2010 Toyota Corolla - Review

By Tim Healey

Tim Healey

Contributing Writer BIO

Tim Healey was formerly an associate editor at Consumer Guide Automotive in Chicago. Before that he worked in the automotive industry as a service... More

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2010 Toyota Corolla

Toyota's Corolla often seems like the forgotten compact, toiling away in relative obscurity in the shadow of Honda's Civic. Never mind that Corolla is one of the best-selling name plates of all-time.

A history of reliability and practicality has helped the Corolla earn that position, and for 2010, not much changes other than addition of a few standard safety features.

The Corolla plays in a competitive class along with the Civic, the Kia Forte sedan, the Mazda Mazda3 sedan, and the about-to-be-replaced Hyundai Elantra. While some of those models--particularly the Civic and the Mazda3--are known for their sportiness, the Corolla and Elantra are known more for frugality. And fuel economy.

For example, my 2010 Toyota Corolla test car was rated at 26 mpg city and 34 mpg highway. Not too shabby, for a conventional gasoline engine.

"Green" can mean cheap, too, as the Corolla LE I tested checked in at a mere $16,750 base price.

That included the 1.8-liter four-cylinder that makes 132 horsepower, the four-speed automatic transmission, electric power steering, 15-inch wheels, traction control, and antiskid system, ABS, an AM/FM/CD/MP3 player, satellite radio antenna, power windows and door locks, outside temperature display, and tilt and telescoping steering wheel.

Options included cruise control ($250), the All-Weather Guard Package ($150, includes heavy-duty heater, rear-seat heater duct, anti-chip tape, color-keyed heated side view mirrors), remote keyless entry ($245), power moonroof($890), carpeted floor mat and trunk mat ($200), satellite radio kit ($359), and an alarm ($359). Plus destination ($750), the total came to $19,953.

(It's worth noting that U.S. buyers get a lot more Corolla for a lot less money than in other countries, as my colleague John Voelcker discovered while driving the same car sold in South Africa.)

Perhaps fitting for a car positioned as a quietly reliable economy car, the Corolla isn't all that quick on its feet. Acceleration lags far behind that of the much-quicker 3 and Civic, but the Corolla gets out of its own way with ease.