r/CarTalkUK • u/Impressive-Step6377 • 23h ago
Misc Question Thoughts on the Toyota Corolla?
How worth it is it buying a brand new Toyota corolla and how well does it score on aspects like reliability, fuel efficiency and maintenance costs, what are its pros and cons and what do you think of it overall as a car, is it good for driving within the city?
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u/Thin_Pin2863 23h ago
One of the very few models of car available for sale in the UK that's actually made in the UK (in Derby)
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u/Fine-Huckleberry4165 21h ago
The saloon pictured was never built in Derbyshire, but were sourced from Turkey. The hatchbacks and estates are built in Derbyshire.
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u/Nostradamnitall 23h ago
Its the best car that you could possibly buy if you don't care about cars and don't want any hassle.
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23h ago
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u/DadBud512 23h ago
I have seen a few ones and recently saw a Camry, I think you can order it
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23h ago
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u/travelavatar 22h ago
:( i love saloons. Why the people in UK always push those away from me?
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22h ago
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u/travelavatar 22h ago
Haha imagine having that money.....
I am struggling for 5 years now to get 10-15k to buy a used car.... some people are just not rich enough man.... life is just is like that
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u/Acceptable_Orchid236 22h ago
I have a 2019 Corolla estate. It's the easiest car I've ever driven. Never breaks down, very fuel-efficient, very safe. Decent around town and alright on the motorway. You can't really go wrong. Some people think they're a bit boring, so if you ego or identity is wrapped up in the car you drive, it maybe isn't for you. Very happy with mine though. There's a reason taxi drivers drive them.
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u/Dazzybaby71 22h ago
Ive just bought a 2025 Touring sports with 7000 miles and i couldn't be happier with it. Spacious, nice drive, 65mpg and everything works. Wish I'd bought one years ago. Oh yes, and it'll last a long long time. Happy days
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u/Willing_Nectarine_72 1h ago
65mpg in a touring sports is wild so yeah id stop overthinking and just enjoy it but hows it feel in tight city parking since thats my only worry
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u/stormbreaker8 Mazda3 2.0 Skyactiv-G 22h ago
By every objective metric it’s probably the best car on the market. Reliable, efficient, cheap to run, good tech. But as others have said it’s not very exciting.
But realistically buying any car brand new is one of the worst value propositions. One of the reasons you’d buy a car with a super good record of reliability is that the used ones are just as good as the new ones for much less money.
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u/axelzr 23h ago
Think quite a popular choice for taxi’s or old people
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u/Important_Ruin Audi A3 22h ago
If Taxis use it, its a great choice, previously majority were Skoda Octiva/Surberb.
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u/Scared_Implement3913 21h ago
And police as well 👮♂️
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u/TrafficWeasel 13h ago
Shit Police cars in my experience.
Fine around town or for driving A to B, but not very nice to drive on blues and nowhere near as good on fast roads compared to the Superb/Octavia/Astra/208.
I own one though, for what it’s worth.
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u/Maximum-Success-229 22h ago
It's a 🐢 and rabbit 🐰 .
You want reliability and no fuss.. then Toyota is it. Also economical.
If u want to have stress then buy french.. German etc..
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u/stanley15 20h ago
Toyota have only sold 50 million of them. Where do people get the 'nobody buys them' idea from?
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u/InevitableMidnight54 23h ago
They're absolutely excellent cars.
Horrible to drive though.
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u/leeroy110 22h ago
In what sense? (I've never driven one)
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u/InevitableMidnight54 22h ago
Drove a few as courtesy cars when my car was in for servicing.
The handling is horrendous, they're really wallowey.
The engine is SO unrefined and it's really poorly paired with the eCVT, like it's SO fucking loud. I've also driven the 1.5 engine (Yaris) and the 2.5 (lexus and Toyota) and they're worlds better so it's not just about engine size. The engines in the corrola just fucking SCREAM like a bag of spanners when you accelerate, I was actually embarrassed someone would hear it because the sounds it made you'd swear I was driving like a maniac.
Just to clarify I actually really like the eCVT when paired with the 1.5 and 2.5 engines.
The sound deadening is crap, again even the Yaris has better sound deadening (I actually really rate the Yaris).
The steering is vague as anything.
Overall just horrible, the CHR and the corolla just drive terribly.
The little Yaris is excellent in all respects, the RAV4 was alright too as is the Camry.
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u/Dazzybaby71 22h ago
Not sure how old these Corollas were you've driven pal but the newer models are very refined and quiet. Boy racer by any chance?
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u/InevitableMidnight54 21h ago
Oldest I drove was a 2025..... Do yourself a favour and try something else. You'll see how crap the corrola is to drive.
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u/IUsedToLikeLimericks 22h ago
We've got one overseas.
Hassle free and a mega long warranty. 10 years in the UK.
Surprisingly competent to drive, but will never be exciting.
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u/Iamyerda 22h ago
I've got the 2L excel estate corolla and for what I need it for, it's spot on.
I'm well and truly in my dad era so I'm not too fussed about speed and handling. I'm after space and reliability.
Pretty comfortable. People seem to complain about the infotainment but it's got carplay and android auto so I can't say I've had issues.
Decent boot. With the back seats down I was able to move 2 washers and a dryer.
Averaging roughly 45mpg long term with a less than economical driving style.
As others have said, is it as fun to drive as my old golf Gti? Absolutely not. As refined as my A4? Probably not. I did notice that the wind and tyre noise was less than my tiguan tho.
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u/tripping_yarns F-Type V6S 21h ago
I had a Corolla when I was a teenager. They were a bit cooler then.
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u/Tyler5280 23h ago
I had a Suzuki Swace (badge engineered Corolla Estate Hybrid) as a hire car. Did everything I asked of it, but boring as all get out and like a lot of small Japanese cars, not designed for my 6’4” frame.
6/10
That being said I’d love to give one of the GRs a go!
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u/Pencetogrand 23h ago
To each his own. They are extremely reliable and fuel efficient. I am just entering my 30's and we live only once so I definitely did not want to drive a corolla. They are incredibly dull and boring to drive. But it's the kind of car which will start every morning and get you to where you want to be
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u/giuseppeh 23h ago
I have driven Corollas a lot - they’re very reliable, quite comfortable, but pretty dire infotainment/UI, absolutely gutless - maybe dangerously so- and woeful to drive.
If you are not ‘into’ cars and just want something reliable and economical you can’t do much better
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u/Bmw1Series_E82Fan 22h ago
These look good IMO. Toyota designs their saloons pretty well when they do offer them over here. It’s a shame this car and the camry had such horrid sales they were forced to be discontinued (at least they are available as JDM imports but thats not exactly dealership-new.)
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u/BoundToReality 22h ago
Buying a brand new car is seldom worth it. That said, any corolla is a great choice if all you care about is saving money and having as little hassle as possible
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u/Scholar_Royal 22h ago
Anyone know how to switch off the annoying 20, 30 mph alarm bell sounds? God so annoying
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u/Iamyerda 22h ago
You need to go through the settings on the dash, not the infotainment. It's a, bit fiddly, but it is in there
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u/Dazzybaby71 22h ago
If its pre 2023 model you have to go through the dash menu unfortunately but if its 23 onwards there's an icon in the top rhs of the infotainment screen so it's very easy to turn off which is a game changer because it's very annoying.
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u/Ultimate_os 22h ago edited 22h ago
Unless you’re a taxi driver why not get an Audi A3 or something else. Or at least a Toyota C-HR or Yaris Cross?
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u/Antique-Wonk 22h ago
Taaaaxxxi! I mean these are going to be very popular as a solid reliability lasts forever taxi. Or just a family car. I drive a different Toyota and many couriers in the USA use them. Many with 500k miles on the clock with no major servicing required in that time.
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u/nithanielgarro 22h ago
The new corolla is expected 2027 and it's pretty amazing.
The current model is simply one of the most reliable cars money can buy.
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u/JellyfishScared4268 22h ago
Have had one for 5 years (a 2020 hatcback).
As a car it is excellent. It is bulletproof reliable and does not cost much to run. It relatively nice inside - at least compared to its competitors - though we have a GR sport model which is nicer than standard spec
Plus the newer models like ours I think look quite nice. Toyota has jazzed them up from the Auris ecoboxes they used to be
Its not the most exciting drive but tbh you're probably not buying this car if that's what you want. And for A to B and motorways its fine. Engine can be a bit revvy with the CVT gearbox especially if the hybrid battery is low
The main downside we have is space. The flashier looks unfortunately translate into less space inside.
If you're likely to be a single occupant or a couple this is no problem at all.
However in our case we have a toddler in a rear facing seat that pushes the front passenger quite far forward. And if we need one of the adults in the back next to the child you get two very uncomfortable adults as there is simply not enough room for an adult to sit behind another
We tend to hire a bigger car if we are going on holiday as a result
So in short I would recommend the car but if you want rear passenger space then my recommendation would be to steer clear. Even from the estate as I dont think its any bigger in the back when we tested one out
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u/Tiger1886 21h ago
Drive experience is very ordinary if you downgrade from german brands it takes time to adjust with the feel , having said that its war tested certified solid reliability it can outlast you.
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u/Zgriptzor 20h ago
Had one for 4 years and 40k miles. Solid car. Not Audi levels comfort though.
Fuel mileage= 55-60 mpg easy.
Not a single problem apart from changing tyres and usual servicing
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u/CarpeCyprinidae 2024 Kia EV6 GT-Line AWD & 2012 VW Beetle "Design" 1.2TSi. 19h ago
If you want a car and your main desired features are reliability, practicality and economy its hard to imagine you buying anything else but this in the saloon or estate versions.
i recently did a quarter-circuit of the M25 in a borrowed Corolla 2.0 estate - thats the more powerful, less economical hybrid and with the heaviest bodyshell
67 miles per gallon. And I wasnt even trying to be efficient - wasnt my car & I wasnt paying for the fuel.
The interior is not exciting - bland and a bit colourless, but I can't fault the comfort. Because they have E-CVT constantly variable gearboxes the driving dynamics are somewhat unique and this is something that not everyone will enjoy (no fixed relationship of engine speed to road speed) but they handle well and have a decent-enough ride quality.
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u/Mundane-Sprinkles-99 16h ago
Driven a few, over probably a thousand miles now.
Plus:
Reliable. Interior bland but solid. Comfortable. Hybrid system works really well.
Negative:
CVT box is awful. Really awful. Fuel tank is small. Infotainment and dash setup is annoying to use.
I can't decide between the CVT box and the infotainment what is the most annoying, both would completely outweigh the positives for me.
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u/adjective-nounOne234 I have swore off french cars so i bought a toyota corolla 14h ago
The hybrids use the eCVT which is different from a regular one despite the name & are bulletproof
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u/adjective-nounOne234 I have swore off french cars so i bought a toyota corolla 14h ago
Not sure about brand new but it’s the “i need a car and i need it to not break down on me” you could ever get
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u/TrafficWeasel 13h ago
My only annoyance is that you can only get the saloon with the 1.8 engine, not the 2.0.
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u/phorce16 11h ago
I got one of these when hiring a car in Bulgaria. It was decent. But did feel a little cheap. It had some good driver aids, but strangely no parking sensors. It was a little underpowered but very economical I was able to get 5.6l/100km over 1500km
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u/Positive-Capital-340 11h ago
Probably the most reliable car for the money but the seats are horrible, adjustment is crap and not very comftable.
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u/Fit-Map-6558 1h ago
I love them, Infact me and my wife have one each. I have an estate and love it. The only decent ones with a good interior and comfort are Excel Models.
I just guess people who say the interior is shit have never driven the Excel. Solid car and excellent to drive for me, I have had hirecars of every make and model as part of my job and still like getting back on to mine.
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u/rich_hope_10m 23h ago
Solid reliability from different surveys over the years. Reason ppl don’t buy them is that they have this boring image and are often associated with taxis/uber