or even 10hp. Also, that care had some amazing speakers/acoustics.

[Max Reid]

Compared to the previous model, this 1 gives 1 MPG lesser. While Nissan offers CVT in Sentra and Versa, Toyota offers with 4-speed as the standard.

Even Civic has 5-speed.

Toyota is thinking that people will buy Corolla anyway.

[hitman1970]

What's with all the hate on the 4 speed? Same as every broke tuner boy's fantasy car, a Scion. Seriously I almost said that with a straight face.

The K-mart quality nav system in this car, why? $1500 you do not need to spend.

Things are looking good for the Civic and the Astra.

[Infosaur]

I'll vote yay on the exterior and nay on the interior. (blegh, grey mouse fur!)

I still think it would be fun if someone spiked the Toyota coolaid and somehow they made a "sleeper" Corrola, like an LE trim with a 200 hp motor and a sport suspension.

Instead we get a "sport package" that still puts out less than 70hp/liter.

[J]

hitman,
What's all the hate with the 4AT? Please tell me what's wrong with living in a house without a TV in 2007?

If they are serious about being competitive, what are they doing with the 4AT? Like alex said (High Five, Pal!), EVEN THE HONDA FIT HAS A 5 SPEED. How can Toyota get away without offering it?

Rick,
FYI, the Honda 2.4L high output version puts out 190hp, even more than the Nissan 2.5L.

Troy in Ft Walton Beach,
But in the list of bestseller in 2006, the Civic kicked the Corolla's behind kind of hard. (316,638 Civics vs 272,327 Corollas) If this new one is pretty much like the old one, I doubt that Toyota can really compete seriously.

[LM]

J - where is your data from...so far this year 2007

Corolla/Matrix 291,981
Civic 254,955

That's a 6 year old Corolla beating out a 1 year old Civic.

And for 2006:
# Toyota Corolla — 318,123
# Honda Civic — 316,638

SourceL http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/120637/article.html

[thang tran]

wow...this car went bak to the drawing board after seeing the honda civic come out and yet it still cant even come close to the civics design..the interior looks just like the scion tc and thats really not a good thing, and the bak end looks exactly the same as the old model..looks like toyota just keeps falling behind instead of Moving Forward...

[Six]

Wow, that's going to sell some civics & fits.

[Zaphod]

No, it doesn't look anything like an enlarged Yaris. If it did it would look like the Auris, which would've been a good thing. They should've just released the Auris and Blade over here, exactly as-is without changing a thing. The new Corolla is boring, the new Matrix is ugly and barely an improvement over the existing Matrix.

I was exited for the Auris/Blade and had cash in-hand, but now I'll be looking elsewhere for my next car. I'm done with Toyota's incredibly boring US design team. FIRE THEM!

[J]

LM,
Source: http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?contentid=4023925

[J]

LM,
Please read my previous post carefully, I said 2006.

And for the reason why 2007 is a bit different is because the Corolla has such deep discount to move them out of the lot. One of my local Toyota dealer is moving the Corolla CE at aroung 11 grand and under.

[J]

LM,

Sorry about this last post, I guess I misunderstood what you mean a bit in the wording department.

Anyway, I was thinking the number difference is maybe lying somewhere called fleet sales. To be complete honest, I have not yet seen a Civic in any car rental company. But Corolla are just a common sight.

[LM]

Toyota does sell to fleets, both Corollas and Camrys. However, Hondas also sell way under invoice, they just do it quietly (no rebates, but rather "marketing assistance" to dealers). Current 2007 Accord have something like $2000 in the table - but no rebate. Hell, I bought a 2003 Accord in May 2003 for $700 UNDER invoice ($17K at the time - no trade or anything to futz the numbers either - it was straight cash).

MSN probably didn't count the Matrix in the Corollas numbers, which I guess would be like not counting the Civic coupe in the Civics numbers.

[sulli]

I'm pretty sure you are right J,
I haven't sold cars since '04, but it was common knowledge then that Honda did not sale to fleet. I'm not sure if that is still true, but that means that their sales figures include only actual sales- no rental cars, company cars, etc. Toyota (or any other non luxury brand) can't say that. Also, while some companies are sacrificing those huge fleet deals to improve their image (Ford dumped hertz), Toyota now has their own rental car company.

[LM]

Toyota has had their own rental car company for many years.

[rob]

Truly horrid. The interior doesn't need to look like the Civic (which is just stupid), but that interior shot looks so dated it could have been lifted from my '90 Corolla. The exterior reminds me somehow of a Ford Tempo, don't ask me why. I'm done with Toyotas. I don't think there is a single small car today that is more lame than this new Corolla, except maybe the Cobalt. Even the frickin' Elantra!

[Buckley]

I just want an Auris!

[Troy in Ft Walton Beach]

J,

My point again, was why change a good car to drastically if it's selling so well? 272,000 plus cars is pretty good in my book.

[John Smith]

What Toyota could have done is to put in a super economical 1.5l engine mated to a CVT transmission.

Or, how about the 1.8l with a real innovative feature like direct injection to really hop up the fuel economy.

What about a small diesel?

Instead, we get a ho hum rehash that gets poorer fuel economy than the 2008 model (yes, it is only slightly worst, but that is not the point), and engines tuned to get gobs of horsepower that no one driving a econobox needs most of the time.

Toyota is as out of touch with consumer needs in the era of $3 to $5 a gallon gas (projected to become $6 to $15 a gallon in 7 years) as Detroit was during the early 1970s.

They might as well stuck tail fins and a V-8 in this sad joke.

[Arronn]

Amazing how Toyota can crank out high quality little cars like the Corolla. Had two
Toyota's in my life and got rid of both as I got tired of them. Combined they had over 380,000 miles with just standard maintenance. I know have a Lexus and love it just as much. It's clear to me that people who can afford quality buy Japanese, people who buy on price buy American (Chrysler-GM-Ford).

[JM]

Arronn,

If a person cant or can afford a Toyota is irrelavant to its "higher quality"

[J]

Troy in Ft Walton Beach,

Then my point goes like this: Why did Toyota went back to the drawing board after seeing the 06 Civic? Because they want to be competitive with it. However, the outcome of the re-do is just as disappointing, therefore it is pointless to re-do it and delayed the launch date.
Don't you agree?

[Lopez]

Grandma, you have your car....

[LM]

With baby-boomers retiring, there will be A LOT of grandmas to buy this car. The Corolla has never really been a performer or looker (maybe the late-80s SR5s but even that is pushing it), so I don't know why people expect it to be. It just "is". It's a solid, reliable car.

I think a big reason they delayed was not only to see what happened with the Civic, but to make sure quality was up to snuff. We'll see what happens by next year.

[Mart]

I think the main problem with this car is it's hampered in design terms by the EXTREMELY conservative greenhouse design. If you look at the doors, and windows, especially the rear doors and there is no fuidity or any kind of flamboyance there. If you exclude the front and rear of the car this Corolla's midsection could easily date from the late 80s.

As a designer with such a depresing canvas there is only so much you can do to gussy it up. The front and rear almost looked tacked on, with the over heavy plastic fascia at the front, and the almost droopy yet strangly mismatched rear.

There is no emotion in the design, which is troubling when the Civic, Mazda3 and Astra are all competing is this market with far more enigmatic designs and arguably as good quality and dynamics.

However, it looks like an oil painting next to the Matrix. Who would have thought that the Pontiac could look so good when this looks so bad, all off the same platform!