2011 Toyota Corolla

by Chuck Giametta

Table of Contents
2011 Toyota Corolla Review and Prices
2010 Toyota Corolla Review and Prices
2009 Toyota Corolla Quote
2011 TOYOTA COROLLA BUYING ADVICE

• The 2011 Toyota Corolla is the best car for you if a conservative driving experience is your compact-sedan ideal.

• No notable changes to styling or features are likely as the 2011 Corolla carries this Toyota into the third year of its current design generation. However, the 2011 Corolla will incorporate safety modifications Toyota deems necessary to prevent unintended acceleration, the problem that forced the automaker to recall millions of cars, pickups, and SUVs during early 2010. Included in these recalls were 2009-2010 model-year Corollas, and residual values -- one of this car’s historic strengths – suffered as a result.

• Should you wait for the 2011 Toyota Corolla or buy a 2010 Toyota Corolla? Buy the 2010 and you’ll likely benefit from deep discounts intended to recover sales lost to the unintended-acceleration controversy. The 2011 Corolla, meanwhile, will appear on the eve of an anticipated “mid-cycle” freshening for model-year 2012. So chances are it’ll look dated more quickly than the 2010 would. The best way to get the full value from either a 2010 or 2011 Corolla would be to keep it for more than six years or so, beyond the point at which resale prices would be tarnished by the unintended acceleration controversy.

2011 TOYOTA COROLLA CHANGES

• Styling: Hard to conceive of a car more conservative than Corolla. With balanced proportions and few stylistic flourishes, it’s blandness in the service of broad appeal. That formula didn’t change when this tenth-generation Corolla bowed as a 2009 model and won’t change for 2011. In fact, even if Corolla gets a facelift for 2012, the nose and tail revisions typically associated mid-cycle updates are almost certain to be very subtle. No need to alienate legions of Corolla owners. Besides, fashionista don’t shop here, anyway. Corolla is consistently among America’s top-selling cars, and Toyota isn’t apt to alter the five-model lineup that helps make it successful. That means the best value should continue to be the 2011 Toyota Corolla LE. It’s one up from the base model and accounts for more than half of Corolla sales. The base Corolla saves you a few bucks at the sacrifice of a few amenities. The “sporty” Corolla S is a sensible advance over the LE. But the “luxury” Corolla XLE and top-of-the-line “performance” XRS don’t deliver on their promises.

• Mechanical: Except for updates to software or hardware associated with the unintended-acceleration controversy, don’t expect Toyota to do much tinkering beneath the 2011 Corolla’s hood. The 2011 Toyota Corolla will retain front-wheel drive, which places the weight of the engine over the drive wheels for good wet-surface traction and concentrates powertrain components in the front for efficient packaging. The 2011 Toyota Corolla XRS should reprise its 158-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder. Other 2011 Corollas should continue with a 132-horsepower 1.8-liter four. Both engines are available with a five-speed manual transmission. XRS models with automatic get a class-competitive five-speed, but the automatic used in other Corollas is a less-efficient (but less-expensive) four-speed. Toyota could decide the added mileage benefits of a five-speed automatic might be worth considering for these other 2011 Corolla. It won’t, however, offer a hybrid Corolla. Toyota relies on Prius and the Camry Hybrid to fly its green-car flag. If you want a station-wagon version of the Corolla, though, walk across the showroom to the Toyota Matrix. It’s a Corolla underneath its high-roof, four-door wagon body, and it’s available with all-wheel drive.

• Features: Every 2011 Toyota Corolla will continue with a credible array of standard safety features, including torso-protecting front-side airbags and head-protecting side curtain airbags. Antilock brakes and antiskid and traction control are also on duty. Air conditioning, a tilt/telescope steering wheel, height adjustable driver’s seat, and split-folding rear seatback are included even on the base model. But Toyota reserves such niceties as power windows and locks, remote keyless entry, cruise control, and power sunroof for upper-line modes, either as standard features or options. Corolla S and XRS are even eligible for optional leather upholstery, while XLE and XRS have been available with a navigation system. Juggling some of this equipment might be a possibility for the 2011 Corolla if Toyota thinks it’ll increase sales. All Corollas are available with an auxiliary audio jack, but addition of a USB port for iPods and the like would be another way Toyota could enhance the 2011 Corolla.

2011 TOYOTA COROLLA PRICES

• Toyota won’t release 2011 Corolla prices until shortly before the car goes on sale. With base prices buoyed by strong demand and made palatable by high resale values, this has been among the more expensive cars in the compact class. The 2011 Corolla should reflect that pricing structure. Look for the base model to start around $16,200 with manual transmission, around $17,000 with automatic (all prices listed in this report include the manufacturer’s mandatory destination fee, which was $720 for factory-distributed Toyotas in 2009).

• Estimated base price for the 2011 Corolla LE model is about $17,600. The LE has traditionally come only with automatic transmission and includes power windows and locks. The 2011 S versions should start around $17,300 with manual transmission, $18,200 with automatic. The 2011 Corolla XLE estimated base price is around $18,500; it comes only with automatic transmission.

• The top-line XRS model expands on the XLE equipment, adding the 2.4-liter engine, plus four-wheel disc brakes and 17-inch alloy wheels. Figure its 2011 base price around $19,750 with manual transmission, $21,000 with automatic. Among key options, leather upholstery should run roughly $1,500, a power sunroof about $900, the navigation system about $1,300, and a JBL audio upgrade with Bluetooth phone connectivity about $1,100.

2011 TOYOTA COROLLA FUEL ECONOMY

• EPA fuel economy ratings for 2011 models were not released in time for this report. But Corollas with the 1.8-liter engine are already among the more fuel-efficient cars in the class. They rate 26/34 mpg (city/highway) with both manual- and automatic-transmission. The Corolla XRS rates 22/29 with manual transmission, 22/30 with automatic.

2011 TOYOTA COROLLA RELEASE DATE

• The 2011 Corolla should go on sale during the first half of calendar 2010.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE TOYOTA COROLLA

• Beyond strategic updates Toyota deems necessary for any mid-cycle freshening, this tenth-generation Corolla won’t change much until its replacement is due, likely for model-year 2014. Even then, if history is a guide, a wholesale revision of this car’s conservative philosophy is unlikely. Toyota relies on the small cars from its youth-oriented Scion brand to stretch the design envelope. And it seems poised to expand the Prius line to broaden its hybrid coverage. That leaves Toyota to hold the center with proven powertrains and sober styling – a task at which it is quite adept.  

2011 TOYOTA COROLLA COMPETITION

• Honda Civic: Corolla’s chief rival for small-car sales leadership, Civic’s blend of imagination, engineering, road manners, and value is unmatched in the compact class. Honda is on pace to retire the 2006-2010-generation Civic in favor of a fully redesigned model for 2012. Sedan, coupe, and hybrid versions probably will return, and Honda isn’t likely to dilute their pacesetting combination of virtues.

• Mazda 3: Like Honda, Mazda pursues an extroverted design agenda for its small car. The result is a livelier, more youthful car than Corolla, if one not quite as well-executed as the Civic. The Mazda 3 available as a four-door sedan and a hipper four-door hatchback.

• Hyundai Elantra: Sold on Corolla’s conformist approach but looking for even better initial value? This sedan from South Korea’s Hyundai matches Corolla for comfort, performance, even build quality. And it surpasses it for interior materials and features for the money. Resale value can’t touch Corolla’s, though. Elantra’s available as a sedan or wagon, the latter with an unexpected European flair. The sedan is due for a model-year 2012 redesign; the wagon’s good through 2012.