Sensible family car content: 2019 Corolla Touring 2.0 Hybrid
Discussion
"One car to replace two".
That was the theory anyway; trade in my old, useful-but-increasingly-troublesome diesel Galaxy for a nice, sensible, reliable, modern family estate, and then sell the Alfa as well.
Of course I haven't yet brought myself to part with the Alfa; as is often the case with Italian cars, it turns out I'm quite attached to the thing, even though it's now basically redundant...
So, this is the car I bought: a 2019 Corolla Touring 2.0 hybrid. In top of the range Excel trim, with a rather nice panoramic roof, and importantly the Toyota warranty that renews at every service until it reaches 10 years old or 100,000 miles.
Not the most pulse quickening motorised conveyance ever to grace the pages of PH, I'll grant you. But still, I'm rather chuffed with it. I think it's actually quite a handsome looking car (especially in red), the interior is a lot smarter than the company Auris I had several years ago, the seats in these Excel cars are frankly superb, and despite having covered a relatively high 75,000 miles it drives very nicely indeed. The 2 litre hybrid setup has a useful amount of poke, yet still achieves 50+ mpg, and is smooth and effortless to drive. Most importantly it should be about as trouble free as it's possible to get, tens of thousands of minicabbers can't be wrong!
Negatives are few: the infotainment feels a bit archaic compared with my Kia e-Niro; the headroom is a bit tight (that panoramic roof does take up an extra 40mm or so); and the standard horn issues a truly pathetic "meep"... But I've already replaced that with something more assertive!
That's about it really. The car was, well, not exactly *cheap*, but well priced, thanks to a combination of high mileage (although 75k on a Toyota hybrid is about equivalent to 5k on most cars) and some visibly ropey paintwork repairs on the front bumper, which I'll sort out when the weather is warmer.
It's likely to only cover around 4000-5000 miles per year as we will still use the electric car as much as possible (it's a company car, so I'd rather pile miles onto that than my own cars, and of course it is dirt cheap to run when charging at home). But as well as serving as a runaround for the mrs, the Toyota is much more useful for carrying bikes and holiday luggage, and also better suited to long journeys than the EV, refuelling being a lot less hassle (and often cheaper) than relying on the rather crap public charging network.
If you've read this far and stayed awake, congratulations, your reward will be a few pictures of my lovely Corolla Estate:
|https://thumbsnap.com/g8wd2zk1[/url]
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That was the theory anyway; trade in my old, useful-but-increasingly-troublesome diesel Galaxy for a nice, sensible, reliable, modern family estate, and then sell the Alfa as well.
Of course I haven't yet brought myself to part with the Alfa; as is often the case with Italian cars, it turns out I'm quite attached to the thing, even though it's now basically redundant...
So, this is the car I bought: a 2019 Corolla Touring 2.0 hybrid. In top of the range Excel trim, with a rather nice panoramic roof, and importantly the Toyota warranty that renews at every service until it reaches 10 years old or 100,000 miles.
Not the most pulse quickening motorised conveyance ever to grace the pages of PH, I'll grant you. But still, I'm rather chuffed with it. I think it's actually quite a handsome looking car (especially in red), the interior is a lot smarter than the company Auris I had several years ago, the seats in these Excel cars are frankly superb, and despite having covered a relatively high 75,000 miles it drives very nicely indeed. The 2 litre hybrid setup has a useful amount of poke, yet still achieves 50+ mpg, and is smooth and effortless to drive. Most importantly it should be about as trouble free as it's possible to get, tens of thousands of minicabbers can't be wrong!
Negatives are few: the infotainment feels a bit archaic compared with my Kia e-Niro; the headroom is a bit tight (that panoramic roof does take up an extra 40mm or so); and the standard horn issues a truly pathetic "meep"... But I've already replaced that with something more assertive!
That's about it really. The car was, well, not exactly *cheap*, but well priced, thanks to a combination of high mileage (although 75k on a Toyota hybrid is about equivalent to 5k on most cars) and some visibly ropey paintwork repairs on the front bumper, which I'll sort out when the weather is warmer.
It's likely to only cover around 4000-5000 miles per year as we will still use the electric car as much as possible (it's a company car, so I'd rather pile miles onto that than my own cars, and of course it is dirt cheap to run when charging at home). But as well as serving as a runaround for the mrs, the Toyota is much more useful for carrying bikes and holiday luggage, and also better suited to long journeys than the EV, refuelling being a lot less hassle (and often cheaper) than relying on the rather crap public charging network.
If you've read this far and stayed awake, congratulations, your reward will be a few pictures of my lovely Corolla Estate:
|https://thumbsnap.com/g8wd2zk1[/url][url]Very nice. Pretty rare combo in that trim level and the 2.0 engine as most are 1.8..
We're 18 months into our journey with a 2.0 GR Hatch and unsurprisingly, it's been faultless.
CVT for those asking is fine, takes a bit of getting used to but perfect in traffic with an instant response.
Here's ours
We're 18 months into our journey with a 2.0 GR Hatch and unsurprisingly, it's been faultless.
CVT for those asking is fine, takes a bit of getting used to but perfect in traffic with an instant response.
Here's ours
Alickadoo said:
I had one of those. Brand new in 2021. I sold it after six months - it was SOOO boring.
A very sensible car for Mr Sensible. Too sensible for me.
I get that. We wanted boring for the family car, both my Wife and I have no time for unreliable cars so it suits us perfectly. A very sensible car for Mr Sensible. Too sensible for me.
More importantly, my Wife loves it.
The CVT is absolutely fine. In fact in many ways it's actually quite brilliant. Not least because there are no clutches or belts or actuators so mechanically there's very little to go wrong.
Normal day to day driving it's the smoothest gearbox imaginable. The 2.0 can accelerate pretty effectively without going much over 2000rpm, so unless you're booting it it's very quiet. Perfect in traffic as the engine stops entirely and it just pootles around using the battery and electric motor.
If you floor it then the engine does drone, but only for as long as you're accelerating hard, so only a few seconds at a time for normal driving. A big advantage is there's no gear changes or turbo lag, so you get all of the power almost instantly, very handy for overtaking.
It gets a bad press thanks to lead footed motoring journos who don't understand how it works.
As for boring, well, it's certainly no sports car, but in reality it's no more boring than a Golf or Astra or indeed any entry level car from the usual premium brands.
Normal day to day driving it's the smoothest gearbox imaginable. The 2.0 can accelerate pretty effectively without going much over 2000rpm, so unless you're booting it it's very quiet. Perfect in traffic as the engine stops entirely and it just pootles around using the battery and electric motor.
If you floor it then the engine does drone, but only for as long as you're accelerating hard, so only a few seconds at a time for normal driving. A big advantage is there's no gear changes or turbo lag, so you get all of the power almost instantly, very handy for overtaking.
It gets a bad press thanks to lead footed motoring journos who don't understand how it works.
As for boring, well, it's certainly no sports car, but in reality it's no more boring than a Golf or Astra or indeed any entry level car from the usual premium brands.
Jonny_ said:
The CVT is absolutely fine....It gets a bad press thanks to lead footed motoring journos who don't understand how it works.
This. Toyotas 'hybrid synergy drive', which is the combo of engine/motor/gen/CVT transmission is an engineering marvel, and it works brilliantly for just driving about. I've had a couple of these as rental cars, and CHRs too which are the same powertrain. You get in, into drive, and just go. they are 180hp combined, so plenty of go when you need it, bonkers MPG when you dont, running on the cheapest 95ron supermarket fuel, and they dont go wrong.
The CVT is the perfect choice in the Toyotas, as its part of a 'system' (unlike Subaru, who have a conventional, not very efficent engine, trying to be somewhat sporty, which doesn't suit the CVt at all and its awful).
Sharp looking car and nice to read about the CVT as a Toyota hybrid might be on the card but didn't know much about the box.
OP You mentioned you have an Alfa, Giulietta right? I used to have one too so would make a good comparison benchmark.
How would you compare NVH and comfort between the two cars.
I would like to ask about driving dynamics but think they may too far apart to compare.
OP You mentioned you have an Alfa, Giulietta right? I used to have one too so would make a good comparison benchmark.
How would you compare NVH and comfort between the two cars.
I would like to ask about driving dynamics but think they may too far apart to compare.
V6Nelo said:
Sharp looking car and nice to read about the CVT as a Toyota hybrid might be on the card but didn't know much about the box.
OP You mentioned you have an Alfa, Giulietta right? I used to have one too so would make a good comparison benchmark.
How would you compare NVH and comfort between the two cars.
I would like to ask about driving dynamics but think they may too far apart to compare.
In terms of NVH the Toyota is generally a lot better, with the exception of the engine note at full throttle - the Multiair in the Alfa is actually quite nice sounding as turbo fours go, whereas the Toyota's engine just sounds much like any other NA four . That said, in normal driving you can barely hear it.OP You mentioned you have an Alfa, Giulietta right? I used to have one too so would make a good comparison benchmark.
How would you compare NVH and comfort between the two cars.
I would like to ask about driving dynamics but think they may too far apart to compare.
Ride quality is a distinct improvement. Our Giulietta is a Veloce, which means slightly stiffer suspension and 18" wheels, and makes for a firm ride. The Toyota is quite a lot smoother.
They are indeed very different cars in terms of handling. The Alfa definitely feels more characterful and fun, whereas the Toyota is very competent and predictable but ultimately an unexciting drive. But very well suited to covering long distances with minimal effort.
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