Review 2010 Toyota Corolla: A Twinkie by any other name is still a….

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There are few cars more invisible on the public highways and byways than a gold Toyota Corolla.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not whining about the car I’m just stating a fact. If you want to feel invisible driving a new car pick a gold or perhaps silver or white Corolla.

Obviously part of the reason for this unique selling point is Toyota’s success in selling the Corolla to American car buyers over the years. Corollas are everywhere and they cross about every demographic boundary from first time buyers to the AARP types who want an in expensive, reliable, and cheap to operate daily driver.

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From the college coed at the local community college to the little old lady down the street from your folks, they all drive Corollas.

But the funny thing about being in the automotive car reviewing business, is that one week I drive a $19,129.00 Corolla and the next week I’ll be in a Bentley that’s worth more than 15 Corollas combined.

Which can easy lead to a distorted opinion about the less expensive car. You know, a “let them drive Corollas” sort of mentality while I eat caviar in the Bentley.

But you know after a week in my anonymous gold tester I can report that the college coed and the little old lady know a good thing when they drive it.

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Of course the Corolla isn’t going to make anybody’s top ten list of sexy cars, but it will undoubtedly serve day after day, and year after year, as great reliable basic transportation.

Like a faithful friend it will be there for you on the way to work, on the way to play, or even on your family vacation. It will carry you and 3.5 of your best friends to lunch or a movie in relative comfort and safety. It will easily swallow all most all of your gear, and even take your mom and grandma to church on Sunday without a complaint from either.

Driving a Corolla no one’s going to question your fiscal responsibility or lack thereof, and no one is going to accuse you of a midlife crisis, lack of adequate manhood or women-hood, and excessive need for speed.

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And speaking of speed I tested the gold Corolla, or Twinkie as my 12-year-old nicknamed, it in several 0 to 60 mph runs, and I can confidently report that it’s not fast, and it doesn’t particularly like going fast in a straight line or even around a curve.

On the other hand it is roomy, very user friendly, and super easy to drive. This is one of those cars that should be in every driver’s school fleet around the country.

All you have to do it get in, make a couple of simple and intuitive adjustments, and you are ready to drive to work or cross-country.

And if you choose work or a more exotic destination the Corolla will get you there while sipping gas to the tune of an as tested 32.6 mpg.

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I suppose it goes without saying that the Corolla is front wheel drive and has a huge 1.8 liter engine. OK, huge for Japanese and European small car standards.

While the Corolla is considered a economy runabout in America I kept thinking that it would be a mid-sized family sedan anywhere else in the world.

I parked the gold Twinkie (sorry make that Corolla) next to my wife’s Prius and I was amazed that it almost dwarfed the hybrid. So perhaps “dwarfed” is not the best word, but it certainly has grown up over the years from a toddler to a big boy car.

I was thrilled that the Corolla still has traditional automatic transmission that shift gears the way God intended instead of wheezing along with a CVT.

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But on the minus side the transmission has only four forward gears which just seems complete wimpy in a world of cars like the new Fiesta that come with a duel clutch set-up, or many competing cars that now have five or even six speeds with paddle shifters like the smaller Honda Fit.

Click HERE to see a first drive video of the new 2011 Ford Fiesta

Now at this point of the review I normally discuss the car’s driving dynamics and engine note/power. But hey it’s a Corolla and let’s face it most people don’t buy Corollas to drag race them, or even take them canyon carving…so what’s the use of pointing out the obvious.

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On the other hand the Corolla is safe for passenger and driver alike with all of the must have goodies including traction control, stability control, front, side, and curtain airbags. All of this safety technology means the car gets a 4 star safety rating from the government in front, side, and rollover crash rating. Plus, the Corolla even manages a 5 star safety rating in front seat side crash protection.

To be honest after rereading this review it almost sounds like I’m giving the Corolla a back-handed compliment. You know, it’s a good car because there is nothing particularly wrong with it.

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And that’s not really fair. A few months ago on a family vacation to Arizona I rented a Corolla for a week, and just like my tester the car just grew on me over time.

At first you want something that’s faster, flashier, and a bit more connected to the road. But day after day the Corolla just goes about its business getting you to your destination with painless easy. After a while you start to respect the thought and engineering that went into the car to make it so easy to live with.

It’s almost as if the engineers knew what you really wanted from the car instead of what you thought you wanted.

On our new TFLcar recommendation scale of:

Buy it

– Lease it

– Rent it or

– Forget it

Leaseit_Lease-It! 

 And that’s why I give the Corolla a solid “Lease It” recommendation with the suggestion that you spend the extra money for the S model. It may not go any faster but it surely looks better and heaven knows the Corolla needs some visual bling.

Roman Roman
Mica is a
columnist, journalist, and author, who spent his early
years driving fast on the German autobahn. When he's not reviewing cars
for the active set, you can find him training for triathlons and
writing about endurance sports for, EverymanTri.com.
Mica is also the Endurance
Sports Examiner
.

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