Overview & Reviews

Well into its fourth decade of production, the compact Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car in automotive history, and for good reason. Small, inexpensive, fuel-efficient and as reliable as the day is long, the Corolla is the quintessential economy car. As long as you change the oil on time and don't hit a tree, any Corolla should provide dependable transportation well past the 100,000-mile mark. That's why so many shoppers keep buying Corollas year after year.

Since its 1968 introduction in the U.S., the Toyota Corolla has come in a variety of body styles, including a sedan, coupe, hatchback and wagon. More recently, however, it has only been available as a sedan. Today's Corolla has almost as much rear passenger space as a midsize sedan and its fuel economy is impressive. Although rivals boast sportier designs and more entertaining driving dynamics, a Corolla is nonetheless an excellent choice for smart consumers on a budget.

User Reviews:

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  My 3rd Toyota is not a dream - 2006 Toyota Corolla
  By nothappymemphian - October 22 - 12:46 am

  This is my third Toyota it is a 2006 Corolla and I have had the transmission replaced twice and the computer replaced once. Now my engine light is on again. I am really not happy with this car. I never thought I would get a lemon from Toyota.

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  Thank god its gone! - 2009 Toyota Corolla
  By electricwitch - October 5 - 10:43 pm

  Just traded my 2009 corolla S in today for a Honda CR-V. The corolla had a clutch issue. Constantly stalling in traffic. I mentioned it to the dealer, they just insinuated that I needed more "practice with clutch". Well, 35 years is a lot. My other car has a clutch, no problem there and anyone who drove this corolla had issues also. Paid 19k. It was only worth 9k a little over a year later. Cramped, zero headroom, cheap paint job, plastic parts that snap in the cold. It did have good gas mileage tho, and I could have dealt with all of the cosmetic stuff, but the stalling out in traffic thing is just plain dangerous. Didnt want to wait for a recall and maybe become a statistic. Shame on you Toyota!

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  ugh... - 2012 Toyota Corolla
  By tess19 - September 15 - 4:32 am

  i got this car as a gift but my dream car was the camry. i have the 2012 LE corolla but the 2012 Camry XLE was what i thought i was getting i was sadly mistaken. cons: inside is small and basic the shape is hideous there is just nothing positive about this car

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  Poor interior, poor comfort - 2010 Toyota Corolla
  By solace - September 3 - 8:53 am

  Made the mistake of not driving it any distance. Very uncomfortable. Seats headrests seem to push your head forward, and keep your neck at a bad angle. Arm rests not in correct location. Silly little plastic foot holder for left foot to rest on, reminds me of a kayak. May be reliable, but surely not any joy to drive. Cup holders do not accept regular size household coffee cup.

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  Ok for what it is, but headlights are bad - 2014 Toyota Corolla
  By Chris - August 21 - 7:37 am

  Ive owned this car for a little over two years. Prior to that, I had a 4-speed 2001 Corolla CE that I owned for 5 years. Pros: - The engine is a typical Toyota engine, which means it hasnt changed much over the years. While it might lack some of the power compared to its competitors, Id be pretty confident with it lasting a long time. - The CVT isnt too bad in this vehicle. Toyota put in artifical shift points so it feels more like a conventional transmission. Reliability seems to be pretty good as I havent seen any failures posted online. - The interior is pretty nice. The S model has some nice stitching that makes it feel upscale. - The back seats are pretty roomy and comfortable. Granted, this generation is larger than the past ones, but its good if you need to shuttle people. - MPGs are pretty good. I get 35 average with mixed city/highway driving. This drops to 32 in the winter. But Im in general pretty light on the throttle. Cons: - The headlights are awful. I dont understand how so many people rated them as good. Theres a "lid" on the LED headlights to prevent it shining out too much. What this does is creates a sharp cut-off for low-beams. To make things worse, because the lights are bright white, it means you cant see anything beyond the cut-off point. It also is very blinding to other drivers. I cant stand it when another Corolla comes up behind me. I honestly try to avoid driving at night with this car, but that becomes impossible to do in winter. I never had this issue with my old car. - Handling is poor and requires a lot of manual correction. The steering doesnt transmit a lot of feedback to the driver. - The CVT loves to rev up everytime you apply the gas even in small amounts. This causes the engine RPMs to jostle around a lot. Even with the artifical shift points, its still a CVT at the end of the day and rather dull. Engine braking with it is barely there as its designed for fuel economy. - The Entune system doesnt allow mp3 files and folders to be read like a directory on a computer. It insists on reading all the tags and sorting them that way. If you want to play files on a USB stick or CD, make sure they are all tagged correctly first. - The dashboard and interior lights are all bright blue or white and are constantly illuminated. Id much prefer a softer color for night driving. - The automatic headlights were removed in this generation. Between this and the previous issue, Ive seen other Corolla drivers with headlights off at dusk. Thats not a good thing at all. If it wasnt for the headlight issue, this would be another Corolla that I would keep for many years. But because of the headlight issue, Im probably going to trade it in for something else.

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  You get what you pay for in this great big world! - 2010 Toyota Corolla
  By jamaicanred - May 5 - 1:53 am

  This car seems to have had every corner cut possible to save money. 1rst, the paint is a joke. Easily chipped, scratched, dinged. I feel that just by looking at the car the paint begins to peel! Buy the paint protection if available, its worth it. 2nd, the car just feels cheap. From the interior controls (ie windows, door locks, mirrors, etc.) to the body panels and trunk deck; flimsy, thin, & cheap. 13k miles and already had the trunk cable break. My 99 civic with 209K miles never had the trunk cable break. Leaves me wondering what will be next. The drive train is about the only positive so far, as the motor runs smooth and the auto trans shift smoothly. But for how long is the ??

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  Exterior parts Built Like LEGO not CARs - 2010 Toyota Corolla
  By gmei - April 17 - 11:55 pm

  Ive had Corolla 2010 S model since 03/2011. Bought it brand new. After a year, I may have ran over the pot holes but that affected the rear bumper. During freeway trip, the two sides of rear bumpers opened up like two wings!!! It was so dangerous. I finally bang on those and got them to snap in place like legos, very flimpsy. When I took my car the the dealer folloowing day, they said its not warrantied because running over pot holes shifted the rear bumper (lego out of place). My Godh!! This is car and it should be nuts and bolt in place not plastic snap in place like LEGOS!!! Its not safe to be riding on these corollas. Prior to 2008 corollas are good but the later models are cheap!!!

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  The seat is so uncomfortable - 2010 Toyota Corolla
  By iwishihad - February 10 - 7:18 pm

  I had this corolla for a year and half with 18,000 miles. the worst about this car is that it hurts your lower back because the front seats are so unconfortable. Im fit in terms of physical shape. Interiro is very boring and buttons are hard to reach. sound system is okay. engine noise is okay. The handling is little off because if I let go my steering wheel on straight road, it turns to right or left. The acceleration is slow than I anticipated but okay. I get around 30 to 31 MPG on 50/50 hwy and city. Although the meter reads 32.5 but I think its inaccurate. I also notice a wind noice especially when driving on hwy. I wouldnt recommnad Corolla unless you want your back broken.

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  My Last Toyota - 2009 Toyota Corolla
  By C.S. - December 25 - 7:26 pm

  Bought this for reliability, safety, and fuel economy and expected such from Toyota. Since then, there have been 2 recalls on the car. The latest is for unintended acceleration! I see this as a serious safety issue and would strongly discourage anyone to purchase this car for that reason alone. Ill probably trade it asap. On the surface it seems like a decent car. The mpg is fantastic. The trunk and interior is spacious for its class and the mp3 player jack is nice. However, the cheap plastics have began to rattle. Both the seats and plastics show wear after only a year. It just doesnt seem to be made to last. Even though I knew its not a sports car, its boring to drive.

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  Will NEVER buy again - 2006 Toyota Corolla
  By Horrible Car - October 21 - 6:10 am

  We were overseas on military orders and ran into problems while under extended warranty at only 30,000 miles. Fought with Toyota for 6 months and received no help until MANUAL transmission stalled on the highway!! UNACCEPTABLE. Laundry list of repairs every time we go in. If you ever have problems with this car and expect good service FORGET IT!! Constantly was accused of not really having the extended warranty and was even charged for warranty work more than once and had to dispute. We are trading it in NEVER to buy a Toyota again.