Lola the Corolla

[Teebs]

Long time member, first time in Readers' cars

After holding onto the family Focus 1.6T Titanium X for nearly 7 years, we decided it was time for a change.

Only collected on Friday and have only covered around 70 miles but first impressions are exceptionally favourable

Toyota Corolla 2.0 Hybrid GR in Flame Red. Spec includes

HUD
Adaptive Cruise
CarPlay
Rear Camera
180 BHP and a fair shove when the electric and petrol motor combine
4 years warranty remaining but can be topped up to 10 years when serviced annually at Toyota
Feels absolutely bullet-proof as you'd expect for a auto petrol from a Japanese manufacturer.

Rides well, sips fuel and should last us a good 7-10 years hopefully..

Only 1 image so far but will update if any interest.

[rob-br6yg]

😎👍 Love a Toyota
Had a 16v twin cam corolla back in the 90’s and now GR Yaris

[Nickp82]

Super smart looking car imo, particularly in that colour.

[Teebs]

Thanks for the comments so far.

It's our first Toyota but after a slightly disappointing experience with the dealership, they really picked up during the sales and handover process.

[Rob-c33sg]

I think the design of these is really nice front and rear

[Roboticarm]

I like the look of these, had one behind me the other day, nice looking cars.
I had a corolla t sport a few years ago but just didn't gel with it.
What's the performance like ? 180bhp plus the electric motor must be pretty rapid off the lights

[Teebs]

Roboticarm said:

I like the look of these, had one behind me the other day, nice looking cars.
I had a corolla t sport a few years ago but just didn't gel with it.
What's the performance like ? 180bhp plus the electric motor must be pretty rapid off the lights

It's pretty swift from a standing start to say the least. The gearbox is nice and responsive being a CVT.

My other car is a 1.5T petrol Arteon which is the complete opposite of swift..

[Tabs]

Lovely looking, and most probably my next car. Childish, but in my Lexus hybrid, traffic lights; into Sport mode, left foot on the brake, right foot hovering over the accelerator, then go, go, go. Surprises many.....

[Zlat502]

That is a nice motor I think that Toyota have done a really good job with this model this time around.

Finally getting it to look good along with the usual reliability etc.

Looks good OP

[drdino]

This Corolla looks really good and the 2 litre hybrid is meant to be swift. Nice colour choice too!

[dxg]

I have to say, Toyota seem to have finally sorted out their overly-folded design language. Most of the current crop actually look decent.

[italianjob1275]

Thinking about one of these myself although in estate form.

A little disappointed with the interior though. The one I looked at was a Design spec are the higher models any better?

[Mike1990]

Great looking car!

[nick1871]

Lovely car, looks great in red. I’ve got the estate version in white, and agree when you say it’s surprisingly swift. Seems to fly under the radar for many people, even car nuts.

A neighbour asked me today if it had the GR Yaris engine in it as he clocked the GR badge!

[Teebs]

italianjob1275 said:

Thinking about one of these myself although in estate form.

A little disappointed with the interior though. The one I looked at was a Design spec are the higher models any better?

I'll try and get some photos. Interior is nice, the GR gets better seats and a splash of leather in and around the cabin. Still some hard plastics around but that doesn't bother me too much..

[Teebs]

First week with the car and we're 250 miles in.

Car is averaging 49mpg and is performing just as expected..
The full EV mode is lovely on short journeys around town.

[tallpaul26]

I like the look of these. What’s the auto ‘box like and real world economy like?

[wisbech]

I've got one with 11,000 miles on it, mostly city driving, 52 MPG.

Gearbox is CVT.

[shih tzu faced]

Really like these, and I think Toyota's latest hybrid powertrains make diesel turbos look archaic. Full EVs are nowhere near suitable for me yet, and neither are PHEVs. However, the hybrid system adds another layer of interest to the traditional petrol engine and I reckon CVT gearboxes can be made much more efficient than traditional torque converter types.

The Corolla styling is really neat in all 3 body styles. There's a saloon version lives near me and I always have a look at it when walking past, it has some really attractive styling touches. Someone mentioned about the interiors and I agree they can be a bit unrelentlessly black as per the current fashion, but have a look at the Trek edition (estate sorry Touring Sports only); really nice brown fabric & leather seat trim and a few bits of wood on the dashboard, I really like it.

Can imagine these are really smooth to drive around town in full EV mode, but with a decent kick of power when the engine is used. Perfect compromise for modern motoring in my opinion. Well bought OP

[Teebs]

Many thanks.

Around town, yep, it's really smooth and the CVT box is really responsive. The wife hates my Arteon DSG gearbox as it's so dim-witted but absolutely loves the Corolla.