Toyota Corolla 2001 Review

The 2002 Corolla range is the ninth makeover of the world's most popular car, with more than 29 million sold worldwide since 1966 - 750,000 of those in Australia.

Significantly, this model unites the world's Corollas, Toyota no longer building different versions for Japan, Europe and Australasia. New model bodystyles include a sedan and hatchback (Seca), and the wagon makes a welcome return from a seven year hiatus.

Toyota will offer 18 different Corolla models. The range starts with the $19,990 (at launch) Ascent in both sedan and hatch bodystyles. The Ascent comes standard with 14inch wheels and tyres, a driver's SRS airbag, tilt-adjustable power steering, central locking, power mirrors, engine immobiliser and five speed manual transmission.

The four speed automatic gearbox adds $2000. Air conditioning is $1640 extra, raising the true price of the Ascent to $21,630. Aircon is standard on Ascent's main rival, the Nissan Pulsar LX ($20,490) and a $1775 option on Holden Astra City ($20,220).

The Ascent wagon starts at $21,390.

The next model in the range is the Conquest, available in sedan and hatch for $23,590. The Conquest wagon costs $25,190. It adds a 15 inch wheel and tyre package, keyless entry, power front windows and air conditioning.

The Levin hatch is priced at $28,290, the wagon $29,090. It gets passenger SRS airbag, anti-lock brakes with EBD Electronic Brake Force Distribution, alloy wheels, front spoiler and side skirts, and an uprated audio package.

The hatch model gets a more sporty focus than the wagon with sports seat trim, leather gearshift, three spoke steering wheel, metallic interior accents and white backed instruments. Side airbags and rear power windows are also added.

Ultima tops the Corolla range, available in sedan and hatch only with automatic transmission for $30,990. Tailored for a more luxurious feel, the Ultima gets woodgrain panelling, black and chrome grille and a rear spoiler.

Corolla's contemporary European styling will help it against stiff competition from the Holden Astra - built in Belgium - and the Nissan Pulsar, its biggest challengers in the small car class. There's also a smattering of Toyota hand-me-downs in the look, most noticeable is the headlight and grille shape, similar to the Echo compact car.

Corolla is built on the current Celica platform to keep costs down, which is why you'll find a de-tuned version of the Celica's 1.8 litre alloy four cylinder engine under the bonnet, driving the front wheels through either a five speed manual or four speed automatic transmission.

Toyota claims signifcant improvements in performance and economy over the outgoing Corolla model, largely due to the new engine, which features variable valve timing technology. The engine's power output is rated at 100kiloWatts (kW), and is standard across the entire range. Toyota is quick to point out that not only is "100kW in all models" a first for Corolla, but it is a first for the small car market.

Add to this a weight saving of around 37kg on all models, and it's easy to see where the extra performance has come from. Factory testing suggests a 0-100km/h time of 9.1 seconds.

And if this is not fast enough for you, there's talk of a high performance Corolla arriving - possibly from South Africa - in the last half of 2002.

Corolla's new body is also more aerodynamic, which, along with the lighter weight and new engine, decrease fuel consumption by an average of 10-15 percent across the range.

Driving dynamics should also benefit from Celica hand-me-downs. It shares the same 2600mm wheelbase (distance between from and rear axles) as well as front and rear suspension basics. The MacPherson strut front suspension has been altered for better steering response, while changes to the damping and the addition of a front stabiliser bar should control body roll better in corners.

The rear suspension is a trailing torsion beam axle, which Toyota chose to save weight and reduce intrusion into the body. An inherent advantage of the torsion beam setup is reduced camber changes during cornering, which means more rear grip.

Corolla now has four wheel disc brakes on every model, and has increased the front disc size by 25mm to better resist fading. Anti-lock brakes are available across the entire range.

Corolla's lighter body is also stronger, with careful attention paid to improve the crash worthiness of the body structure. On top of that, Toyota claims Corolla is the first car in its class with side airbags standard (on Seca Levin and Ultima models).

The new body is 50mm longer, 5mm wider and 85mm taller than the model it replaces. Inside the cabin this means there's 85mm more length, 5mm more width, and 65mm more height to play with.

Toyota claims the new Corolla is now easier than ever to get into and out of, largely due to bigger doors, and a higher hip point (a car's hip point relates to the position of the occupants' hips when seated).

The new cabin is two toned for a feeling of space, comfort and style. Improvements to the fit and finish around the doors, along with better trim joins and thicker door fabric add a touch of quality to the Corolla's interior. Improvements under the skin in the shape of double layered sound insulation should decrease cabin noise levels.

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