Matt Brogan•19 Oct 2012
NEWS
New Corolla a one trick pony
Toyota's eleventh generation Corolla hatch will be offered locally with just the one petrol engineToyota says the cost of importing diesel, hybrid and wagon versions of the Corolla, along with low demand for such models locally, will limit the Corolla’s powertrain offerings Down Under. And for cost reasons, we’ll also miss out the wishbone rear suspension arrangement offered in similarly specified models elsewhere.
Speaking at the local launch of the eleventh generation Corolla in Sydney, Toyota Australia’s corporate manager of product planning, Greg Gardner said the brand would prefer to maximise sales of the 1.8-litre petrol hatch, all but ruling out turbodiesel, hybrid, wagon and hot hatch versions.
“Diesel goes fairly well in trucks and SUVs and things like that, and that’s reflected by the sales figures in the small market. It’s very small in terms of diesel figures, about eight per cent of passenger car sales this year. And frankly, the cost of bringing it in is too high,” explained Mr Gardner.
On the subject of a petrol-electric hybrid, Mr Gardner was a little more positive.
“We’re really the hybrid car company and certainly looking at a hybrid vehicle is something we’re actively seeking,” he said, then adding “But as it’s produced in England and, at the moment given costs, it’s uneconomic to bring it in.”
The Corolla wagon was also struck off the list, and this despite Holden releasing its Cruze SportWagon and Hyundai its i30 Tourer at the Australian International Motor Show the same week
“We’re not ruling anything out, but at the moment we’re being quite conscious at extending things like Prius V,” said Mr Garnder.
In Europe, Toyota offers two turbodiesel variants in Corolla: a 1.4-litre D-4D outputting 66kW/205Nm and a 2.0-litre D-4D delivering 91kW/310Nm. Both are available with idle stop-start and consume as little as 3.8L/100km on the combined cycle.
The Hybrid Corolla utilises the same Hybrid Synergy Drive system familiar to other models in the Toyota line-up. It features the same 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine found in Australian-spec Corolla models, assisted by an electric motor. Total output is rated at 100kW/142Nm for a combined cycle economy figure of 3.4L/100km and CO2 emissions of just 89g/km.
By the same token, Toyota says a hot hatch version of the Corolla is also unlikely. The hot hatch segment is flourishing locally with Volkswagen’s Golf GTI accounting for more than 20 per cent of all Golf sales. Ford has also just introduced its performance enhanced Focus ST and Mazda recently announced revisions to its Mazda3 MPS. Opel's 206kW Astra OPC is on the horizon too...
Even Korean manufacturer Hyundai hasn’t missed the opportunity to capitalise on Australia’s love of performance enhanced hatches with its new Veloster SR Turbo, and Nissan released its Pulsar SSS at AIMS in Sydney.
Australia has missed out on previous hot versions of Corolla, despite strong demand for the models. In Japan, Corolla Blade and Blade Master offer a 2.4-litre four-cylinder and 3.5-litre V6 respectively – available in two- and all-wheel drive format. The high-spec Blade Master G outputs 206kW/344Nm.
But Toyota remains insistent that its 147kW/205Nm naturally aspirated rear-wheel drive 86 coupe is up to the task.
“At the moment what we have is a range positioned to be the most appealing volume maximising range. In terms of hot hatch we have 86, which we all know starts at $29,990 and that takes care of that ‘hot’ element,” said Mr Gardner.
Visit motoring.com.au again soon for our launch review of the new Toyota Corolla hatch.
Head to www.motoring.com.au for full 2012 AIMS photo gallery from the Australian International Motor Show
Latest news from the 2012 Australian International Motor Show at www.motoring.com.au
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Written byMatt Brogan
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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